The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1889-09-13
NEGRO BOYS ATTACKED BY BEARS.
One Killed and One Taken TO the Bears
Den, Where He Was Found.

Den, Where He Was Found.
Along the south bank of the Warrior
river, In Tuscaloosa county, there Is q
tract of land, some 5000 acres in extent,
which is strange combination of
swamp hillock and dense forest. There
are little patches of forest where the TO-
liage of the oak and poplar trees shut out
the sunlight at MONDAY; then there is
cluster Of little hillocks, some of them
more than thirty feet high, and then
comes stretch of swamp, so dense and
80 dismal that only the most daring
hunters will penetrate 1t. This locality
Is the hunters paradise. In the notches
of forest there are THOUSANDS of squir-
rels, turkeys, coons, rabbits and a few
deer. In the swamp, bear, mink and
other animals are found. The swamp is
covered with dense growth of cane
brake and in this black bears are found
In large numbers. They prey on the
young stock of the farmers around the
swamp.
Just below this swamp there are sew
eral large plantations cultivated entirely
by negro labor, Living in little cabins,
many of them very close to the swamps
or forest, there are probably 200 families
of negroes. The little children of these
negroes have no fear of the dark cane
brake swamps or the dense forest; as q
result they often get lost. Several times
children have been lost in the swamp tol
day and night at a time.
One day last week the two boys of
Perry Taylor, colored, aged and 6, left
home early one morning and wandered
off into the forest. They were not missed
until noon, and then their parents felt
no uneasiness about them. Night came
on and still the two boys had not re-
turned. Taylor and his wife were alarm
ed, but they could do nothing until
morning. Next day they organized
searching party and penetrated the
swamp and forest There were some
fifty people in the searching party, and
they covered several miles of the swamp
and forest without finding any trace Of
the missing children. The second day
the search was continued and probably
zoo negroes joined the searching party.
At about noon of the third day five
negroes, who had penetrated a mile
further into the canebrake than the main
searching party, found the dead body of
the oldest boy. He had evidently been
killed by bear, and his flesh and cloth
Ing were badly torn. The main search
ing party came up and began to search
for the youngest boy. A few hundred
yards from the spot where the body of
the oldest boy was found the party ran
into bears den. There were one male
and two female bears and five cubs. The
old bears showed fight and were shot
dead, several of the negroes being armed.
AT the sound of the shooting the five
cubs had huddled close together under
the upturned roots of a fallen tree. They
were dragged out, and there, half
| smothered by the young bears, was the
4year-old negro boy. There was not a
scratch on the boys body, but he was
almost starved and was very weak.
The child said they got lost in the
woods and kept walking until they were
tired, and then lay down and went to
sleep. He was awakened by hearing his
brother scream, and, looking up, saw
him in the clutches of bear. The lit
tie fellow was too badly frightened to
run or make an outcry. He lay still and
saw his brother torn to pieces. Then the
bear turned to him. He screamed and
closed his eyes, expecting to be killed.
The bear put its nose in his face, and,
after smelling him a while, caught his
clothing in its teeth and started away
with him. The bear carried him to the
den and dropped him among the young
cubs, where he remained until found by
the searching party. Neither the old OF
young bears made any effort to hurt the
child. (Ala.) Letter