The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1891-01-23

could have got in and carried of the
pigs. The discharged hired man had
stolen them. | was sure. / found out
where he was, and determined to set an
investigation going. The very next
morning, when / went out to feed my
pigs, l was made wild almost by
the discovery that two more Of
them were missing. l was at first in
clined to have the suspected thief ar
rested forthwith, but on second thought
concluded to wait and set a watch over
the pen that night My barn is only
few feet from the pen, and the haymow
overlookS it. About eight o'clock that
evening / went up in the haymow and
took 4 position where i could look out
into the pig pen without danger of my
being discovered by any one who might
come into the pen The moon was
shining bright, and every thing could
be seen in the enclosure almost as plain
as day. | lay there more than two
hours without any thing suspicious oc-
curing, and not a sound had been heard
except the contented grunting of the
pigs. 1t must have been nearly eleven
o'clock when / saw a movement among
the pigs, and the bear got up and
walked quietly around for minute or
two, stopping now and then as if listen
ing.
".Ahar said to myself Some one
is coming, and the quick-witted bear
hears him.
Il was thinking that in a minute
more / would undoubtedly have the
dastardly thief in my clutches, when I
saw the bear step over to where couple
OF the pigs were sleeping, pick them
both up, and tuck one under each arm.
The pigs merely grunted good
naturedly, and evidently kept right on
sleeping. The bear walked to the door,
pulled the latch string with his teeth,
passed out, and pushed the door gently
TO again l was so dumbfounded that /
couldn't move nor speak i was actually
mOmentarilY parIlyzed by this sudden
and startling clearing up of the mystery
surrounding the disappearance OF my
pigs. When recovered myself hur-
ried down from the NOW and out of the
barn / could see the bear half way
across a field, striding at the top OF
his speed toward a piece of woods
about an eighth of mile distant /
had no idea what disposition the bear
intended to make of the pigs. and ran
as fast as | could and reached the
shadow of the woods by short cut, and
hurried along their edge, hoping to
head off the constituencies robber and
rescue his unsuspecting victims II pos
sible. But the bear had too much the
start of me, and even If it had been pos
sible for me to get there in time the
chances are that would not have done
SO, for when the bear had got within a
few yards of the woods two other bears.
tremendous big fellows, stopped out
from the edge of the timber and hurried
toward him. My bear handed the pigs
over 10 the two Wild bears. The three
bears stood a moment together cs if in
consultation, and then the two returned
to the woods and my bear trotted de-
liberately back home. When / got
there he was just pulling the latch
string a the pen He went in and shut
the door behind him.
MY first impulse was to get my gun
and blow the brains out of this petted
protege of mine, but after deliberation
/ made up my mind that / might not
only deal out terrible vengeance to him
but to his accomplices at the same time
l could hardly contain myself, though,
when | went out to feed my pigs next
morning to see the one lone member OF
the family come to the trough, and the
hypocritical and villainous bear lying
there scratching tho back of the mother
whose offspring he had delivered overto
be torn to pieces and devoured in the
depths Of the wilderness. That night got
two neighbors and we took our guns and
hid in the woods near the spot whore
my treacherouS bear had handed the two
pigs over to the wild bears. / was sure
that the bear would fetch the last pig
to them that night, but j was not pre-
pared for the unheard-of heartlessness
and ingratitude that he exhibited. We
had been in the woods an hour or moro
when the two wild bears came slouching
along and lay down not more than, thirty
feet from where we were hidden. They
remained very quiet and at about the
same hour as my bear walked out OF the
pen with the two pigs the night before
l saw him coming across the field this
night. As he drew near i saw that he
not only had the last young pig under
his arm, but that he was leading the old
SOW herself, coaxing her along by
scratching her back as she trotted inno-
Gently at his side. You can imagine
my feelings then. The two bears arose
to go and get the plunder brought thus
freely to their hands, but they never
got it Ny two neighbors emptied their
guns into the old marauders, and they
fell dead in their tracks. Before my
ungratefuI bear had recovered from his
surprise / was out and confronting him,
He recognized me, dropped the pig, and
made break for the woods Ihad the
small satisfaction of killing him at the
first shot. You can raise and domesti-
cate bears, but you can't make 'em rep
utable. They will always be bears -
n. Y. Sun.