The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1890-08-09

took posi- tiOn where could look oub
into the pig pen without danger OF my
being discovered by any one who might
come into the pen. The moon was
shining bright, and every thing could
be seen in the enclosure almostas plain
as day. I lay there more than two
hours without any thing suspicious oc-
curing, and not sound had been heard
except the confronted grunting Of the
pigs. 1t must have been nearly eleven
o'clock when saw a movement among
the pigs, and the bear got up and
walked quietly around for q minute or
two, stopping now and then as it listeH
ing.
"'Ahap said I to myself Some one
is coming, and the quick-witted bear
hears him.
II was thinking that in minute
more / would undoubtedly tave the
dastardly thief in my clutches, when I
saw the bear step over to where couple
of the pigs were sleeping, pick them
both up, and tuck one under each arm.
The pigs merely grunted good
naturally, and evidently kept right on
sleeping. The bear walked to the door,
pulled the latch string with his teeth,
passed out, and pushed the door gently
to again. was SO dumbfounded that
couldn't move nor speak. was actually
momentarilY paralyzed by this sudden
and startling clearing up Of the NJ ystery
surrounding tho disappearance Of my
pigs. When recovered myself hur-
ried down from the NOW and out of the
barn. Icould sec the bear half way
across field, striding at the top Of
his speed toward piece of woods
about an eighth of a mile distant. !
had no idea what disposition the bear
intended to make Of the pigs, and ran
as fast as could and reached the
shadow of the woods by short cut, and
hurried along thoir edge, hoping to
head off the constituencies robber and
rescue his unsuspecting victims il pos
sib]e. But the bear had too much the
start of me, and even if it had been pos
sible for pe to get thcro in time the
chances are that would nothave done
SO, for when the bear had got within
few yards Of the woods two other bears,
tremendous big fellows, stepped out
from; the edge of the timber and hurried
toward him. My bear handed the pigs
over to the two wild bears. The three
bears stood moment together as if in
consultation, and then the two returned
to the woods and my bear trotted de-
liberately back home. When got
there he was just pulling the latch
string at the pen. He went in and shut
the door behind him.
"My first impulse was to get my gun
and blow the brains out Of this petted
protege of mine, but after deliberation
I made up my mind that / might not
only deal out terrible vengeance to him
but to his accomplices at the same time.
could hardly contain myself, though,
when went out to feed my pigs next
morning to see the one lone member Of
the family come to the trough, and the
hypocritical and villainous bear lying
there scratching the back of the mother
whose offspring he had delivered over to
depths of the wilderness. That nightIgot
two neighbors end we took our guns and
hid in the woods near the spot where
my treacherous bear had handed the two
pigs over to the wild bears. Twas sure
that the bear would fetch the last pig
to them that night. but I was not pre-
pared for the unheard-of heartlessness
and ingratitudo that he exhibited. We
had been in the woods an hour or more
when the two wild bears came slouching
along and lay down not more than; thirty
feet from where we were hidden. They
remained very quiet, and at about the
same hour as my bear walked out Of tho
pen with the two pigs the night before
saw him coming across the field this
night. As he drew near saw that he
not only had the last young pig under
his arm, but that no was leading the old
SOW herself, coaxing her along by
scratching her back as she trotted inno-
Gently at his side. You can imagine
my feelings then. The two bears arose
to go and get the plumber brought thus
freely to their hands, but they never
got it. My two neighbors emptied their
guns into the old marauders, and they
fell dead in their tracks. Before my
ungrateful bear had recovered from his
surprise was out and confronting him.
He recognized me, dropped the pig, and
made a break for the woods. had the
small satisfaction OF killing him at the
first shot You can raise and domesti-
cate bears, but you can't make 'em rep
utable They will always be bears. /" -
The other day an old woman en-
tered one Of the savings banks and
when her turn in the line came ex-
tracted number Of gold and silver