The Caldwell tribune. [volume] (Caldwell, Idaho Territory [Idaho]) 1883-1928, 1891-02-21
HIS FIRST BAR.

HIS FIRST BAR.
4 Csol Head and Steady Nerve Brings |
Down The Game.
By Self Sharpner.
When l was a young smart Alec" I
had great desire to be thought q
mighty Nimrod, and was very fond
Of relating to my young companions
what great shots had made bringing
down my game, and of my target skill,
wherein I had got all or nearly all Of
the turkeys put up at our country
shooting matches. My father lived in
Northwestern Ohio, then not very
thickly settled. Wild game was plenty,
such as deer, timber-wolves, raccoons.
'possums, panthers, wildcats, and
occasionally, bear. I had bagged
specimens Of all the above animals, but
I was not satisfied. I wanted a bear,
and many long, weary tramp I took in
search of one, but I was not successful.
One day neighbor in calling affirmed
that bear was in the neighborhood;
that he had seen fresh tracks, and that
some of the settlers had lost all their
hogs, and one man had yearling calf
eaten by it. This fired up my ambition
and I determined to add his hide to
my collection. So now to prepare,
put my old muzzle-loader in fine order,
bought plenty of ammunition, moulded
a lot of bullets, sharpened my butcher
knife, and on the morrow was to be
be out bright and early in quest of
Bruin. .....
With my head full of my undertaking,
l retired to rest, but balmy sleep rather
hesitated to call upon me, and lay
awake long time. But finally 1 fell
into troubled sleep, in which dreamed
of being in distant, lonesome wilder
ness. Suddenly I heard a dreadful
growing noise that seemed to come
from low clump of bushes near me.
1t apparently was night or else was so
dark and cloudy that l could not see
very far. held my gun in readiness
for q shot, and with another tremen-
dous roar, the creature suddenly came
into view. In my dream, I thought it
was q big, black bear and it quite
stunned me, for it appeared as large as
an elephant. Iraised my gun to fire,
but it wouldn't go. tried again and
again; no use, it had got damp or else
the main spring was too weak. The
huge animal advanced upon me; !
threw down my gun, drew my knife
and made desperat lunge at its throat;
it uttered a terrible squeal like a pig in
the grasp of dog-when awoke to
hear our pig squealing at the barn.
some little distance off. Immediately
it rushed through my mind that the
bear had attacked our pigs. Hastily
DOMINIC few clothes, I grabbed my
gun and rushed out to the barn. eau.
tiously creeping around to the farther
side, where the pigs had their sleep
ing quarters, I peeped through the
fence, and there sure enough was the
big black bear, standing, as I thought,
over the pig he had killed. The night
was quite dark, yet saw him plainly
outlined. He was very large and
black as coal. I put my gun through
the fence, took careful aim at his head,
and pulled the trigger. At the report
he dropped but waited to SEQ II he
was really dead before I ventured to
him. In the meantime father, mother
and two brothers, hearing the report,
came hastily ON the scene with Ian
tern. Father asked what had shot
and I told him l had killed the bear,
He climbed over the fence and held the
light down and with some words not
used in the prayer book he exclaimed:
"You id little fool, you've killed
the old black SOW" Well, I've hardly
got over it yet, anyhow it satisfied me
in the bear line, and-would you be-
lieve tive never Dragged any about
It since.
Henry Dorman writes THE
TRIBUNE from Portland, sending his
regrets to the Bachelors Club and order
ing the paper sent to San Francisco,
While we do not wish to seem an alarm
list, still it might be just as well for the
Club to keep an eye on Hank. Even
old China Jim went to China and got
married. and Hank NAV be lust as