Herald and news. [volume] (West Randolph, Vt.) 1878-1943, 1889-08-08
SHE KILLED THE BEAR.
One of the Vicissitudes in the Life Of
a Country School Ma'am.

y -
a Country School Ma'am.
Miss Emeline Wright, healthy and
buxom country maiden o. %, teGches a
little backwoods school in the Burdick
district of Tobyhanna township, Penn.
1t is a very sparsely settled section, and
in boarding around among the parents
of her pupils Miss Wright often has to
walk two miles and a-half from the
school-house, along lonely roads and
through stretches Of woodland. The
school house was built as near the centre
of the district as possible. 1t stands in
q beech grove, on an unfrequented high
way, the nearest dwelling being three
quarters of mile distant, and back Of
it there is q succession OF laurel swamps.
An entry extends across the front of the
building, aud door leads from the
entry into the schoolroom.
On n recent morning, Miss Wright
reached the school house ahead OF any
of the scholars, intending to write
letter before she called school at 8. She
was surprised, she said, to find the out
side door ajar, but she was still more
astonished when she stepped into the
entry and saw bear nosing around in
the schoolroom. Miss Wright was born
and brought up in a pretty wild town
ship, and she had seen many a bear
roaming through the berry patches and
bark Feelings; therefore, the sight OF
the bear in the schoolroom did not de-
moralize her a particle. What she did
is told by herself, as follows:
"Ihe bear saw me as soon as looked
into the room. 1t snorted little and
acted as If it didn't know which way to
go. / wasn't much afraid of it, for
had seen a good many larger ones.
don't know why did it, but ] stepped
outside at once, closed the door, and put
a stick in the handle. heard the bear
come into the entry and paw on the
door, but as the door opened inside,
knew that the bear couldn't break the
stick in the handle and pull the door
toward it. / was anxious for some OF
the scholars TO come, because wanted
to send one of them over to the woods,
where some men we're peeling bark, to
get the men to come with their axes and
kill the bear. Before any of the chill
dren came in sight, the bear clawed very
hard at the door, and, for fear that the
stick mightn't hold, got a stronger one
and put it in the handle.
.'While / stood there waiting, / heard
the bear run into the schoolroom and
over the benches. Then it ran
growled for the first time. IL seemed to
be acting rs if it was getting more and
more afraid to stay in the house, and /
then it hurried back to the room. 1 |
heard some glass crack. and / stepped 4
10 the north side Of the house and found /
that the bear had broken pane out Of a I
window. Ii had its nose through the /
sash, but it left the window and ran /
back to the door when it saw me. 1t |
was scratching ON the door again when 4
got back to the front, and then l went
INTO the wood shed and got an axe,
yoIng from there to the broken window.
The bear was still paving on the door.
in a little while one of my boy
cholars came, and l sent him over TO
he woods to tell the men. Instead of
loing as I had told him, the boy ran
oward his home, and told all the
'hildren he met that there was bear in
he school-house, and they all ran back,
90. Those that came from the other
Erection also got scared when they
leard about the bear, and couldn't get
ne TO go over to the woods and notify
he bark peelers. The bear had been
ushing back and forth. paving on the
oor and clambering over the desks and
'enches all this time, and / had about
nade up my mind to go away and leave
there, when | heard it dash against q
-indow in the back end of the room.
When | got there it had its paws and
ose through the sash, and | hit it on
he head with the axe as hard rs | could.
he axe glanced off and broke ont some
lore of the sash, and the bear struggled
) climb out. 1t seemed as though it
as going TO plunge upon me, and I
truck it with the blade Of the axe. lust
5 it sprang from the window. l must
ave struck good deal harder than I
lought l could, for the axe split the
casts forehead open, and the poor
nimal tumbled PAST me and rolled over
nd over. almost to the bank of the
tile creek that runs past the school
ouse. 1t died in a little while, and
len / was sorry for it, because if 1
admit fastened it in the house, it would
ave run away and not broken the win
ows. l didn't have any school that
". The men who saw the dead bear
i'd it was two years old. Folks around
ere talk about my killing the bear as
Tough it was a brave deed, but / don't
INK so. wouldn't kill another one If !
had chance, unless had to do it to
sep it from injuring me"
Diamonds at the Paris Exposition. !