Los Angeles herald. [volume] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1890-1893, 1891-10-05
A BATTLE ROYAL.
Two Lords of the Mountains
Fight a Duel.
A Thrilling Contest Seen by
Two Hunters.
A Monster Mountain Lion Attacks q
Cinnamon Bear.
The Scene OF the Fight Near San AntO-
MO CanOn-They Fought Until They
We're Exhausted-ShOt by the
Hunters.

Last week, writes "Buckskin" in the
Ontario Observer, in the light of the
moon, two brothers-old prospectors
and hunters, who have been in the hills
for years and have seen many strange
and startling sights report having seen
one of the most thrilling and desperate
fights they have ever witnessed.
They were camping in Gallon that
comes into the main San Antonio canon
from the west, about one and onehalf
miles below the miners camp. The
caiion forks or branches about quarter
OF mile from the San Antonio, their
camp being in the last fork. They had
been out during the day prospecting on
the south slope of Badly, and had start
ed for camp near shutdown, when they
killed a deer, which delayed them till
dark. They hung the deer in a tree
rather than pack it to camp over the
rocks in the dark, the place where they
left the deer being only short distance
from camp, in the west fork of the
cafion.
They had hardly rolled themselves in
their blankets when they heard an un-
earthly roar and scream, quickly fol-
lowed by other roars and screams, as
though a whole menagerie' of wild
beasts had been turned Loose. 1t took
them but a few moments to determine
the cause of the disturbance. So, dress
ing quickly and taking their rifles, they
started to see the fun. By crossing the
cafion in which they were camped they
went over a point from the top of which
they could command a view of quite a
piece of the western caflon.
When they gained the top of the
point they saw just below them, not
100 yards away, what had caused the
noise They could see the tree where
they had hung their deer, and just be-
meath the tree they saS she deer and
two other anlmals-a monster Cali
fornia lion and an immense cinnamon
bear. They had smelled out the deer
and had come for feast, each little eX-
pecting the other; but there they were,
fighting over the carcass to see which
was to be master of the situation.
Their roaring and screaming awoke
thousand echoes in the canton which
made the fight seem more dreadful
still. 1t was a fight to the death. Strug-
Cling and rolling, biting and clawing,
scratching, screaming and rolling did
the monsters fight, only breaking away
from one another long enough seem.
ingly to regain their breath and strength
when at it they would 60 again with
roar and scream. Thus they fought for
over an hour, when, torn. bleeding and
completely exhausted, evidently dying,
they rolled apart, only to lie and snarl
at each other, unable from their terrible
exertions..t do more. But they were
near worse enemies to them than they
were to each other.
Quietly the two brothers, knowing
there was nothing to fear from the two
exhausted champions, leveled their
rifles, and after FIVE shots had been fired
the two mighty brutes had ceased their
struggles, having gained what each had
tried to do for the other, for the two
| fighters of Old Raldy lay dead. Not to
take any chances, the two men waited
until morning, when, creeping up to
their point of observation of the night
before, they saw that the two mighty
gladiators of the hills had not moved
from where they had fallen. There lay
California lion that measured feet 4
inches from tip of nose to tip of tail, q
king of his race. The bear, CHINA
mon, was monster of his species. AS
near as they could estimate, he would
have weighed 1000 pounds. Each was
mass of cuts and wounds. The lion had
one fore leg crushed and mangled. as
though from bite, and the bear was
cut from muzzle to tail by the knife-like
claws of his more active opponent.
So ended one of the hardest-fought
battles and the most thrilling sights
that any man ever saw, and two mighty
mountain rangers whose tracks have
been seen by many who have travelled
over the trails and hills around Badly or
the miners camp, have gone where they
will not cause creeping and crawling
sensation to run up and down timid
campers backs as they lay around their
camn fires ON Old Raldv,s summit