The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-05-25
THE sHREP WERE DISAPPEARING
And Farmer Dunn and the Old Army
Musket Went Out After Bears.
From the Netn York Slln

time occurred on the farm Of Jehiel Dunn,
up along the Youngwomanstown creek. the
other night a Clinton county citizen said.
Farmer Dunn is an easy-going sort Of a
citizen, but there are something's he objects
to, and one Of these is providing sheep for
bears to lunch on. For month or more
had lived high on his sheep,
so high, in fact, that the flock had
almost disappeared. The hunters had heard
of the ravRges of bruin on the Dunn
farm, and had been hanging around there
for some time on the watch for the sly
marauder. They had seen the bear several
times, they said. and had shot at him, but
all the same he went right on sampling the
farmers mutton almost every night. One
day last week the farmers hired man came
in from q visit to the sheep fold. He didn't
say anything, for be had been reporting
damages so frequently of late that he had
come to regard the depopulating Of the
pasture as matter OF course and not worth
wasting breath on. BY and by, though,
Farmer Dunn got impatient.
""Well. jacob said he, any more gomez
"'Huh-huh,' grunted Jacob, uncon-
cernedly.
"'How manyg exclaimed the farmer.
"'Only three replied Jacob.
Only threep yelled the farmer. Great
stingin' bumblebeel How many did y 'spect
| orter been gomez
"'Wouldn't s'prised me if they'd all ben
tookp said Jacob.
| Farmer Dunn, It is said, swore a little,
7 although he is a deacon.
| That makes nineteen sence the first o
the month"; he exclaimed. AN the bar
hain't no higher ketched thin he was q
| week agol We've got to ketch him to-
| night or give up sheep farmin'. I'm goin'
| ter try my hand at watchin' fer him my
self, an you're SO cool an unconcarned
about it, you kin hev the fun o. goin' along
| an helpin' mep
Farmer Dunn is no bear hunter. The
only fire-arm he possesses is an old army
musket Of ancient pattern. When he
shouldered the gun that night to start for
the pasture, true to his word, be couldn't
remember the time when the formidable
weapon had been fired off. He had loaded
it well with buckshot, and remarked as he
left home that he wasn't afraid to meet
half dozen bears
"'But Pm a leetle skittish o. the oil mus
! kit said he.
Jacob followed the farmer, but with q
very bad grace. The pasture is a small one.
The farmer posted himself at one side OF the
lot, where the old road runs along close by
it and separated from it by a ditch and a
stone wall. On the opposite side of the lot
| buo4S dA6 nisbs a hlToICu VI JulCh uuQeT~
brush few yards wide. and then piece of
heavy woods that extends back to the foot
| of the ridge. On that side the farmer
posted the hired man.
"'You stan there, Jacob said Farmer
Dunn. You hain't got no gun, SO
you're poorly safe. All l 'spect you to do is
to boiler like wild Injin if We see any bars
sneakin' inter the field. an to head 'em off
if they git skeert an start to run back inter
the woods. All you got to do is to keep
them bar headed off, an to drive 'ew over
to t'other side o the field to me. I'll do the
dangerous part O. the business. I'll pint
the gun at 'em an do the firm. You got
the safe an easy end Of it,
Jacob says the farmer started for his
post on the other side of the lot, chuckllng
to himself. Jacob crouched down by the
stone wall, on the inner side, and stared
and trembled. He hadn't been there more
than q quarter Of an hour when he heard a
noise III the brush. He was looking about
the top Of the wall and presently he saw q
big black object, which he knew was bear,
climbing over the wall not twenty feet
away. The bear scrambled down into the
pasture. and was quickly followed by three
more Jacob was so badly scared that he
couldn't find his voice to follow the farm
er's instructions and yell like an Indian.
All he could do was to stare at the intruding
bears as they slouched along across the
lot toward the place where the sheep were
| grazing. The sheep discovered the presence
Of the bears, aud scampered away to far
corner OF the pasture. The bears followed
the frightened flock leisurely, but still Jacob
couldn't utter a work to warn the farmer.
The farmer didn't need warning, however
for the course Of the bears took them close
to where he was standing guard with his
musket. Farmer Dunn discovered them as
soon as the sheep began to run, but some
how as he said afterward, he forgot what
he was there for. 1t was not until the bears
not having seen the farmer, bore down upon
him and threatened to run over him, that
he remembered his musket. Even then he
didn't know what he did, but developments
made 1t manifest that either he had put the
been an earthquake The report that Jacob
heard had the effect Of bringing him to his
feet at bound and loosening his tongue.
"'Bars! Bars! B'ars!" he yelled.
''Theu he scrambled over the wall and
lay low in the bushes, half dead with fright.
A few seconds later three bears jumped the
wall and sped away. The fourth bear
climed up with difficulty and instead OF
jumping from the walls as the others had
it fell to the ground, ond with an awful
groan rolled to Jacobs side. At that mo-
ment Reuben Gregg, one OF the hunters who
had been so long trying to get the bear that
was despoiling Farmer Dunn's pasture, ar
rived at the wall where Jacob had been
posted, he having heard the tremendous
report in the pasture that Jared Jacobs
voice back to him, aud hurried over &c
see what in the world had exploded. As he
reached the wall the most unearthly yell he
ever heard came from the bushes, and when
he found Jacob it took some time to bring
him around to his senses, and to get enough
out of him to start him to thinking that II
might be well to find out what had become
of Farmer Dunn during all this uproar and
excitement. They found him sitting on the
ground about fifteen feet from chestnut
tree. They spoke to him, but be didn't re-
ply. They raised him to his feet. He was
as white as a sheet, and Reuben struck q
match and saw that one side OF his face
w0s swollen to twice its size, and that hit
nose had been squirting blood. Farmer
Dunn looked wildly about, and gradually
came to the last thing he recollected, which
WAS the bears.
ibid they chaw me up pooty badT SAID
he.
"Reuben didn't. talk to him much, but
took him home. Then they found that, be-
sides his enlarged cheek and bloody nose
his right shoulder and his arm clcer dowr
to the elbow were as black as his hat.
Ibid ye take q gun with yer askeC
Reuben.
'Ihe OF muskit,' replied Farmer Dunn
"'That was the earthquake, said Reuben
"Then Reuben asked for a lantern, anC
said he'd go back and see IL he could find tht
boz d.. sIa, a