Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1892-02-06

ana fetch her back. tor, as JIM SAID, she
lad reasoned the whole matter out and
knew what she thought was best for her
to do. The backbone of winter was just
about getting ready to be broken the next
spring when Jim Boncsett almost tainted
away one morning to see big bear come
running toward him in the yard. Jim
was about to turn and leg it for the house
when the bear stopped and lifted one
fore paw. Then jim recognized Peggy
Ann, and they had a joyful time in the
house when Jim hurried in with tho
news. And he had more news than the
arrival of Peggy Ann to report, for at
her side waddled a fluffy ball of coal
black fur in the shape of a two weeks
old cub Peggy Ann and her cub were
| given the best of quarters, and i'll cou
Pile of weeks she fell into the harness
again and buckled into her work just as
of old. But she wasn't the same. She
was listless and discontented, frequented
| Old Blacky' grave, and seemed unhappy.
| But she kept right on, and when her cub
was old enough they broke him to do the
work his mother had done SO long, and
he got to be as apt as she was, but not
SO willing nor cheerful. When the young
bear got so he could do the work well
Peggy Ann disappeared again.
~ see it all ? said Jim. The poor
oil bar can't stand it to be around tho
farm without Old Blacky, and she didn't
have the heart to leave us short of help.
Soon as she got her son all broke into
the harness she left the farm an has
gone back to the wilderness to die
amongst her own folks
THAT was Jim's theory of Peggy AIMS
disappearances, and I'm not going to say
he wasn't right Well, nobody ever
heard anything of the old bear, and
three years or more passed. Last month
Jim Bonesett thought he'd go out and
kill a few pheasants. He was sneaking
along through the woods when he
jumped big bear out from the roots of
fallen tree. The bear went bang up
against another tree in his hurry to get
away, and evidently thinking that Jim
was responsible for this humping of his
head he turned and made for Jim as
mad as a hornet. jim himself had
started to run, but seeing that the bear
would catch him from behind and have
him at a disadvantage, he turned and
gave bruin charge of bird shot. Tho
shot didn't stop the bear, and the next
thing Jim knew the bear was upon him
and had him down and clawing and
chawinS away at him at a fearful rate
Somehow, he doesn't know how, Jim
managed to get out of the bears grasp
!. IA, I
the bear came tearing at him again
Jim gave up then, and would more than
| likely have been dead man within the
next five minutes, when swish, swash,
kerslosh came something through the
brush, and before the bear got to Jim
another big bear jumped on the scene.
$50 way! go way! jim shouted, not
knowing what he was at, he was so
scared Conway! One o you can git
away with me easy enough!
But the second bear just gave one
look at Jim and then threw itself against
the other bear like a locomotive. Jim
said that it thrashed that first bear
around SO that as soon as it could get
chance it went limping and bleeding
away as fast as its legs could carry it.
Then the second bear turned toward Jim
and. taking few steps, raised its right
forcpaw.
PEGGY Ann, by the great corkscrewr
yelled jim. and the next second he and
the bear that had saved his life were hug
Ging one another, while Jim jumped for
joy.
Sure enough, the rescuing bear was
old Peggy Ann, and Jim induced her to
go back to the farm with him. She
seemed glad to get back to the old place,
and when Sassy Sam, as they called her
son, came in from the back orchard,
where he had been turning the cider
mill, she rushed up to meet him. And
what do you suppose the ungrateful
Young rascal did? He looked contempt
uously at his old mother for a moment
and then struck her alongside the head a
blow that knocked her PROSTATE at his
feet. Then he marched on, not even
condescending to look around Peggy
Ann got up, looked sorrowfully after
Sassy Sam, and then crept away to Old
Blacky's grave in the orchard. She lay
down by the grave of her foster mother
anu lney ultll ulStuID ltT. Next morn
ing she was there yet, and when Jim
went out to fetch her in to give her some
breakfast she was dead.
"'Her heart was jist broler said jim.
The knocking down of his mother by
Sassy Sam seemed to put it in his head
that he was the boss of things on the
farm, and he went to running them,
and so Jim took him in hand the other
day and put a bali through him.
Il didn't hardly suppose the news Of it
had got noised around up here yet" the
stranger added, "but its all the talk
down my way"
And where is that, stranger, if may
ask?" Landlord Ross inquired.
Pike County, Pa, replied the inno,
cent looking man. and he went up to bed,
while the Fairchild House circle went
into executive session and took it hot. -
Ed Mott, in New York Sun.