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


noarse "woof," something like the
grunt OF hog, that came from the
chaparral not moro than a dozen feet
away. A bear was in there, and If he
had charged l should have had no time
to get out Of his way. For few Sec
onds l stood with cooked rifle at the
edge of the thicket backed by the
almost perpendicular wall of the ravine,
which cut off any thing like rapid re-
treat. But the bear did not seem dis
posed to start fight, and, as he
did not charge, 1 moved away
cautiously and climbed backward
up the side of the ravine few yards,
got behind large rock that would serve
as breastwork and rolled q few boul-
ders down into the brush in revenge for
the scare old bruin had given me. He
demonstrated with growl or two, and
then heard him making his way down
the ravine.
Subsequent events made me thank
my stars that the bear didn't take the
trouble to follow me up the side of that
gorge. Jack Waddell, an old mount
aineer. was in the same ravine q few
days later walking along ledge about
thirty feet above the stream when he
saw large grizzly on the opposite side.
Jack thought he was pretty safe and
opened the fight by sending . fifty
calibre explosive bullet into the bears
shoulder. The grizzly sprang into the
air when struck, but when he recovered
from his surprise he saw Jack and
started promptly down the bank to cross
the ravine and get at him. Jack
knocked the bear down twice with ex-
plosive balls before he reached the
creek, and twice more while he was
crossing the little stream, but the
grizzly got up every time and seemed
more determined to reach his assailant.
Jacks confidence was severely
shaken, and he would have been glad to
retreat, but it was impossible to get out
of the ravine with any celebrity. He
had to fight it out right there.> He
could see the ragged wounds made by
his bullets in the bears chest and
shoulders, and he knew that any one of
them ought to kill an ordinary animal
He said it just broke his heart to see
that grizzly pull himself together and
come on in the face of such a fire, and
he felt very dubious about the result of
the scrimmage. But as the bear
reached up to climb the ledge upon
which he Was standing Jack put an ex-
plosive bullet through his eye and
scrambled his brains, and the bear
rolled to the bottom of the gorge. Jack
not md ho1
trembling spell all by himself.
All old Californians know Charles Nc
Herman, of Santa Clara County, familiar
~ called Mountain Charlie, who is now
well-to-do lumber dealer. twenty-five
years ago Charlie tried to fight grizzly
with knife in the Santa Cruz mount
aims. Those were the days of muzzle-
loaders, and after firing his one shot
into the bear McKiernan had to drop
his gun and either climb tree or fight
It out with his big hunting knife. He
took chances with the knife. The griz-
Fly broke his shoulder and sent the
knife flying At the first onset, and being
in his death agony he did not stop at
that, but continued to tear and crush
the PROSTATE man. He mangled Nc
Kiernan's arm. tore the flesh from his
side and Selling his head in his jaws
crushed the frontal bone to splinters
and tore out an eye.
When McKiernan was found the griz-
ely was lying dead at his side with
bullet through his heart. McKiernan's
recovery from his terrible injuries was