Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1890-07-10
GRIZZLY AND BIsoNs FIGHT.
1t Was a Battle to the Death, and There
Was No Survivor.

The following story was told us by a
stalwart Indian, who. having been
among the French half-breeds a good
deal, had received from them the French
name of Baptiste. He told us the story
as we were huddled round a campfire
IN the dense forest on the eastern side
of Lake Winnipeg, from which we
and our dogs had been driven by
bitter, binding, blizzard storm. He
said:
One summer, long ago, was with
large party of Indians. We were
making long journey over the rolling
prairies, from one place to another
That we might have plenty of meat to
eat two of Us were appointed to keep
about two days journey ahead of the
company to hunt and to kill all the
game we could.
The reason why we kept so far
apart was because we had dogs and
babies and women in our party, and
you know they will all make much
noise, so they would scare the animals
far away.
We'll, we two hunters kept well
ahead. Some days we had good luck
and killed great deal, and then other
days we did not kill much. What we
got we cached, so that the party could
easily find it by the sign we gave
them when they came along. We al
ways put it near the trail for them.
Then we would push on, looking for
more.
I'm the rolling prairies the hills are
like the great waves of the sea, only
some of the hills are about mile apart
with the valleys between, When we
were coming to the top of one of these
swells, or hills we would creep PUP very
carefully in the long grass and look
over down in the valley on the other
side. Sometimes we could see game to
shoot and often there was nothing at
all. When there was no sign of any
thing worth stopping to shoot, as we
were after big game, having many
mouths to feed, we would hurry across
to the next hilltop and carefully look
over into the next valley.
Zone day as we had passed several
valleys and had seen nothing that was
worth our stopping to shoot, we came
to the top of a pretty large Hill, and
cautiously looked over. There was a
Right down before us, within gun
shot, was very large grizzly bear and
two big buffalo bulls. Well for us the
wind was blowing from them to us.
They were very angry-looking and were
preparing for a big fight. The bulfaloes
seemed to know that the bear was an
ugly customer. and he looked as if he
did not know how to manage the two
of them at once.
For quite while they kept up what
you might call prelence of battle.
The bulls would paw the ground and
keep up a constant roaring. This ONLY
made the bear the more angry, and if
there had only been one he would soon
have got his big claws upon him, but
there being two made him cautious.
after awhile both of the bu Is sad
denly lowered their heads and together
they charged the bear. AS they rushed
at him he quickly arose up on his
launches, and, as they closed in upon
him, he seized one of them by the head
and neck, and, with a sudden jerk, so
quickly broke his neck that he fell down
as dead as a stone.
The older buffalo, which had
charged at the same time, gave the
bear fearful thrust with his sharp
horns, one of which pierced him be-
tween his ribs, causing an ugly wound
from which the blood soon began to
flow. The bear, having killed the other
buffalo, tried 20 seize hold of this one al
so.but he, having given the bear the ug-
ly wound, quickly sprang back out of his
reach. He ran off for little distance,
but, as the bear did not follow him. he
came back again. There they stood
looking at each other, both very angry,
but both very cautious. As they kept
moving round it seemed to us as though
he buffalo had so come round on the
WindWard side of the bear that he caught
The scent of the blood from the wound.
The smell of blood always excites to
fury these animals. and so, lowering
his head, he furiously charged at his
wounded, yet still savage, enemy.
The bear rose up on his hind quarters
to receive him, and, selling him as he
did the other, killed him on the spot.
1--WE saw him 90 from one buffalo to
another and smell them both. but he
did not offer to tear or eat either. We
could see that he was very badly
wounded from the way he kept twitch-
ing his side, from which the blood
kept running. 1t was an ugly wound
and be was very sick bear, and so
as he looked so cross we were not in a
hurry to let him know anything about
US.
Imagine, if you cam said Bap-
tiste, while his eyes flashed at the
recollection of this royal battle, 'how
excited we were as we lay there in
the long grass and watched this great
fight.
Then we thought: Now if we can
only kill that wounded bear we will
have plenty of meat for the whole camp
for good while. But, although we
had our guns, we were none too anx-
ious to begin the battle with such
bear as that one; so we crouched low
and watched him. 1t was very fortu-
nate that the wind, which was quite
breeze, blew as it did. He never SEEM
ed to suspect that other foes were near.
After a while he went off a little
distance and lay down in the long
grass, which rose UP SO high around
him that we could not see him. We
waited long for him to get up. but as
he did not, and we could not stay there
all day, we prepared for big fight
with him. We put our knives where
we could instantly draw them, and
carefully examined our guns to see that
they were all right. Then we began
TO crawl down carefully through the
grass toward him.
My! how our hearts did beat! and
how every second we expected he would