Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-08-30

Written for TEE EvrxrSe sraa
HUNTING A GRIZZLY BEAR.
An Incident From Real Life In the Rocky
Mountains.
A kxPxpfTroN AFTER aAMR WIFE Az OLD
HuNrkR-wHERk AND How TIE BKAR Af-
fxARHD-A sHor THAT LAID HIN Iowa
cHrrAIrss suPrER IN TIE wrLDKsSEss
ShiN6 the summer Of 1885 IL was my
lNNpriviiege to enjoy few weeks hunting
I'LL ana nshing In the Belt mountains Of
GOt Montana went with an old hunter
~ named Mackey, but generally known
throughout the region 40 MAC" We had
been camped on Box Elder creek for a week,
when one morning Mac concluded 10 60 farther
back into the MOUNTAINS and follow mn Logging
creek TO Its source, in search of placer gold
and quartz 40 we'll - Of game. But he was
chiefly anxious to shoot bear for the sake OF
Its oil OF We started on our cayuses and in
half day reached the creek in question. We
camped there till next morning, when ve
started up the creek. travelling as quietly as
possible and speaking only in whispers for fear
OF ahr1ghting any game that might be about
Mac was just dying for q smoke" but
dared not indulge because the game might
smell that and run away As we approached
the head Of the creek the country changed.
Copses were fewer. Grassy meadows gave
place to narrow gravelly bottoms devoid of
trees. The mountains assumed a sterner and
more barren aspect. They were cleft by deep
somber ravines, which /, with my then strained
imagination, made literally alive with monster
female grizzly bears and every one of them with
couple OF cubs. Sure enough, We were now
In good bear country. Here and there we're
excavations two-thirds of the way up s,eep
sJopes-bears' dens they were. The few trees
that we passed were scratched and Scared as
high up their trunks as the bears could reach
with their claws. Whole bottoms thickly strewn
with big stones revealed the fact that b airs he'd
BIN thar, for every stone had been recently
turned over BY the shaggy fellows in search OF
beetles, ants and grubs. These ''signs" elated
Mac and made him eager for the fray. At least
ne SAID they did, but for my part felt more
IKE backing out" had never encountered
bear in his native wilds and couldn't tell what
moment my scalp might be snatched off from
behind brush or boulder. / had heard of
such things and know men today whose
anatomy is by no means handsome or complete
Just through getting in the way Of bears. But
suffice 1t to say that the hair still fourishes on
the top OF my own head.
WHERE THE BEAR APPEARED.
For an hour after seeing the sign" we rode
slowly up the creek without seeing the bear
Mac began to use strong language in a BY no
means weak whisper, while /, thinking the
danger nearly over, did my best to soothe the
disappointed man. He smiled grimly and
presently asked whether had brought a bot
Tie OF soothing strip" to use in case we felt
iatigued after a boxing match with a bear
just then We came 10 q place where, at the
west side of the creek, a deep canyon-ike rayine
heavily tlmbered, opened into the narrow
valley. The entrance to the rayine was dry
aay Of -
stone from the cliff above. The mountain ON
our side came down in a narrow spur, the point
OF which was opposite the big ravine across
the creek. On this point, probably ten feet
above the valley, We decided to pitch our
tepee. We were about 10 dismount and had
commenced to talked aloud when Mac looked
across the creek and saw, too the next in
slant. a big bear standing on her hind feet
with her ears erect. At her side stood half
grown cub, itself well able to kill a man
Right there everything had read and heard
about enraged female bears flashed wildly
across my mind. Now that look at it in retro
spect am inclined to think that was Just trifie
scared then. Mac quietly made all arrange
ments; he was bound to have that bear or die
II he died and / survived i was to inter what
might be left Of him and take his horses and
gun as a legacy.
We watched the bears q few minutes to see
what they would do. After looking well at US
the mother dropped on all tours and slowly
walked with rolling, undulating motion, like
a big fat maggot, to the creek, which was hid
den from view by q thick growth of brush
along Its banks. The cub followed. Finding
the spot to suit her, she poked the cub with
her nose to induce it to hide in the thcket 1t
didn't want to hide, SO she boxed its ears Just
Ike human mother might do. and then poked
the cub again. that time to be obeyed Leav-
ing her offspring In hiding, she came through
the brush, crossed the creek and soon stood
within thirty yards OF us. The horses then
began to stamp and snort, so 1 took them into
the bottom behind a hillock, tied them to
trees, unpacked the pack horse and unsaddled
the Others. In the excitement Of the moment
l left our stock of bread too near the pack
horse and she had eaten most of it before /
made the discovery. Mac a man of tenn
per and expected to see something as excit-
ing as bear hunting when he found ont about
the bread. Mac remained on the spur
watching the bear, which could no longer see
from my position with the horses At last he
fired. After sitting still a few minutes he
walked down to me and told me TO take nv
rifle and go with him. Ascending the spur
again we waited a few minutes with our Win
chesters at half cock. Mac said that tho bear
had come within few yards of him on all
Tours and then arose erect on her hind feet
to survey the enemy. He then fired, aiming at
her heart She turned and with a few great
bounds disappeared into the brush. He had
been watching for her to reappear on the open
ground across the creek. The bear not doing
SO, he concluded she was either dead or
wounded. II only the latter he naturally sup
posed that she had reached the brush near her
cub, and there lay in ambush for US.
IN THE THIcKEr.
This being the likely state OF affairs we con-
c,uded to enter the thicket and cross the creek
quickly as possible, hop ing to reach open
ground before the creature could surprise MS.
We succeeded in doing this, but could see no
sign of the bear. Mac took a chew Of tobacco
Ito steady his nerves and began to rave in
an undertone. Spending half an hour in futile
search we retraced our steps. JUST upon reach
ing the point whence Mac fred the cub left the
brush, ran to a small open space on the oppo-
site bank Of the creek and there gave vent to
the most blood-curdling roar ever heard
The tone reverberated from gulch to gulch,
gradually dying away in faint and distant
groan. The animal then urned tail and fed
up the big gulch. We both fred several
times, but failed to kill it or stop il.
Finally, after a careful search, we found
two large pools of blood. Tracing the drops
from them, we reached the bank of the creek
opposite the spot where the cub had roared,
and there, stretched across the narrow stream,
from bank to bank, lay the unfortunate bear
dead; the water dashed over her grizzly body,
falling below in miniature swirl and spray, then
gleefully danced on its course, now into dark
avenues formed by the tangled interlocking of
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