The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1891-01-04
1T WAS A BEAR CATCHER.

Locomotive Brought to Town.
As the Warren accommodation train or
the Eldred and Southeast Branch railwa,
was passing through Wilder's cut. a dseI
and narrow passage through the rocks ten
miles east of this station. Engineer Dan FL
wood was surprised to zee II bear coming
into the cut at the west end, only twenty
yards away, says the Pittsburg Dispatch
The bear appeared suddenly around the
edge of the rocks and stopped on the track
facing the engine. 1t seemed par
alyzed Mt the sight of the loco
motive rushing toward it. and stood
motionless Until the engine was almost up
on it, when it raised up on its hind feet.
The train was running about fifteen miles
an hour through the cut. and instantly on
seeing the bear on the track the engineer
shut down the steam. The distance be-
tween the train and the bear was too short
for the speed of the train to be reduced
much, and the pilot plowed under the bear.
the sharp Joint passing between the AMI
mails wide spread legs. This quickly threw
the hind part OF the bear ahead. and the
animal fell with his forepaws and upper
part of his body forward on the COZ
catcher.
Engineer Elwood put or steam again.
and his firemsn climed out of the cab WIN
dow and ran along the guard rail to the
front of the engine and peeped around to
see what had become of the bear. Bruin
was living on his stomach against the COW
catcher. his head nearly touching the head
light. Both hind feet were safely planted
between the lower bars of the pilot. one on
@ ach side of the tip, and his fore legs we're
tightly hugging the bars at the top.
TIL collision had evidently not done any
injury to the bear. 1t was plain that he did
not intend to take any chances by yolunta-
rily getting off of the cowcatcher while the
train Was in motion, and he was guarding
hiInsslf well against being thrown off SO
the engineer concluded that he would run
bruin to Olcut and trust to luck for the
subsequent proceedings.
Station Agent Dick Jacobs stood i'll the
depot door at this place when the train
came rolling in, and the sight OF Il bear
cliuging to the cowcatcher had snch an
effect on him that he stood as though root
ed to the spot. gazing with open month and
eyes at the extraordinary spectacle. AS
soon as the train stopped the bear saw that
its opportunity to escape safely from ITS
p~erilous position had come, and it dropped
of the cowcatcher and made Il b:eak for
liberty.
As the bear left the engine E!wood began
to shout for somebody to get n gun. The
advance of the bear aroused Jacobs to the
situation and he rushed into toe depot,
slammed the door shut. dashed out OF The
rear door and tore up Dorr street shooting
Bear. Bear! Bear..' at the top of his
lungs.
In the meantime the bear, with Elw God
and his fireman at his heels, ran across the
street, jumped one end of the long piazza
of Longs hotel, turned into Cady street
and hurried away in the direction of Cady
creek, which runs along the eastern edge of
the village. A row qnickly gathered and
followed the bear. yelling and pelting the
poor beast with stones. The baar had gone
but a short distance down Cady street,
when John Cameron's big shepherd dog
bounded out of the yard and boldly pitched
into bruin.
There was a lively fight for a minute.
which resulted in tie death of the dog. The
bear then hurried on toward the creek, but
at the corner of Cady and Water streets
Lawyer Giles Beers met him with a double
barIeled rifle. The bear turned, On being
confronted by Beers and the gun, and ran
down the narrow alley leading to Gully's
livery stable.
The alley ends at the stable. and the bear
found his further flight suddenly cut off.
Beers followed the bear down the alley and
the Yelling crowd followed Beers. Bruin
finding that he was brought to BAY, backed
himself against the barn. raised on his
launches and awaited his foes. Beers sent
two bullets into the animals breast. The
bear dropped to his feet and charged on
Beers and the crowd, blood pouring from
his wounds in streams.
The crowd scurried back through the alley.
and in the rush John Carmody, II years
old, was thrown down and %tramplod on.
one of his legs being broken. Beers man
aged to slip another cartridge in his gun
before the bear reached him and sent it
clean through the animafs mead. killing
the animal IN its tracks. The bear weighed
800 pounds. 1t was not until the bear had
been killed that Engineer Elwood and his
fireman remembered that a trainload of
passengers were at the depot waiting for
them to carry them the rest of their jour
ney.
the two railroad men were in al the death
of the bear they lad brought in on their
cowcatcher. but as the train WAS held
nearly twenty minutes at the station while
the chase was going OF the chances are that
the bear Lunt will be Il dear one to the en-
gineer and fireman.
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