The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1892-06-30
A SWINGING PIG.

.. A SWINGING PIG.
Poor Bruin Gets Killed in Trying to Get
| Away With Frozen Pork.
The boldest thing ever saw bear
do. " said a Pocono mountaineer. was
to try to steal a whole carcass of pork
from pole in my ch1p-yard one win
ter morning. We had butchered three
hogs the afternoon before and the
biggest one we left hanging from a
gam brel over night 1t was a 400
FOUNDER, and the pole was held up by
two crotched posts set in the ground.
1t was bitter cold night and before
l went to bed the pork was frozen stiff
When we got through scalding the
hogs we hung the handle of the hog
hook on one of the crotches. The
hook was strong enough for two men
to pull a 50O-pound hog out of the
scalding tub, and the handle was round
iron. an inch in diameter. s->-.
The first thing did in the morn
ing after had turned out of bed was
to look out of the bedroom window
before 1 struck a light Not because
L expected to see anything unusual.
but because I had habit of taking a
look at the weather the first thing.
The sky was clear the full moon was
shining in the west and when turned
my eyes from the sky saw bear
passing around the head of the dead
hog. I knew ne couldn't damage the
pork much. and. as had desire to
see the bear operate, i took my rife
from the peg and watched him. in
tending to raise the window and fire
at him when 1 had seen him fool
around the pork a spell g.
y After the bear had gnawed at the
hogs head for a few minutes, without
making much Roadway. he seized it by
the snout and tried to pull it down.
That didn't work. and pretty soon he
stood up on his hind feet put his
paws around the middle of the hog,
Rugged it tight and tugged with all
his might. OF course. the bear pulled
toward him as we'll as down, and as
he did so the gambrel slid along the
pole. and the bear went down on his
back, right under the hog. That
seemed to puzzle him, l thought for
he let go of the hog sat up on his
headquarters and gazed up at the pole
and gambrel as though he was trying
to make out why the gambrel slid.
The bear sat in that way for perhaps
three or four minutes and then he
walked behind tina hog. placed his
shoulder against it's back and pushed
so hard that the gambrel slid in the
same direction again. He continued
to push until the hog brought up
against the post where the hook was
hanging, and. as it couldn't go any
further, the bear put his paws around
it and pulled it to the opposite end Of
the pole. hitting his back against the
other post.
This confused the bear but he
was determined to drag the carcass
down. and, after he had glared at the
gambrel again for awhile he stuck
his claws in the inside of the hog and
! yanked it to the center of the pole,
where the gambrel struck knot and
the bear lost his hold and tumbled
backward. That made him angry.
and, jumping up. he grabbed the hog
around the shoulders and yanked it
toward him till he came up standing
against the post where the hook was.
All at once the bear made up his mind
that it was a waste of time to drag the
hog from one end of the pole to the
other any more. and climbing up the
hogs belly he stuck his jaws in the
| r
and tried to break the gambrel with
! his weight.
4 HE failed to break it. and pretty
soon he came down and went tearing
at the hogs throat. The bear wa n t
satisfied with what it did there so he
pushed the hog back a step or two
and started to climb the post as though
he intended to crawl out on the pole
and loosen the hogs legs from the
gambrel The pole was icy and the
bear fell, just as he was about to raise
one OF his hind feet to the crotch
The hog hook caught. him I'M
der the chin as he went down and the
suddenness Of the fall drove the hook
through his tongue and held him
hanging by the post never heard q
4 bear make SO much noise as he did
then. He beloved. kicked, shook his
head and swung from side to side. and
the more he yanked the worse it hurt
him. His noise woke up every body in
the house but didn't let him roar
long. / was afraid that the hook or
post might break, and as / had had
all the fun I wanted, I ran out and
fired q bullet through the bears heart.
& The hogs carcass was scratched con-
siderably. but the bears hide was
worth good deal more than the dam
age the bear had done to the pork. \