The morning call., 1891-03-20
A BEARS CRAZY RIDE.
Bruin Starts Flat-Car n Gravity
Road and Has q High Old Time.

Bruin Starts a Flat-Car n Gravity
Road and Has a High Old Time.
A little narrow gauge railroad runs from
the steam saw-mills ON the upper waters of
Spring Brook into the bemlock slashings on
higher ground. The rails are of hard wood
and the little road culves this way and that
for distance of two miles and half from
the mills. Cars loaded with saw logs are
run down to the mills by gravity and single
horse draws two empty cars to the upper
end OF the road at a trip. Logs are slid
down the hllsideS near the end Of the road,
where they are loaded on the cars.
Recently James ConOVer drew two cars to
the end of the road, and rode the horse back
10 the mills. George Wickenhoffer, Simon
Schults, William Forester, David Wilbur
and Jacob Hyde loaded a car as soon as
they could and Hyde started for the mills
with 1t. The other men then strobe up
the hillside to get more logs ready, leav-
Ing their dinner cans in the empty car.
In less than half an hour Wilbur noticed a
bear waddling from one end of the car to
the other. He called the attention of his
companions to it, and the n.en stopped work.
ing, watched the bear and made no noise TO
scare 1t. The bear walked around the car
half dozen times, and then put its paws on
the rear end and moved Its nose from side
to side.
Pretty soon the bear climbed upon the
hind end of the plat orm and the car began
to roll slowly down the incline. The move
ment of the car seemed 10 tickle the bear,
the woodSmen said, Tor, instead OF jumping
off, it sat up on its launches, hugged itself,
surveyed the surroundings and appeared to
be very much pleased with its ride. As the
ear gained speed the bear began to dance
back and forth on its hind feet, but 1t did
not attempt TO slide off. 1t acted as if it
was in ecstacieS over the way it was sailing
along, and, as it pranced from one end of
a n at N al
dinner cans and sent them rolling from the
sides of the car.
AT this the woodsmen all yelled like In
dians, but the bear kept on dancing as
though it hadn't heard anything but the
pleasant rumbliug of the wheels. Then the
men started on dead run after the runa-
way car and its happy fOur-footed passen-
ger, yelling at the top OF their lungs as they
raced down the hillside in a short cut to the
track. When they struck the track the car
of speed than they could run. They
ran few rods further and then
they came to halt and yelled, At last
the bear heard them and stopped dancing
long enough TO take good look at them.
Then it started in again, and the astoniShed
wo0dsmen resumed their chase until the car
and the bear went out of sight around
curve. The bear was still dancing for all
he was worth when they got their last
glimpse of it.
Inc rest OIL tIl6 StOTS Is tOlu Dy COuOYer
and HYDE. who were on their way to the
head Of the road with a couple of empty
cars. COnover was driving the horse, and
Hyde was sitting on the hind car. About
mile from the mills Conover spled the run
away car at the further end OF quite long
stretch of straight track. 1t had just dashed
around a curve, and Conover saw the bear
hopping up and down, balancing back and
forth, crossing over, and cutting up as
though it was perfectly intoxicated with
delight.
Seeing that the bears swiftly running ve-
hicle was bound to crash into his train in
few seconds Cunover hastily unlocked the
horse and drew it from the track, at the
same time yelling out 10 Hyde to slap on the
brake and jump. Hyde did so, and when he
struck the ground the bears car was within
100 feet of the stationary cars. 1t was going
at terrific rate, for it had run all of a mile
and half and it was gaining speed every
second, apparently to the bears entire satis-
faction, for it continued 10 caper all over
the platform.
When the car struck the,standing ones the
bear went end over end the whole length of
the two cars, the splnters flew, and the bear
landed on the track in heap. 1t was
slightly stunned by the fall, and Hyde
ears and made for it. Before be got to it the
cars began to run back, and he sprang up
to put on another brake. One of the wheels
crushed the bears paws while Hyde was on
the car, and the bear rose up and tipped the
car over. Then Conover grabbed the AK and
split the bears s head open. The animal had
evidently been hibernatiDg for several
weeks and had come out in search of food
Scranton Pa.) Times.