The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1891-05-22


Jake. and Then Goes After
the Bear Himself
II was early in the morning, and, as
usual, old man Nathan was hard at
work in his garden. He had finished
wedding his lettuce, and was just in
the act of doing little chopping To
onions when Long Jake stepped over
the garden fence and stood in front of
him.
''Mornin', old man"
''IIowdy, Jake"
''Old man. said Jake, thrusting his
hands down deep in his pockets and
dropping down on the bean arbor, ':be-
in as have been worlSin' so steady OF
late knocked off for to-day-thought
I'd like little rest. you know; every
fellow does mostly. S'pose you take a
holiday, too, an well go for n hunt.
Simmins says bar tracks was seen
down by the Pint P'raPs we might
tumble crost bar.
'.Mebby so, Jake" replied Nathan
as he took the quid of tobacco from his
mouth, stuck il on his hoe-handle and
seatedh imsef on head of cabbage-
.-mebby so; but more an likely the
b'ar'd tumble ross US. Look here, man,
did you ever kill a b'ar?"
NO, sir
did you ever see one?"
NO, 'cept in circuses," answered
Jake, slowly.
Then You better not tackle bars.
You don't know nothin bout 'em.
There's as much difference tween u
show bar an one in the woods as there
is tween me an a mule. Them in cir
cuses is made to order, has to be drawed
up, you know, to fit the cage. If they
won't, why no tent in the country
could hold two of EN-. Great day in
the mornin' man, if you want TO see
what a outlandish thing bar is, YOU
mus see him in the woods; then he's in
his element, an sure's my names Ma
than you'd think he was an elephant.
Let me tell You something bout
these creeters, and when ] get through
if you are still struck on huntin bar
I'll not say word agin IL Whom we
was Hvin' in Mississippi gardened for
livin', just as do now, an there want
man roun' who made as fine turnups
as | did. ! remember that in perticlar.
he'd one bed bout eighty foot squar',
chuck full of milky-white turnups
pretty nigh as big as your head. Well,
that bed was the pride of my heart.
They was a sight. At first one was
'nough to last us all day, an after while
we Just took half of one an sent other
half to Miss Jones, our ncighbor, who
was an old maid an not very good at
raisin things
We'll, one day Cinda came in putin
an blowin' like some old steam engine.
She drap down in chair, an rollin'
mighty wrong. She said: Lord, Ma
than, every last turnup's gone There
amt leaf left of none of en- I'm
tired of that kind of business Last
week that old po' calf of Miss lannon's
broke off piclaet and stole turnup
TO could catch him Bet 'taint moth
in but him. Git your gun, Nathan, an
I'll take the broom. Well just 90 down
to that old brier patch, where that
beast stays, an fix him so he won't
poster our crops no more"
~ was mad as a wildcat So. while
Cinda was putin on her sun-bortne an
lookin for the broom, / loaded up my
gun. When both of US was ready we
started down the road that led to that
brier-patch, an if you had seen us you'd d
thought we was out for a weeks
camp in a woods filed with wolves, for
that's just what we looked like. 1t was
right smart of walk, so long fore we
got there Cinda got 50 tired that she
had to take her sun-bonnet off.
I'VE was bout an hour gettin' there.
an when we did we didn't see nothin'
but ourselves. I looked at Cinda an
began to cuss. I was so mad cause
there want nothin' for me to shoot.
Cinda looked at me and said: You
needn't be Uneasy; he's in thar; he has
to stay out of sight to keep folks from
laughin' at him He ant only po', but
thar ant much hair left on him, so he e
sorter shamed, you know. There's a
place to go in that thicket somewhere;
find it first, then you'll be all right Have
your gun ready We went roun' and
roun' that place, but blessed if we found
where the door was We was rather
tired at first, but now we was tired all
over again. Cinda says: Never mind,
old man; I'll fix him. You git on that
side and III stay here, and when cal
him out you shoot-I can give him a
whacl< with the broom afterward.' All
right says ], go ahead
''Cinda begun, and said 'Suke, Suke,
till | was sick of hearin' it an she sicl
To the briers, took hold of a vine thai
was runnin' through il. an commenced
pullin' an shalin' for all she was worth
There was an awful craclxin', an twic,
thought heard Gurus noise D'reck
ly Cinda said: Il see him, the ugly, hate
ful thing He don't look like the sam,
po' old brown calf; them turnups is be
comm 10 him, sure He's got life il
him, too, standin' up there on his hinc
legs an grinnin' at me like was funny
ioolIin'. I'll show him how 10 grin
With that she gived him a might,
hard punch with the broom, hollered
Lord have mussy, look out, Nathan,
an took to her heels, leavin' the broom
an her sunbonnet in the brier patch
When looked up the road TO see where
she was goin' to all l saw was her lef
leg as il flew roun' the corner wa.
just on the pint of gettin' 'stonished al
her when i heard a noise right in front
of me like somethin' was in a bad humor.
Lord, I viii never forgit that time
Right by me, standin' on his hind legs
an showin' every tooth he had, was q
bar nigh onto big as horse.
For once in my life I was sSeered,