New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1892-05-04


oughlv exploring, as ne went, every
patch Of these vines and bushes, the
boy finally arrived at the unbroken
forest without having seen a trace OF
his sister, and, greatly puzzled. he sat
down onta big log at the margin Of a
black-ash swamp to think the matter
over.
Although far from imagining that
real harm had befallen the child, he
naturally felt extremely anxious as he
thoughtfully scanned the ground on
all sides.
Suddenly he sprang to his feet with
a cry Of horror, for there, not two
yards from his seat, were deeply i'm
pressed in the moist marsh soil the
huge footprints of an evidently enor-
nous bear, and close beside the tracks
lay a, tiny bit of blue ribbon with
which he had seen Madge playing at
noon. Poor Rob could hardly refrain
from shrieking aloud as these ominous
signs met his eyes; but he was not one
to give way to despair so long as any
thing remained to be done, and on
carefully examining the foot-marks
he was somewhat relieved to find that
they did not penetrate into the
swamp at all, but were presently lost
on the hard, dry trail which led, by a
greatly circuitous route, to an almost
inaccessible rocky fastness in thehills,
where several bears had long been
supposed to harbor. Nor could he de-
tect a single drop of blood anywhere
about, and the discovery OF this fact
was born in a wild hope that possibly
his little sister might be carried off I'M
injured, at least until the monster
reached his cave-and this the gallant
boy determined he shall never do.
For Rob to resolve was to act, and
now he turned and ran with all his
might back to the house, fervently
praying at every stride that his moth
er might not have returned-as, in
deed, she had not.
On the wall Of the kitchen hung his
fathers old fint-lock rife always
loaded and to secure this, with the
poWder-horn and bullet-pouch, was
the work of an instant.
Then away across the diameter the
great bend sped the young hunter. Ev-
cry inch OF the surrounding country
familiar to him, and he knew enough
OF lazy bear-nature to feel sure that
the animal now, as he believed, bear
ing Madge away, would, If not dis
turbed or alarmed, keep to a quiet
walk along the easy path rather than
break a harder and shorter one for
himself and his somewhat unwieldly
burden through the thick underbrush.
Thus the bear, in order to reach his
cave, would have to travel fully two
miles, while Rob, following an inter
secting cow-path, could. by fast rum
ming, intercept him, provided he had
not gained too great a start; and for
the rest he would trust to providence
and his own nerve. "A year or two
after this event, when myselfhad be-
come old enough to put such a ques-
ton, | once asked Rob what his
thoughts were as he ran his desperate
race against death, and his reply was
in strict keeping with his noble charac-
ter. 81 hardly know said he,
whether [ thought at all. / just
prayed, prayed, prayed that might
be in time"
And now the resoluse boy, painting
from violent exertion, came outlupon
the trail leading to the hills, and
which at this spot was slightly cover
ed by dust. Almost fainting with
anxiety, he stopped over close to the
surface of the ground, dreading to find
evidence that the bear had already
passed. But no not a track was to
be seen; and with great sigh Of re-
lief, he stationed himself behind a 4
large linden tree on the edge OF the
path. The time Of suspense which
followed seemed hours long to him,
but it was really a few minutes only
before his sharp young ears canght a
gentle rustling sound, as if OF some
moving body softly brushing against
the thick bushes bordering the trail
on either side.
Whatever might be coming seemed
to be as yet fifty yards away, around
q curve OF the path, and Rob noiseless-
ly opened the pan of his gun-lock,
shook out the printing, and, replacing
it with fresh powder, stood waiting,
without q thought Of fear for himself,
but with a, heart so loudly beating
that it seemed like to burst.
A moment more, and q gray
squirrel, frisking about the ground
some rods away, uttered a quick
chatter Of alarm, and scurrying along
the path, scampered swiftly up the
trunk OF a neighboring tree. Apprised
by this timely warning that the crisis
was at hand, Rob peered cautiously
from behind his shelter, and hardly
suppressed a yell of rage as, coming
slowly along the trail. he saw an inl-
mense, overgrown black bear walking
with head held high and carving in
his jaws the limp form ofbaby Mad ge.
In the Aeeting glimpse the boy
ventured to take, he saw that the
child was held crosswise, face down
ward in the brute's mouth, and, as
the latter shambled carelessly along,
her little hands and feet occasionally
touched the ground; but still he saw
no stains of blood, and a thrill of re-
newed hope ran through his nerves
now braced and steady as steel.
Nevertheless, as he afterward ex-
planned. the situation was terrible
one. He could easily shoot the
animal through the body aa II. assad n