News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1889-03-07
HORSE AGAINST BEAR.
A STALLION'S FIERCE FIGHT
WITH ENRAGED BRUIN.
The Horse Goes Calamity to the Res
cue of His Master, Who Had Civ
en- Up the Combat-The Bear
WOrSted.

|
en- Up the Combat-The Bear
Worsted.
Delas Woodcock, who lives in the
southwest corner of Lehigh township.
Penn, owns an old stallion that he calls
| Harry. The horse is a chunky brown
animal of Canadian variety, nearly II
years old. He has large maine and
foratop, and a thick black tail, and for
| years he has been so cross and vicious
| that no one except Mr.. Woodcoclz could
handle him in the stable or harness him.
| Mr.. Woodcock, who owns a small farm
in sight of the Lehigh River, has had
| the stallion for eleven :-ears, and twice
] during That ~tinle-tlsa mn.a-has cotae
| within an ace OF killing lila,r owner, azId
! Mr.. Woodcock has often threatened to
sell old Harry for what he could get;
but he had had the animal so long that
hated to part with him, and now he says
he is glad that he didn't sell the horse.
The reason why he is giadis because the
| vicious old stallion saved his life on
recent Monday, and since then Mr..
Woodcock has looked upon old Harry as
d hero.
Late on that afternoon, says the New
York San: Mr.. Wookcock rode the stall
lion over to Giles Chadwicl1's place af-
| ter a bag Of oats of new variety that
he wanted to SOW in the spring. Chad
wick lives on a hill between Trout Run
and Tobyhanna Creek, and the distance
| between the two fa.ms is nearly three
miles by the shortest cut. For mile
and Il half the route leads along the west
side of what is known as the Big Marsh
and through a long strip of timber land.
Mr.. Woodcock's little dog Josh tagged
along behind the old stallion ON the way
over to Chadwick's.
1t wasabout sundown when Mr.. Wood
cock placed the bag of seed oats ON the
| old stations back, mounted on the horse
behind it, and left Chadwick's place for
his own home across the Lehigh. Ow-
ing to the bag of oats the horse could
not go faster than walk, and it was get
ting dusk when he struck the woodland
path close to the side of the Big Marsh.
Up to that time the little dog Josh had
been trotting along in the rear of the old
stallion, but all Mt once Mr.. Woodcock
noticed that Josh was not following the
horse, and SO he rcincd the stallion in
and whistled for the dog to come on.
Josh made no response to his masters
call, and Mr.. WOodcock wheeled the
horse around, rode back few rods, and
called aloud to the dog.
just then he heard Josh yelping on
the frozen surface of the laurel and alder
covered swamp, and he rode the horse
back and forth, and tried to catch
glimpse of him through the bushes, still
calling him by name and coaxing him
to come out; but the little dog paid no
attention to the repeated calls, barking
more fuiously than ever, aud seeming
to be teasing some kind of an animal
with all the energy he possessed, and Mr..
WOodcock seeing that it WAS impossible
Tor him to make the dog mind, con-
cluded to hitch the horse and go into
tho swamp to 500 nvl,,,t .1ssssi, bud tackled.
Mr. Woodcock said that Josh yclpcd like
sixty just then, and SO he dismountcd,
took off the bag of oats, and placed it
on the ground near tie roots of Il tree,
and was leading the stallion toward a
sapling to hitch him, when out of the
swamp sprang the little dog howling
with fright.
Close to his heels tramped an old she
bear, frothing ut the mouth and snort
ing, and it WAS she that Josh had been
yelping Mt and disturbing in her nest
under the roots of fallen tree Mr..
Woodcock said that the little dog ran
past him us though lie was scared half
to death, and got out of sight III no
time, and that he himself was SO start
led by the bears sudden appearance
that he forgot to hitch the horse. The
angry old bear seemed to think no moro
about her tormentor the moment she
saw the bag of oats lying there, for she
pounced upon it with roar that made
the stallion prick up his ears and look
mad, and began to rip and tear it all to
pieces and make the precious seed oats
fly.
Mr. Woodcock said THAT this caper of
the old bears caused him to act more
suddenly than he usually does, and
that, without stopping to hitch the
stallion to the sapling, be grabbed a
dead limb, rushed ut the bear, and
began to maui her over the head. The
first blow made her below, but instead
of turning tail, as he expected she
would, she plunged at him and knocked
him heels over head, forced him over Ill
the snow, and nearly broke one of his
legs. He sqllirmed from under her
paws, feeling that she would kill hJm
before he could get to the horse, for in
the struggle he had lost his club; but
just as he got upon his knees the bear
sprang at him with another roar, and
pitched him head first into mass OF
bushes near the side Of the path. Then
he was sure that the old bear would kill
him, but he pulled himself away from
her by grabbing hold OF some short
twigs, and Just then he heard the old
stallion snort couple Of times, as he
had heard the animal do before when he
was real mad, and the next thing he
realized the horse boundedpas him and
came down on the bear with both fore
feet.
The weight of the horse and the sharp
calks ON his SHOES tore the bearis- hide,
but that only made her move murderous
than ever. as she turned upon the horse
and tried to strike him down. By this |
time Mr.. Woodcock had got his arms
around a tree wherehe could see what
was going on. All Of the stalion's old
viciousness seemed to have come back to |
him in an instant, for he struck at the |
bear with his fore feet at least half
dozen times in less than minute, tear
ing the bears flesh and hide at every |
lunge The bear drew blood on the |
stallion's shoulder pnce, and then |
the horse gave q snort of rage, whirled |
as quick us flash, and drove both of |
his hind feet against the bears left
side three or four tines. That knocked |
the wind out of the hear, but the horse |
was not through will her yet, for he right |
about faced and weat to stamping on |
her, keeping that uI until he had killed |
her.
When the bear hal stopped kicking, |
Mr.. Woodcocl1 said, the stallion cooled |
off and acted as if he was satisfied. It |
was pretty dark by tlat time, and Mr. |
Woodcock, who had been badly bruised |
by the bear, and wlpse face had been
considerably scratched in the briers,
picked up what was eft of the injured |
bag, mounted the hose, and rode home. |
Little Josh had got there before him,
and had sneaked int the house with his |
tail between his legs the bear having |
frightened him so mitch that he couldn't |
be got to leave the hsuse for three days. |
On Tuesday morning Mr.. Woodcock |
and Giles Gooderich neighbor, went |
to where the dead bear lay. In the
course of half an hop' they found her
nest, and i'll it lay two tiny cubs snug
and warm, but very hungry. They took
the cunning little tllows home with
them, fed them milkfrom a bottle, and |
kept them where it vas warm, and at last
accounts the cubs we're all right. Mr..
Woodcock means to keep the old stallion
till death takes him WaV