Herald and news. [volume] (West Randolph, Vt.) 1878-1943, 1889-03-14
HORSE AGAINST BEAR.
A STALLIoN'S FIERCE FIGHT
WITH ENRAGED BRU1N
The Horse Goes Calamity TO the
Rescue of His Master, Who Had
Given Up the Combat = The Bear
Worsted.

! Delas Woodcock, who lives in tb
southwest corner of Lehigh township
Penn, owns an old stallion that he cali
Harry. The horse is chunky brow
animal of Canadian variety. nearly l.
years old. He has large maine ant
foretop, and thick black tail. and TO
years he has been so cross and yiciou,
that no one except Mr.. Woodcock could
handle him in the stable or harness him
Mr.. Woodcock, who owns a small farm
in sight of the Lehigh River, has hac
the stallion for eleven years, and twice
during that time the horse has come
within an ace of killing his owner. and
Mr.. Woodcock has often threatened tC
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 saws
he is glad that he didn't sell the horse.
The reason why he is glad is because the
vicious old stallion saved his life on q
recent Monday, and since then Mr..
Woodcock has looked upon old Harry as
q hero.
Late on that afternoon, sayg the New
York Sun: Mr.. Wookcock rode the stall
lion over to Giles Chadwick's place af-
ter bag of oats of new variety that
he wanted to SOW in the spring. Chad
wick lives on hill between Trout Run
and Tobyhanna Creek, and the distance
between the two faIms is nearly three
miles by the shortest cut. For mile
and half the route leads along the west
side of what is known as the Big Marsh
and through long strip of timber land.
Mr.. Woodcock's little dog Josh tagged
along behind tho old stallion ON the way
over to Chadwicks.
1t wGsabout shutdown when Mr.. Wood
cock placed the bag of seed oats on the
old stallion 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 got
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
beentrotting along III the rear of the old
stallion, but all at once Mr.. Woodcocll
noticed that Josh was not following the
horse, and so he reined 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 cooking him
to come out; but the little dog paid no
attention to the repeated calls, barking
more furiously than ever, and seeming
to be teasing some kind of nm animal
with all the energy he possessed, and Mr..
Woodcock seeing that it was impossible
for him to make the dog mind, con
cluded TO hitch the horse and so into
the swamp to see what Josh had tackled.
Mr.. Woodcock said that Josh yelped like
sixty Just then, and so he dismomted,
took off the bag of oats, and placed it
on the ground near the roots of n tree,
and was leading the stallion toward u
sapling TO hitch him, when out of the
swamp sprang the little dog bowling
with fright.
Close to his heels tramped an old she
bear, frothing at the mouth and snort
ing, and it was she that Josh had been
yelping at and disturbing in her nest
under the roots of fallen tree. Mr..
Woodeock said that tho little dog ran
past him rs though he 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 more
about her tormentor the moment she
saw the bag Of oats lying there, for she
pounced upon il with a roar that made
the stallion prick up his cars and look
mad, and began to rip and tear it all to
pieces and make tho precious seed oats
fly. :.
Mr.. WoodcoclS 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, he grabbed
dead limb, rushed at the bear, and
began to mani 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 IN
the snow. and nearly broke one OF his
legs. He squirmed from under her
paws. feeling that she would kill him
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 Mt 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 Inv grabbing hold of some short
twigs, and just then he heard the old
stallion snort compile of times, MS he
had heard the animal do before when he
was real mad, and the next thing he
realized the horse bounded past HIM and
rame down on the bear with both fore |
feet. -,
The weight Of The horse and the sharp !
,alks on his shoes tore the bears hide,
but that only made her more mulderons
liam ever. as she turned upon the horse
and tried to strike him down. BY this
time Mr.. Woodcock had got his arms