Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1890-06-11

OLD Gull ana the hOarSo grOWlS OF the
bear: They were having joyous time
all by themselves, and Howard decided
to let them fghtit out in their own way
without any interference. Returning to
the cabin he said to his son Jesse and
an Indian who worked for him:
cts that cussed old grizzly having a
racket with the bull, but reckon the
| bull Is old enough to take care of him
self. Well bar the door and let 'em go
it."
So they barred the door and listened
to the sounds of the battle. 1t didn't
take the bear long to make up his mind
that he didn't want any beef for supper.
The bull was tough, anyway, and he
would rather get light lunch in the
cabin. There was a great scratching
and scram bling as the bear began climb
ing out of the corral. Then there was
roar and rush, heavy thud as the
bull struck the grizzly's rear elevation,
a growl of pain and surprise and the
fall of half ton of bear on the ground
outside of the corral.
1.-The old bull has spoiled his appe-
tite," chuckled Howard. HE won't
come fooling around this ranch again.
I'll bet he's the sorest grizzly that ever
wore hair"
JEFF and his son followed the bears
trail the next day and caught up with
him in the bushy canyon. The bear
was about a hundred yards above them
on the mountain side, and when they
fired at him he came down hill like an
avalanche, breaking through the MANIA
nita and smashing down young trees
like reeds. His lowered head offered
no fair mark, and only chance shot
might have stopped him, but the
Towards did not try any experiments
of that kind. They dropped their rifles
and climbed tree. The grizzly
| watched them for short time, but soon
gave it up as bad job and disappeared
in the brush.
The Towards descended from the tree,
picked up their guns and decided to
| have another shot at the bear il they
could find him. They knew better than
to go into the brush after him, and for
some time they hunted cautiously about
the edges. The grizzly was in there,
but as he was probably lying in wait
for them, they did not dare to investi-
gate too closely. jeff went to the wind
ward side of the brush patch and set fire
to it in several places and then rejoined
Jesse on the leeward side to watch for
the temperance of the bear. The wind
was blowing fresh up the canyon and
the fire ran rapidly through the dry
- h o11 4
noise. When the grizzly came out he
came suddenly and from an unexpected
quarter, and the two hunters had just
time enough to break for tree again
and climb out of reach.
This time the bear sat down at the
foot of the tree and watched them with
malicious patience. The wind increased
and the fire spread on all sides, and in
few moments it became uncomf ortably
warm up the tree. The bear kept the
tree between himself and the fire and
waited for the men to come down. Jess
and jeff got little protection from the
heat by hugging the lee side of the
trunk, but it became evident that the
tree soon would be in blaze, and unless
they jumped and ran within the next
two minutes they would be roasted
They hoped that the grizzly would
weaken first, but he seemed to be in no
hurry to leave. When the flames began
crawling up the tree and the heat be-
came uncomfortable, the elder Howard
said:
"Jess, which would you rather take,
CHI ances with grizzly or tire?"
swell, dad, 1 think I'll chance the
BEAR" replied Jess, covering his face
with his arm.
"All right. When say Co. jump
and run as though you were scooting
through hell with a key or powder
under your arm"
They crawled out along a limb,
swung by their hands for an instant and
at the word they dropped to the ground
within ten feet of the bear and sprang
away at full speed. They broke right
through the ring of fire, getting their
hair singed and their clothing scorched.
The bear started after them, but the fire
stopped him, and while he was finding
q way out of the burning brush Jess and
jeff legged it over the burned ground
down the mountain side and plunged
into the creek.-Allen Kelly, in n. Y.
Herald.