Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1889-12-19
A QUEER BEAR FIGHT.
Farmer Cramer and His Hired Mar
Thrash Bruln in Great Style.

james Cramer, Pennsylvania
farmer, went to his barn to fill the hay
racks in his cattle. stalls with hay. A
pile Of hay that had been previously
thrown from the NOW lay on the barn
floor Cramer iabbad his hay fork
down into the hay with considerable
force, and was almo thrown from his
feet by the suddenness with which the
fork was jerked from his hands. At the
same time h. was badly sea: ed by n
howl that arose from the pile OF hay.
by the lively tumbling of the hay in all
directions, and by the form of good
sized b. ~ that arose from the pile.
The hay fork was buried nearly the full
length of the tines in the bears shoul-
der, and was so firmly embedded in the
flesh that it remained there, the handle
sticking straight up in the air.
The bear, howling with pain, prancod
about the barn, and Farmer Cramer was
81 dumbfounded that he could find use
for neither his lungs nor his legs until
the bear, discovering the canse of his
painful situation, made rush for the
farmer. Cramer then started ON run
around the small space covered by the
barn floor, yelling for help at the top of
his voice. The barn door was shut, and
the bear pressed Cramer so closely that
he did not dare stop long enough to
open it. The fork still stuck in the
bears shoulder, and the wobbling of the
handle angered the wonnd and in
creased the pain, and the bear howled
with agony at every jump.
The tremendous hubbub in the barn
was heard by Abram Wisner, Cramers
hired man, who was cutting down hay
from stack in the barhyard with n
double-handled hay knife. This farm
instrument is formidable looking con-
Germ, having Il strong steel blade two
feet long, to one end of which are at
tached two strong handles, by which the
knife may be manipulated in a hay or
straw stack, one edge of the blade hav
ing teeth like straw and the other edge
being keen like knife blade. Wisner
had no idea what the trouble was in the
barn, but he ran TO find out, carrying the
hay knife with him. He opened the
barn door, and one sight of the circus
that was going on inside rooted him to
/ the dool sill.
! Cramer, seeing the open door, made a
rush for it, knocking the hired man
heels over head in the rush. Cramer
kept right on toward his house. The
bear made for the door, too, but the
handle of the hay fork was so long that
it caught AGAINST the topof the door, and
the contact showed the handle back and
pushed the tines forward and deeper
into the bears flesh. This brought the
bear to stop, and made him howl
worse than ever.
Wisner was Just getting on his feet
and the bear, boiling over with fury,
sprapg out of the door in spite OF tht
tearing of his flesh by the bending down
OF the fork handle by the door. The
bear rose on his launches when he go
out of the barn and rushed upon Wis
ner, who had hardly recovered himself
The hired man still held the hay knife
and mechanically plunged the long
saw edged blade into the bears breast
The blade either found little resistance
, or it was thrust with tremendous force
3 for it went clear through the bear ant
i the point projected three inches from
the back. The bear tottered and fell
/, with the hay fork buried in his back ant
, the hay knife impaling him from tn
, other side.
Wisner did not wait to see what th'
!, result of his defence had been, but fol
lowed Cramer to the house. The twt
. finally ventured out to see what the eff
feet had been on the bear, and the,
I found him about as dead as bear car
, rying in his vitals two formidable farm
implements could well be,