Omaha daily bee., 1889-06-24
BRUIN AND THE BILLY COATS.
A Terrible Old Fight and All Hands
Knocked Out.
NO HIPPoDRoNE ABOUT THIS.
A Remarkable Four Cornercd Slug
.ging Match Which Amused
Party of West Virginia
Mountainers One Sum-
mcr Afternoon.
According to Prize Ring Rules.

The mountaineers OF this section are
always ready to lay work aside and see
fight Of any kind-the bloodier the
better. But it fell to the lot of old Bill
Withers, an old hunter, and Sam Smi-
4. ley, one of his neighbors, to vary the
monotony recently with something
entirely unique. Last winter Withers
captured full grown black bear in
trap, writes correspondent for the
New York World from Dry Run, Poca-
hontas county, w. Va. He penned the
animal in strong log structure and
kept it in good condition, but it was so
fierce that he could never do anything
with it, and he was about to kill it,
when one day not long ago, old Smiley
came along.
Smiley was the proud owner OF a trio
OF the meanest and crossest billy goats
that ever chewed tomato can or broke
up country school. He had often
tried to give them away, but nobody
would have them, although half the
people in the district had threatened to
shoot.them on sight. This was the con-
dition of things when Smiley rode up
to Withers' house, where, as a matter
Of course, it being q generally idle
time, the conversation turned upon the
subject of something in the way OF sport.
Suddenly bright thought struck Smi-.
ley.
''Say, Bill" said he, "I'll tell you
what I'll do. "I'll bet my saddle horse
agin your roam mare that | have three
old billy goats which kin lick that bar
o'yourn:" ,,,,
thet bet know yer derned goats kant
keep the flies off'n him; but it'll be fun
for the boys. When shlll the fight cum
oif?"
s'Less see," said Smiley introspec-
lively; It'll take maybe q week to
ketch them goats and build big pen to
fight in and get the news to the nabors.
This is Tuesday; say next Thursday
week. How'll that suitp"
1t was agreed that Thursday of the
following week should be the time, and
the place was fixed at a spoton Withers'
farm, as 1T was supposed there would be
more trouble in getting the bear than
the goats to the ground. During the
week Smiley and Withers had notified
the neighbors, who set to with will to
assist. The goats were trapped-the
only safe way to get the pugnacious
brutes-and big rail pen, about
seventy feet in diameter and ten feet
high was built.
When the morning of the daysest
opened the whole country was on the
spot to the number Of several hundred,
including a dozen or so OF women and
twice as many half-grown boys. The
goats-tremendous fellows, with ter
rible horns and exaggerated tempers-
were brought to the ground, tied by the
feet and hauled in wagon. They were
lifted out and put in small pen adioin-
ing the fighting arena, when their lash
ings were cut loose and their -captors
took hastily to fence, out Of harms
reach. The animals were to be left in
their pen until after dinner, by which
time it was believed that their circula-
tion would be fully restored and their
stiffened limbs again return to their
natural elasticity. The bear was in the
pen, and as he had been given nothing
to eat since the day before, he was in q
ferocious humor. Old Withers and the
crowd collected IN the yard in front of
the house and lay in the shade, talking
and joking and eating their lunch,
which they washed down with an occa-
sional touch of the contents of suspi-
cious looking jugs.
at O'Clock preparations were made
for the fight. A long pole, twenty feetin
length, with slipnoose of chain in its
center, was brought out. The moose
was let down between the cracks in the
BEARS pen, where, after considerable
trouble, it was at last caught about his
neck. The roof of the pen and one
end were then torn out and four strong
men at each end of the pole dragged
and pulled the bear to the opening in
the pit, where he was firmly fastened to
chain about thirty feet long, which
in turn was fastened to stake in the
center of the arena, after which the
IL. al. III
the bears head. Everything now being
ready, the bars separating the pen were
let down.
The bear was in a terrible rage, and
tore about the pen, trying in vain to
break his chain and get at the noun
taineers. The goats were also in an exag-
gerated state of mind and in fit con-
dition to fight at the drop of hat. AS
soon as the bars were down the goats
trotted through into the main pen, but
upon catching sight OF the bear they
hesitated, whistled and stamped their
feet, while the hair on their backs rose
tiff and straight. Meanwhile the bear
had got sight of his enemies, and as he
was hungry he made straight for them
the full length of his chain. This open
challenge for fight was not to be ig-
Of the gang, lowered his head and made
q bound and before the bear knew what
was coming bombshel of horns, legs
and feet struck him such terrific blow
in the stomach that he keeled over and
lay fiat ON his back The other goats
were not far behind their leader when
they let him have it, one hitting him
on the. rump and the other in the side
These hard raps stirred up the BEARS
already sour temper, and he quickly
got on his feet just as one of the goats
made second rush at him. just as
the billy got within reach bruip let fly
paw and sent the goat rolling and
tumbling twenty feet away, but he
wasn't quick enough to avoid the next
one, which gave him jam between
tho ribs that made him snarl and
whine. The third one let him have a
cracker in the side, but didn't get away
in time to avoid blow from the left
duke of the bear, which sent him
tumbling after No. !. BY this time No.
j had regained his feet, aud, with a
wicked blink he again went hammer