, 1890-07-10

across the hili ana would soon re-
turn. We instructed him to bring
half the box or ten pounds, besides
caps aud fuse.
After the Indian had departed the
colonel nnd myself went down hy
the small stream In the gulch to eat
Our lunch.
While engaged in this pastimc,
and smoking, we compared Opin-
ions and concluded that rich gold
ledge crossodthe hill at that point;
that instead of the lead carrying
quartz Its Raliguo or vein matter was
natural cement, with which gold
was sometimes found. The abiding
place Jf the bears was In u cavity In
this ledge, aud by their wallOwing
around In their bed of soft cement 1t
had stuck fast to their hairy bodies,
hence this accounted for the wealth
OF artificial covering the bear had on
when kusote met him.
When we had satisfied our thirst
for gore by slaughterlng two or
more of the brutes and ascertaining
how much they would assay to- the
carcass, We resolved that we would
search for the groupings of the lead
higher up on the hill.
1t was 9 O'Clock when Kusote re.
turned with the powder We rolled
the sticks up lightly in n cloth,
placed them properly primed in the
opening, laid some heavy stones on
top, spit the fuse and started
scrambllng up the steep mountain
side as fast rs we could possibly go,
In IA very few moments there was
an explosion that shook the sur.
rounding hills, the conclusion
throwing Us to the ground. Even
after we had arisen To our feet the
air below US was filled with trug-
ments of rock, earth and pieces OF
trees.
A. soon as the shower of flying
missiles had ceased we grasped our
rifles the closer aud cautiously de
scendcd the hill. \ loud suorting
in the direction of where We had
placed the powder caused Tie to
glance that way, when We saw u
large bear turning round and round,
ana apparently not knowing what
direction 10 lake. simultaneously
the coloueHs and ku-o,es rifles
cracked, and the huge animal
dropped aud rolled down into the
gulch. We followed and saw him
get up and start down the canyon.
As | lad nor yet iircd iny weapon,
fastened forward, andl for the first
time IN my life, had the satisfaction
OF placing IA outlet where 1t killed -
bear.
just then an unlookod.for occur
renee began 10 take place. The force
of the explosion had torn up consid.
erable ground at the base of the i'm
mense rock pile. The large mass be-
gan To slide Into the gulch, tearing
from their roots aud crushing into
kindling wood the trees that stood
in its path.
We were far enough to one side to
be out of danger, but sought a
higher elevation and waited until
the roaring and grinding noise had
ceased.
When the racket was all over we
Investigated the great pile Of loose
stones that lay IN u jumbied mass
in the gulch and extended some dis
lance up the mountain side.
Much to our disappointment we
saw that the slide lad entirely Oh
liberated the entrance to the Icar's
den, which We hud began to look
upon a. our gold mine, and that
possibly hundreds of tons of granite
buuldcrs would have to be removed
before we could uncover tue lead In
that spot
The colonel aud | repaired to the
spot where the bear lay dead, leav-
lug kusote clnmberiug over and
p"cring into the cruvlCcs Of the rock
pile.
We had just began to skin the
bear, so us to secure the gold that
clung 10 his hide, when we heard
kusute calling to us in an excited
manner. We both went up to where
hc was and he pointed 20 the carcass
of another huge bear almost ground
To pieces by being wedged In be-
tween the rocks. At Kusote's in
stance we helped him remove few
OF the smaller bouldeIs 80 he could
get ~ the carcass. fhe indian,
much to our establishment, began
cutting the animal with his knife.
In "A lew moments lac laid its stOm-
ach aud intcstiues on IL large HAT
rock and ripped them open.
Could We believe our eyes? The
Indian began removing from what
was few moments before TIA. In.
tcrior oi u savage wild beast of the
forest, chunks ot the cement, as the
prospectors would say, Just lousy
with guld.n
We secured the hide of this ami
nal pieccmcal, together with the
contents uf the stomach, duodcnum
and Intestine and packed them in
"A sack we hud with us.
The Jolly colonel ~ he lifted the
sack remarked: III will bet all that
am worth that either one Of these
brutes will bring sl 800 at any re-
duction wOrksin the world"
The three of us then turned our ut
tention To the other bear. lie proved
to be as productive u bonanza as the
first one we had miued. BY this
time IL was nearly dark, so we de-
cided 10 start fire, dine on roasted
bear steaksand pass the night where
we were, us we did not care To us-
sumo the risks of trying To get back
To camp Ia the dark.
The rest of the story is soon told.
That Is, the portion Intended for the
public al this time. Naturally many
Will doubt the truth of these state
ments. But 1t should be remen-
beIed that they are not I'm reasonable.
The richest gold ore over discov-
cred WAS found in cement md IL IL
well known that bears la hibernat-
ing during the winter months are