Custer chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, Black Hills, D.T. [S.D.]) 1880-1890, 1889-03-30
Sk ELETONS IN A CAVE
An Old Miner Tells of His Last Trim
10 the Umpqua Mountains Fem
porizing With = Bcar--A GhastIy

porizIng With \ Bcar--A Ghastl,
Discovery.
All the good placer ~diggings Of thi,
coast haven't been found yet said Will
lam Carruth. al old prospector who came
down fro Al the northern part of the state,
to an Examiner man in the Russ house.
In the spring, il l can raise a grub. stake
and get al outfit. | am going back to Or.
egon, where was last Summer, and III
come out with plenty of dust. Some
sections Of that country are as little
known as the interior Of Patagonia, and
| know some places that nobody else
knows anything about. I. don't mind
telling whore | struck rich diggins, be-
cause it's dead sure nobody will try to
get in there ahead of me.
1T was pretty late in the season when
| took n notion that I'd like 10 see what
sort Of Il country lies north OF the imp
qua river, and | struck into the noun
tains from Drain station with my pros.
E>tN'hh III dih 40 llk KIND sS
could pack upon my horse. After lenv
ing Elk creek followed a hunting trai
for a day, but after that i; was rough
scrambling up and down mountain SIDE
and through gulches, and the horse and
had a pretty tough time. The Umpqu,
mountains are terribly steep and wild
and if'a NO fan1 nf a inI e., rr,co tt,ot,
There 10 any amount Of game in those
mountains, and where | went it never is
hunted, and, therefore, not hard To find.
If ! had cared 30 shoot much ! could
have killed u great many bears, but |
wasn't in there for fun SO much as for
business, and / didn't shoot bat me.
Bear meat is no good at any time unless
"A man is starving, according TO my no.
ton, and in the summer ii is worse than
no good. Before berries are ripe a bear
goes around ~clawing the bark from logs
and dead trees and feeds on the borers
and ants. Fe has a banquet when he
strikes a well populated ant heap. and
then he smells and tastes like ants if You
Try 10 eat him. His meat is rank, and if
you eat it for aday or two you will break
out h over with IA sort of rash which is
mighty uncomfortable. There is no fur
on a bear in summer and his skin il not
worth taking, SO you see there was no
reason why | should fool away time and
cartridges on bruin. Besides, | rather
liked bruin for his comical ways, and
when he doesn't bother me I'd rather
watch him than shoot at him.
Il had to kill one big brown fellow,
because he wouldn't get out of my way,
and my horse was afraid to pass him. lie
was on a narrow ridge that ! was follow
ing in order TO keep out of the heavy tim
Der, andslhe bear Sat upon his launches
right in my way. PROBABLY he never saw
a man before for he didn't seem in the
least disturbed when | hove in sight lead
ing the horse. supposed lie would drop
on all fo-rs and scuttle away, but not a
bit o it. He mad struck something new
and was going TO see the whole show.
There he sal, with his fore paws hanging
down and his head cooked on one side,
looking at the procession with the ~iive1Iesl
curiosity in his face. There was nothing
wicked In his appearance, and Il ithadn't
been for the horse 1 think | would have
PACED within three Yards of him without
any trouble. AS il was, / dragged the
horse up to within twenty feet, but then
he hung back. snorted, and protested SO
vigorously that | was afraid he would
back over the edge and fall down the
steep mountain side.
Letting the horse back away q few
yards | tied his halter to a scrub tree and
then advanced 20 the bear with my rifle
in my left hand. He didn't bulge, and
when | yelled 1T MIN he only started a
little and cooked his head over on the
other side. That made me laugh, and
then | amused myself by talking TO him.
Why dom YOU mover said /. i know
You got here first. and have a squat:er's
claim Oh the quarter section, but you
ought not To sit down on public travel in
that way He looked at me as though |
was the oldest specimen he ever came
paw.
You mustn't mind my friend here,
| said, pointing to the horse; hes a little
shy in society, but he means we'll. II
you'n move 10 one eide wei pass on.
Il was q fool sort Of an idea, standing
there talking TO a bear, but | was inter
ested in studying the expression of his
face and seeing how puzzled he seemed
10 be at the sound of my voice. He'C
rub his ear or his lose oncc III awhile,
aud then look up, as though he wert
saying: Just repeat that: | don't quite
make out what you are driving ST,
and then he'd assume q look OF the mos
intense interest. | Gon't know how long
he would nave remained there, but: / goi
tired Of the fun and threw "a stick at him.
1t would have hit him on the nose, bu,
he warded it off very cleverly. and then
his manner changed. He growled a little
and began swaying his head from side to
side, and when ! saw his little eyes begin
to blaze with a green light | knew that j,
was time to quiz fooliug. SO | shot him
through the throat, and the ball cut hi!
spinal cord and dropped him like a stuck
pig. ! never met q | ear before, barrin.
Old white-headed grizzlies, that wouldn'
scoot like q scared wolf if you yelled Il
bin.
II prospccted here and there in tn,
gulches for a month without finding any
thing more than a color, and then
worked across to the Smith r.ver side ant
tried the tributaries to that stream. Tn.
mountains carried QUARTZ in many places
and | was satisfied that gold ought 10 bs
found in the streams. 1t was while | wa
working down on the north side of The