Tombstone epitaph., 1891-02-15
POOLING 4 GRIZZLY.
asS-=soa Eoneyioot-s Adventure in
 the Mountains.
ais Shins Were skinBsd, Bat Brasn Dida't sseessd ia Baking R Meal of ths PiOus Man-QGssr Antics of
 Taia sapilBg.


 "I never put myself up as much of 8 beaF-kilieF," said Mir. Gleason. rather better known as 'sOld George, of Cor mans Station, Los Angeles County, to a san Francisco Examiner man "As q matter of fact, during the twenty-five years that I've been fooling around the mountains it has been my practice to let 'em alone if they let me alone, and if they don't let me alone to climb a tree and let 'em get tired
 "But there was one time that 1 broke my rule. have roasted with the fly eatehsrs more than one night rather than get into muss with bear, and never thought il was my business to in tsrfere when some body else wasdoing the roasting, except this once. It was about twelve years ago, and Parson HoEeyfoot was preaching around these parts, first in one camp and then in another, usual iy winding up here at Germans on Sun days, when all the boys would come in from tue camps and mines after their mail. was coming down from the Frazier mountain one Sunday morning, and saw right ahead of me on the trail great big grizzly. He was across the canyon from me, and as he seemed to be going right ahead about his own busi- ness. l just sat down and waited half an hour to give him a chance to get out of my way, Just about the tune was ready to move on there was a smashing in the brush where had last seen the biz bear, and the blue burro the parson always used to ride came tearing and praying down the trail. I knew him by his having only one ear. He lost the other focling around buzz up on the sawnill mountain. waited to see what he was running from, but nothing came, and pretty soon I logged on. l was kind of anxious about the parsOB and kept my eye out for him. After a little heard his voice shouting down in gUIch of the trail. and right away l found where the bears track turned of.
 "If it had been anybody but the par son I'd have gone right on, but it seemed kind of low down to shake a preacher that way, 50 I took of through the brush in the direction of the noise. It was just about as nasty place to tackle bear as you would want. Nothing but thick manzaniga and chaparral that made travelling mighty slow and hardly a tree in range that man could climb. All the sr9alieE trees had been burned of in some of the mountain fires years before, and now there were only some little thin ssplings that had come up since the fire, and big old oaks and bull pines that had come out Of the hre only scoSched
 Pretty soon saw the bear. He was chasing around sapling, occasionally stopping to claw at the tree and shake it. From the upper branches of the tree came the calls for help, and pretty soon made out Pars0n Honeyfoot clingine to the tree away up among the leaves, yelling and praying.
 Well. you ought to have seen that bear shake around that tree. Every minute expected to see the parson let go and come a-tumblin', but he held or, though bis cost-tails Tapped and snapped around like the lash of a coach whip guess the grizzly kept trying for fifteen minutes, then he seemed to give up the scheme and lay down growl- ing to think up a new one. IL took him about five minutes to get a new idea, but when he did he went about carry ing 1t out with rush. He just got hold of that sapling as high as be could hang his whole weight on 1t and bent the tree over little, then be began Co back away, changing his grip hand over hand, Of course, every step he took backward brought the top of the tree lower, and began to tFy for sight be- hind tbe grizzly's ear. ~
 ''Still the bear kept backing. and Parson Honsyfoot was almost to the ground 1 cooked my rife and took rest over my knee, because it woUldH't do to miss in such place as that.
 Just as I was about to fire the old grizzly tOr1ed his head and saw the par sou just behind him He was so close that the bear simply let go and made a grab.
 ",The tree, released from bis weight, flew up, and the bear simply got ley Of the parsons trousers, and the tree went up like a catapult-tbats what they called 1t, didn't they?
 'sIt shot the parson out ahead like boy shoots stone from sspringy shingle. I saw him sail across the arroyo with bis coat tails spread like birds tail. He landed fair in the branches of a big pine, forty feet from the ground, and thirty yards from the saplihg.
 That saved him. The bear was dis gusted, but he went to the pine and started b watch and l climbed up into the sapling and from there Pamped Isad into hias 80 fast thst be soon curled up.
 The parson's shins were skinned, but he wasn't hurt much. lie coeldn't stand the country, though, and went away. He gave me the one-eared burro and he's packing my grub and blankets yet"
 4 Sad Fate.
 q hea.r ron irtend naming -vopr neaE