The Portland daily press., 1890-03-15
ABRoKEN-HEARTED BEAR.
A Joke with a Water Barrel Led to
suIcIde-The Accounts Differ
Slightly.
New York SUM-

According to the story current among
the laymen of this pleasant region. a
year-old bear belonging to Jasper Grind
ley, bear killer, had a fight with an
other year-old bear, also the property of
Jasper, the result of which fight was the
death of the last mentioned bear. The
victor made break for the woods, and.
in taking short cut, attempted to cross
Gravely's mill pond on the ice. The ice
was too thin to support the weight of the
fleeing bear and broke beneath him. He
disappeared beneath the ice, and was not
seen again until his dead body was car
fied down by the water to the tail race.
and SO on to the water wheel of the saw
mill. There it became jammed in the
paddles and stopped the mill. When the
body of the unfortunate bear was re-
moved from the water wheel it was in
bad shape.
Such was the story that was current
about the death of Jasper Grindley's two
bears; and it was tragic enough until
Jasper came in with his account of the
affair.
"Them two young bars" said Jasper,
beat all creation for smartness, an it
was jest that smartness of their'n that
done 'em both up, They was always
playin tricks on one another, an one
day one of EN- was takin' leetle tramp
around the house. He come to bar'l
that stood at one corner o the house,
half full o rain water. He didn't know
what was in t.ic bari, O. course, but
thinkin' that mebbe there was sumpin' in
it that mowt pan out heap O. fun fer
him, he riz up on his hind feet, an put
TIM his forepaws on top O the bari,
looked over into it. Not bein' anything
but water in the barl, the chances is that
the little cuss d ha' got down ag'in an
gone on lookin' fer sumpin' else to git fun
out of; but, jist ez he riz up on the bari,
tother bar happened round that way.
He seen his mate nosin' inter the
bari, an all on student it struck him
that he see some fun in the situation. So
what does he do but sneak up ahind
t'other bar an grab him by the hind
legs, an quicker than / kin tell We he
lifted him up an soused him head fust
in the bari. While the onfort'ni bar in
the barl was splutterin' an kickin' an
twistin' an chokin' in the water, the
tricky little sarpint that dumped him in
just danced an pranced around, an hol-
Tered till you'd ha' thort he'd ha' busted,
the thing hit him ez being SO consumed
funny. The bar in the bar'l would ha'
drownded in short order if / hadn't ben
clus by, an run an turned the bar'l up
an let him out.
THAT bar never let on that he was
put out by the little trick his mate had
played on him, an didn't git mad a Bit
But | could see that he was keepin' his
eye skinned for a chance to git even.
An there's where / orter KEEP my eve
skinned to prevent anything serious, but
never thort about things ever turnin'
out the way they did.
THAT big Dutch oven O. mine stands
in the back o the yard jist ez it did ez
my OF pop built it fifty year ago. The
door is allus open except when we're
usin the oven, which haint more'n wunst
week. One day couple of weeks ago
noticed that the door was shet, but I
didn't think anything wrong till I see
that there was only one o. the bars
around, an he was terrible Uneasy, an
KEEP hangin' round the oven, whinin' an
cryin' ez if his heart d break. Then I
went and opened the oven door. Inside
o the oven lay t'other bar. He was
deader'n macker'l. pulled him out.
He had been suffocated till he died,
There was only one way to explain it.
The bars had been in the habit O. crawl
in in the oven an layin' there, one at a
time, thinkin' it was bang up fun. Now
the bar that had been dumped in the
barl O. water watched his chance, an |
when t'other bar clumb in the oven he |
just sneaked up an clapped the door shet |
on him. I wasn't there to let him out, an |
the consekences was that he pegged out |
slick an clean.
From the way the live bar acted I |
know'd that he know'd iist what his trick
had ended in, an he took on orful to see.
He howled an whined an bellered, an
somehow couldn't git over it. He took
to wanderin' over to the neighbors ez If
he was lookin' fer his dead mate, an they
told me that if didn't keep him home
he'd git a ball in some day. So I put
rope around his neck an tied t'other end
of it to an old plowsheer that was knock
in round the yard. He could drag the
plowsheer about, but couldn't drag it fur.
But he KEEP up his mournin' fer his mate,
an it was tetchin' to see him. thot, O.
course, that he'd git over it bimeby, or
I'd ha put him outen his misery.
some day las week Sol Tiff come to
my house an says:
That bar O your'n,' says he, is
cortion. jist met him walkin' over
to'ards the mill pond, carryin' his plow-
sheer under his arm ez handy ez I'd
carry three pound o pork.
That skeered me- dug over to'ard
the mill pond ez fast ez could go.
got there quick enough, but couldn't
see nothin' o the bar. | walked up
around the pond, an what should come
on to but the bar, standin' on the ice an
breakin' a hole through it with the heavy
plowsheer. see what he was up to at
wunst, but afore l conld get to him he
had the hole made big enough, an down
through he plunked like a muskrat. l
waited, but | never see him agin. The
poor little cuss was jist wore out with
remorse fer what he had done to his
mate an had committed suicide COM
plete an deliberate ez it had ever been
committed sence the world startedr'