Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1890-05-01
BATTLING WITH A BEAR.


thing sky-high!'
BATTLING WITH A BEAR.
An Intrepid Hunters Conflict with Giant
Grizzly.
The carcass of huge grizzly bear was
brought into town few days ago by Henry
Robertson, who had killed the animal the
day previous in one of the gorges of the
Pinaleno mountains, lying to the north
east of this place. The body weighed over
twelve hundred pounds, measuring FIVE
feet five inches in height, while its claws
are fully four inches long and curved
almost into fsh-hooks. Robertson him.
| self was in need of medical attention, for
his legs and shoulder were badly torn and
his countenance decorated with number
less scratches, Indicating that the grizzly
had considered her life worth fighting for
The hunter was accompanied by his two
| dogs, which, while only ours of mongreI
breed, had, their proud owner declared
undoubtedly saved his life in the fight with
the big bear, conducting themselves with
courage and intelligence that would
have put to the blush many of their pedi-
greed and high bred brethren These
dogs, Nip and Tuck, each exhibited Sc
we're wounds on the head and body, and
listened with evident comprehension of
the story of their master as he related it to
the crowd gathered around the dead grizz-
| ly, betraylng at any mention of them
selves pleased and proud excitement, and
corroborating the narrative at intervals
with many short barks and waggings of
their stumpy, yellow tails. Robertson tells
his story as follows:
| was looking for no particular game,
and started out toward the mountains
more from idleness than anything else, and
only from force, of habit had taken my
rifle and belt, containing a revolver. And,
speaking of tomahawks, I'll say right here
that for a fight at close quarters with a
man or beast it is the handiest weapon
that was ever invented by white man or
savage. The Indians, who patented it, as
you might say, seeing that they had been
hobnobbing with them for hundreds of
years while the white man was following
his plow's tail, and knew more about wild
animals and fighting than the white
man, and he has never brought any thing
to equal the tomahawk in hand -to-hand
fight, for all his big blowing.
Well, was sitting down to rest on the
top of a little ridge after jogging along an
hour or so when heard the dogs that had
gone on ahead and gotten out of sight
barking as # they had gone mad. | knew
they had found something worth having,
SO | went running down into the little dip
below the ridge, and there [ found them
tearing round and round an opening in a
heap of rocks sorted of piled up till they
made good-sized cave, and acting like
they had taken leave of their senses. But,
excited as they were, it was easy to see
they thought it better to be pretty cautious,
too, for they would GO rushing up to the
mouth of the cavern and then come tearing
back in big hurry, as if they would
almost make up their minds to tackle
whatever it was and then on second
thought give it up. I could not think
what it was, for it never occurred to me
that it might be a grizzly bear, for | had
not seen or heard of one in these parts for
ten years and over.
So stepped over big log that lay be-
tween me and the hole and looked in, when
| heard a tremendous growI and rustling
of dry leaves that told me there was some
large animal down there, though | still
could not place it. | stuck my head near
er to the hole, and such another growing
and crashing of teeth was surely never
heard. This time | saw pretty plainly two
big eyes glazing at me out of the darkness
like red-hot Goals. | cooked my rifle, but
found the log was too close for me to draw
a sight on the animal; so | got ON my
knees, and. leaning back on the fallen tree,
leveled my gun as well as | could, the bear
all this time tearing up the ground and
making the gorge fairly ring with furious
cries.
The dogs stopped barking, though,
from pure excitement, and stood by me
with their very hair bristling up like a
porcupine's, and their tails as stiff as a
ramrod. The big shining eye of the
beast seemed to get closer to the open
ing in the rocks, so fired. aiming to hit
between the eyes, but, as | found after
wards, the shot only passed through the
muzzle about an inch below them, and
seemed rather to make her as mad as fury
than to disable her. Anyhow she fetched
a yell to make mans blood turn cold,
came bouncing through the smoke, rush
ing at me. | jumped to my feet, and
having no time to aim and fire, made a
push at her with my rifle, but she knocked
the gun fifty feet into the air with one
stroke of her paw, and with another slap
knocked me down as as easily as | could a
child In arms, tearing my shoulders pretty
badly by the blow
| fell with my back across the log, and
before | could draw my weapon from my
belt the bear was upon me, crushing and
nearly sufocating me with the weight of
her big hairy body. With her forepaws
she Rugged me round the shoulders in a
clasp little too loving to be altogether
comfortable, and, pinning my arms to my
side, would draw up her hind feet again
and again, trying to rip me open it SEEM
ed. By he luckiest chance in the world
l had on one of these oilskin jackets such
as sailors wear and pair OF tuckskin over
alls, reaching TO MY knees, where my
thick boots met then and it was only my
dress that saved me from being torn to
pieces. for the bears claws. as often as
she tried to rip it, would slip over the
smooth surface of the oilskin jacket and
spend It's force on my overals and boots,
which protected my legs to great extent.
though the flesh was badly torn even
through them.
All this, though it takes some time to
tell it, happened so quick that all l had
been able to do before the bear grabbed
me was to yell to Nip and Tuck. They
actually seemed to lie taken so aback at
first by the sight OF me lying On the ground