Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1890-08-01

amazing.
Presently Bowers returned, and as moth.
| ing more could be done that night we
walked up the slope toward the grizzly un-
til within forty or fifty yards, and sat down
on log to watch him. Although we knew
that we could not afford to kill him, each
Of us confessed afterward that he had half
hope that the grizzly would resent the i'm
pertinence and compel us to shoot him full
of holes. But he paid no attention to us
beyond an occasional glance of curiosity
and in few minutes he went away.
The next day Bowers returned 10 his
home aud | was left alone TO drag bait,
watch the traps and plan new schemes for
the undoing of that bear. had been near
| ly five months in the wilderness and had
been ordered home by the editor half doz-
en- times but, as | respectfully but firmly
declined to return without bear, the ed
itOr had grown tired of sending for me
and adopted the equally futile expedient of
| stopping my salary. had been conduct
ing the hunt on my own resources for more
than three months, and the longer | stuck
TO it the more 1 needed that bear.
had devised some new schemes and was
deriving some encouragement from the
fact that the cattle were leaving the mount
aims for the winter and from the accom-
panying reflection that the grizzly would
soon be hungry enough to accept my bait,
when | received word that bear had got
into one of the traps on Gleason mountain
which was watched by a Spaniard named
Mateo Palma. | lost no time in making
my way to Gleason mountain and there
found that famous big grizzly had yield
ed TO the temptations strewn in his way by
the willy Mateo and had walked into the
trap. He was a very angry bear when he
found himself caught, and his efforts TO
break out of the trap were insanely furious
He bit and tore at the logs, hurled his great
bulk against the sides and desperately tried
TO enlarge every chink that admitted light
He required unremitting attention with a
sharpened stake to prevent him from break
ing out.
For full week the grizzly ragged like
lunatic, refusing to touch food that was
thrown to him. Then he became exhaust
ed, ceased his mad struggles and began to
eat. Assistance was procured and the task
OF securing him and removing him from
the trap was undertaken. The first thing
necessary was to make a chain fast TO one
OF his fore-legs. That job was begun at
eight o'clock in the morning and finished at
SIX O'Clock in the afternoon. Much time
was wasted in trying to work with the
chain between two of the side logs. But
whenever the bear stepped into the loop as
it lay upon the floor and the chain was
drawn tight around his fore leg Just above
the foot he pulled it off easily with the 9th
er paw, letting the four men who held the
chain fall over backward. The feat wns
finally accomplished by letting the looped
chain down between the roof logs so that
when the bear stepped into it and it was
drawn sharply upward, it caught him well
up toward the shoulder.
Having one leg well anchored, it was
comparatively easy to introduce chains and
ropes between the side logs and secure his
other legs. He fought furiously during
the whole operation, aud chewed the chains
until he splintered his canine teeth to the
stubs and spattered the floor of the trap
with bloody froth. 1t was painful to see
the plucky brute hurting himself uselessly,
but it could not be helped as he would not
give up while he could move limb or jaw,
and succumbed only when the superior in
telligence directing the inferior strength of
his foes had made it impossible for him to
stir.
The next operation was gagging the bear
so that he could not bite The door of the
trap was raised and billet of wood was
held where he could seize it. which he
promptly did. a cord made fast to the
stick was quickly wound about his Jaws,
with turns around the stick on each side,
and passed back of his ears and around his
neck like a bride. By that means his
jaws were firmly bound to the stick in such
a manner that he could not move them,
while his mouth was left open for breath
ing.
While one man held the bears head down
by pressing with his whole weight upon the
euds of the gag, another went into the
trap and put a chain collar around the
grizzlys neck, securing it in place with a
light chain attached to the collar at the
back, passing down under his armpits and
up to his throat, where it was again made
fast. The collar passed through a ring at
tached by a swivel TO the end of heavy
chain of Norwegian iron, every link of
which had been tested by use aboard ship.
A stout rope was fastened around the bears
| loins also and to this another strong chain
was attached. This done, the gag was re-
moved and the grizzly was ready for his
journey down the mountain.
In the morning he was hauled out of the
trap, growing aud struggling, and bound
| down on a rough skeleton sled made from
a forked limb very much like the contriv-
ance called by lumbermen Ego. devil. :"
Great difficulty was encountered in secur-
| ing a team of horses that could be induced
TO haul the bear. The first two teams were
so terrified that little progress could be
made, but the third team was tractable and
the trip down the mountain to the nearest
wagon road was finished in four days.
The bear was released from the "go-dev-
| il" and chained to trees every night and
so long as the camp fire burned brightly he
would lie still and watch it attentively but
when the fire burned low he would get up
and restlessly pace to and fro and tug at
his chains, stopping now and then to seize
in his arms the tree to which he was an
chored and test its strength by fercely
shaking it. Every morning the same old
| fight had to be fought before he could be
tied to his sled. He became very expert
in dodging ropes and seizing them when
the loops fell over his legs, and considera-
BILE stragetic skill was required to lasso his
paws and stretch him out. In the begin
ming of these contests the grizzly uttered
angry growls but soon became silent and
fought with dogged persstency, watching
every movement of his foes with alert at
tention and wasting no energy in aimless
| struggles. He soon learned to keep his
hind feet we'll under him and his body close
to the ground, which left only his head and
| fore-legs to be defended from the ropes
| So adroit and quick was the bear in the use
of his paws that a dozen men could not get
rope on him while he remained in that
posture of defence. But when two or three
men grasped the chain that was around his
body and suddenly threw him on his back
all four of his legs were in the air at once,
the Tiatas flew from all directions and he
was vanquished. Then he roared in rage
! L. L.. 1s.s. I L.
as emeralds When he was not excited,
| the grizzly's eyes were dark brown and
not unkindly in expression and his counte-
nance denoted much intelligence but when
he was angry his eyes glowed like green
Goals and savage ferocity was expressed in
every feature.
There was no trail down the mountain,
and therefore the journey was very un-
comfortable for the captive, although all
the care possible was observed in hauling
him over the rough places. He was pretty
well worn out when the wagon road was
reached, and doubtless enjoyed the few
days of rest and quiet that were allowed
him while a cage was being built for his
further transportation. He made the re-
mainder of the journey TO San Francisco
by wagon and railroad confined in a box
constructed of nch-and a-half Oregon pine,
that had an iron grating in one end. The
box was not strong enough TO have held
him for five minutes had he attacked it as
he attacked the trap and as he subsequent
ly demolished an iron lined den, but re-
lied upon the temporary subiugating effect
of his experiences and put my trust in the
moral influence of the chain around his
neck. My confidence was not misplaced.
The grizzly accepted the situation resign
edly and behaved admirably during the