The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1890-11-09

whether it had been broken or not he conid
not tell. for It was impossible to see any
thlng except dim streak of light which
penetrated TED. from fro the small opening over
tinued, and presently shutting noise was
oeard which warned him OF tine approach
OF the enemy. He looked in the direction
!! OF the noise and presently saw the gleam-
ing eyes OF some fierce animal. That it
wasa bear ehad no manner of doubt. He
braced himself to repel tho attack and
drew from its sheath the keen hunting
knife prepared to sell his life as dearly az
possiDle: On came the monster. When
within about ten feet Of it's intended vic
tim the animal rose upon it's hind feet and
brought its cleaning eyes on level with
| the mans.
By the dim light the hunter could now
see that 1t was beating the air with its huge
/ paws and crashing its jaws with anger. A
moment more and it was within striking
distance and ready 70 deal blow with its
huge paws that would fell an OK. To avoid
this the hunter stepped back, and a. the
blow was struck BY the left arm of the bear
which Qrazed his chest he leaped forward
and buried his knife in its side. It gave
deafeninR roar Of pain and rage. but before
IT could turn on the willy hunter he had
again sent the knife home to the hilt. The
next instant the bear had borne him to
earth and fastened its teeth in his left
shoulder. Jones gave yell of pain and
agony, and piled the knife with frenzied
energy.
ed. Jones lost consciousness under the ter
rible ordeal. The hand that held the knife
relaxed and he lay as If dead.
How long the enraged bear continued to
chew upon the form Of the inanimate body
will never be known. How long time
tween life and death, is equally beyond hui
man computation. He finally regained
consciousness, but was scarcely able to
move. His left arm and side were horribly
bitten, and upon the least movement he
could feel the warm blood oozing from the
hand, and felt about with his uninjured
member for some projection by which he
could raise himself to sitting posture. It
came in contact with a hairy substance al
most against his head; that it was the body
OF the dead bear he had no manner Of
ceeded in raising himself. It was darker
now than when he FIRST fell into the bears
den, for such it proved to be. The drifting
snow had completely recovered the hole
overhead, and, except for the painful
and comfortable. But Jones had no wish
to remain whore he was. But how was he
ever to escape7 He was alive,
and that was about all. It
was utterly impossible to sup
5uPPoso anyone WouA0 ever nnO MIN. Ana
as Tor escaping the way he gained entrance,
even though he were sound and we'll, that
was utterly impossible. Then he remem-
bered that the bear must have some other
entrance. that its flesh would sustain life,
and his heart was filled with hope. But he
have water and even then his mouth was
dry and parched and he longed for cool
refreshing draught. He felt about him for
handful Of snow that might still remain
OF that which fell in his descent, and, found
to his unspeakable delight a small chunk
Having partially Stacked his thirst he carved
q piece Of the flesh from the bear and de-
voured it with avidity.
But why prolong the story? You know
that Jones must have recovered and escaped
from the bears den or this story would
never have been written. The next day he
CROPPED about and penetrating some dis
tance into the cave, which seemed to extend
quite q distance from the hole through
which he fell, You can imagine his joy on
feeling his way along the side of the cavern
to find small stream of water trickling
down from crevice in the rocks. He
glued his lips to the wall and drank his an
Of the invigoratinR fluid. Later on he
found another entrance covered with snow.
After remaining. in the cavern what
Jones at last felt that his wound had 90 far
healed that he could attempt the trip to the
cabin. He found his gun, but il was broken
and bent and utterly useless. With his
knife he out the frozen snow from in front
OF the cave and crawling. out once more
light Of day, He wondered it his partner
had returned and if he had given him up
Tor lost. He was go weak that he was
obliged frequently to rest and although il
was high noon when he started it was near
y srnoown when he reached the cabin. |
Hm0kA $R1Yrn khn
and he knew that his partner must be there.
He walked slowly up to the door and found
It vide open. His partner was holding q |
frying pan over the, IRE and the welcome |
odor OF frying bacon and steamlng coffee |
nearly famished man. The joy at his es- |
cape from his living tomb and at once more |
seeing his old partner nearly Overcame him. |
AZ gave step fordard and called. ''Tomr' |
blll!. was the quick response, and as |
) Zones fell forward he was caught in the |
strong arms Of his partner and gently laid |
IN his warm blankets.
with KIND nursing And nourishing food |
ones was soon sound and we'll az ever. Az |
y happened. Anderson had only returned |
three days before. Wages were 80 day
IN the drift diRgings and he worked nearly |
ak weeks IN order to make q little stake |
and was greatly astonished on his return |
and discovering the absence Of Jones He |
had put in three days searching the sur
rounding country for his lost partner, and |
finding no trace Of him, intended to return |
to the settlements the following day and
seek assistance. They completed the drain |
In short time, whipped out some lumber, |
made sluice boxes and were soon making q |
daily cleanup Of from 800 to $50. They
each made fortune out OF the gulch and |
Anderson now owns stock ranch, but |
yopes has followed mining ever since and |
has been very successful. He is now OPEN |
Ing up silver lead in jefferson county.
john FARWEATHER
Go East
va Chicago and th regular Chicago, 81
Paul and Kansas City halfway. The thon-
sands OF people who annually leave tha