Daily independent. [volume] (Elko, Nev.) 188?-1915, 1890-03-03
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NSOHtN tUCU J|O" OJS <.J
Michael, at q turkey match, kill his bird
at six hundred yards. They used to kill
wild geese, coyotes, mountain quail and
haro on the run with their Henry rifles.
Still, though they had shot hundreds of
deer, antelopos and elk they never went
grizzly hunting. At last, in 1865, In
the San Benito mountains, Howard
Ovcracier had his bear adventure, and
the details are very characteristic of the
habits of the grizzly.
The elder Overacker was then in the
prime of life, extremely strong, wiry,
lean anu quick in his motions. His
brother and man named Ferguson
formed the rest of the party. They left
camp and separated, taking nearly par
a1lel ravincs. Howard was slowly work.
ing his way through the dense, thorny
bushes, called by Californians chapparal,
when he suddenly came upon q large and
old grizzly at close quarters. The ami
nal was less than twenty feet distant,
and at once, with a roar of rage, threw
himself upon Overacker. The hunter,
with that marvellous rapidity which such
men acquire, put q bullet into his foe,
threw out the shell and had pumped an
giant of the wilderness struck him. Tho
blow delivered with the right paw struck
him on the face and neck, hurled the gun
into tho bushes and felled him to tho
ground. The grizzly instantly caught
him in three placeS-one paw over the
ribs, breaking two and tearing them
loose; the other paw on tho ankles, rip
ping and crushing the flesh; the
teeth and jaws closed on the thigh,
mangling the flesh and tearing
it from the bone. Overacker,
though perfectly conscious, lay without
motion through this terrific assault
The bear suddenly let GO his hold on
the thigh and caught Ovcracker by the
shoulder, breaking and crushing the
homes together. From the time when
he rosc against the man to the time
when he dropped him bundle of broken
bones and torn flesh, the grizzly had
seemingly put forth butone tremendous
effort. Oyeracker said afterward that
he was no stronger in tho bears grasp
than u cat would be in his own. The bear
left him moment, walked about in
circle, returned suddenly and bit pieces
OF flesh as large as q marble from vari-
Gus parts of Overackcr's body, and then
took his final departure.
Oycracier, a few minutes later, seized
the branches overhead and struggled to
his feet, but, to use his own phrase, AL
turned black" and his companions
found him half an hour later. For
weois he was not expected to live, but
his wife's nursing and his magnificent
constitution pulled him through. Two
years later Ovcracllcr returned to tho
same region and shot two large grizzlies
without any assistance. Ono of them
received eight Henry rifle bullevs before
ho succumbCd. This little sacrifice to
his vanity being accomplished, no hunts
no moro bears, and even discourages the
liGht-mindod snccr at tho California
grizzly. l asked the veteran whether
he would have used q bowie if he had
had it while in tho grip of the forest
king. Ovcraclicr smiled grimly: at was
very large bear-aS large as an OK. If
John Sullivan had been in my place,
and had driven bowic-knifc through
tho bears heart, he would havo been
killed in the death struggle. AS for a
revolver. 1T would havo been suicide to
have tried it. But if the bear had been
fifty fcCG off when | saw him, instead of
twenty foct, L could have kept out of
tho way long enough to kill him.
Charles IL. Shinn, in Chicago Inter
Ocean.
Sensitive TO &tmosp eric Changes,