Herald and news. [volume] (West Randolph, Vt.) 1878-1943, 1889-07-11
A BLAZING BEAR.
STARTLING SCENE WITNESSED
BY TWO FISHERMEN.
Bruin, Struck by Fiery Brand,
Sets an oil-Covered Creek on Ere
An Awful Spectacle.


'Folks may not know it," was the
remark Of a man from the oil regions,
"but bears can swim like ducks. don
know whether they can dive or not, but
if they can, one bear that / remember
made the mistake of his life once by not
diving, and that not only, but IN not
swimming under water from one bank
of the stream he was in to the other
bank before he came out again The
fate of that bear was a fearful one, and
a warning to all of the bear family to
stick to terra tirma, in the oil regions.
81 was one Of the first seekers after
riches that went up along the Cherry
Tree Run, in Venango county, to put
down oil wells. Good paying territory
had been found and number of wells
put down in the vicinity of Cherry
Tree. Trout fishing was excellent IN
those mountain streams then, oil not
having yet been produced along them
in sufficient quantities to mingle with
the water and spoil it for fishing. Twas
an enthusiastic trout fisherman, and
one day in June, early in the days of
the rush to the Oil Creek valley, friend
of mine and / went very near to the
VI OlC VI Vic oiAAttAA AANth7
that emptied into Cherry Tree Run for
big days fishing. 1t was getting along
toward dark by the time we had fished
to the mouth of the creek, and We were
loaded down with trout, and about as
near tired out as two vigorous young
men could well be. In fact, we were
so near tuckered out that we concluded
to camp at the mouth of the creek for the
night, although We were within three
miles of the shanty where we were sink
ing a well. We ate hearty supper of
trout built big camp fire, and lay
down on the ground by the side of it to
sleep. The fire threw glare clear
across Cherry Tree Run, which was
wide and deep there.
81 wasn't long in falling asleep. l
never knew what woke me up, but l
awoke some time in the night, suddenly
and wide The camp fire was still
burning brightly, and as | lay there
looking at the broad pathway of light it
cast across the Run, | saw the water
where the light rested upon it suddenly
become agitated, and / soon became
aware that some big object was swim
ming the stream, and coming directly
toward where we were lying. 1t was
spooky sort of situation, and to tell
the truth, was scared, so much so that
l couldn't stir. ! lay there scarcely
daring to breathe, with my eyes fixed
immoyably on the approaching object.
1t pulled deliberately across the creek,
and as it crawled out on the shore l
discovered that it was an enormous
bear. He didn't pause second, but
slouched right on toward the fire, evi-
IDENTIFY prompted by genuine bear
curiosity. The spot where we had
camped wasn't more than twenty feet
from either stream. The appearance
of the big bear and his advance
upon our camp broke the spell under
which had been lying, and I sprang
TO my feet, grabbed blazing stick from
the fire and hurled it at the approach
ing ANIMAL, which was then almost
within an arms length of me. The
brand struck the bear. If l had been
frightened at the first appearance of the
animal in the Run, / was simply terrified
when the burning stick hit him, for like
flash of gunpowder the poor beast
burst into flames from snout to tail.
"With howl that filed the woods
with frightfui echoes, and brought my
sleeping friend to his feet in terror, the
blazing bear turned and fed to the
creek and jumped into the water If
he had expected to find hope there he
was wofully mistaken, for in an instant
the creek, from bank to bank and far
above and below us, became q line of
leaping fire, lighting up the gloom of
the forest for rods on either side, and
forming one of the most awful spectacles
ever witnessed, and such one as
never hope to witness again. There
came from that roaring stream of flame
one long, unearthly vail of agony. For
a second we saw the blazing form of the
wretched bear writhe in torture in the
burning creek. Then we saw and heard
him no more. The terrible heat from
the fire drove us back into the woods,
where we remained for an hour or more,
two terror-stricken, trembling spectators
of that sudden apparition of flame.
Then it died gradually away and became
extinct, leaving upon us such a sense of
gloom and ghostliness that neither of
us had the courage to remain longer on
the spot, and We lost no time IN making
our way in the darkness to our shanty
up the creek.
ave learned on reaching there that
an oil tank had sprung a leak that even
ing, and before it could be stopped
great quantity of oil had run into the
stream and hoated down on the surface.
The unfortunate bear had struck this
infiamable stuff when he swan the creek,
and his fur had become saturated with it.
NY firebrand had ignited it instantly,
and in jumping back into the creek, all
ablaze, the bear had set the whole oily
surface on fire, and met his frightful
fate. New York Sun.
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