The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1892-04-01
A STRANGE BEAR STORY.

track passed through an unbroken piece
of forest known locally as the Bear Den
woods. The name was due to the fact
that scanned and rocky ledge, extend
ing diagonally across the wild stretch,
was a favorite lodging place tor bears,
which were numerous in that region
then, and, in fact still hold their own
there in numbers sufficient to be
source of much annoyance to the farm
ers who strive for living on the borders
of the woods. The road connected
Chiffon Forks with the settlements at
Wigton's willows, distance of % miles,
and was built to develop the timber and
coal resources of the region. l was the
engineer of the construction train during
the building of the road, and it was
common sight to see bears coming out
of the woods at different points along
the line and inspect with ludicrous
curiosity the strange work that was
going on in their domain. We got so
we didn't mind them any more then we
might so many pigs granting along the
track, and when any of us thought we
would like little bear meat we only
had to keep our eye out for some bear
that suited us as to size and condition
and put rifle ball in him.
That was the most peculiar country
for hard and sudden wind and thunder
storms ever saw. They would come
up suddenly and sweep over those woods
with appalling and often disastrous fury,
as the great areas of down timber here
and there were unmistakable evidences
of The railroad was completed toward
the end of summer, and day was set
for running the first train over it from
90 nxHrOC
long trestle a mile west of Gravely's
Station, which carried the road over
ravine that was more than a 100 feet.
The track went on to the trestle from
very sharp curve, and the trestle was
not entirely finished. so that no train
or engine could yet be run over it with
out very slow and careful motion. In my
judgement thought the officers of the
company foolhardy to run train across
the trestle, no matter how slowly or
carefully, until the workmen had COM
pleted its bracing and supports, and l
did not cOYet the engineer who was to
run the train the honor of it,
The day the train was to be run the
section foreman discovered that
piece of track near the eastern eXtremi
ty of the Bear Den woods could be bet
tered by little more filling in and bal
lasting, and as everybody on the work
had to be a sort of general utility man,
he sent my fireman and me with a car
load of gravel to bolster up the weak
spot. The job was bigger one than it
was thought, and when we had finished
the work it was almost time for the eX-
cursion train to be coming along. In
fact, we had heard the locomotive
whistling at Cherry Run, two miles east
I. A1,n
ings of one of those fearful storms that
were so common in the region. By the
time we had got on the engine and were
preparing to pull out for Gravely's the
storm came bowling down worse than
any had ever seen since had been on
the road. We could hear the trees
crashing down before it. and as | jumped
into the cab, a big limb from hemlock
came swoOping square on the engine,
and pinned me down between the tender
and the cab, and held me there as if |
was in wise. The fireman had stepped
up on the coal i'll the tender, and the
same fearful gust that bore the limb
down on me caught him and whipped
him out of the tender as if he had been
bundle of straw, and heard him drop
in the brush off to one side of the train.
He didn't come back and | supposed he
was killed. There l lay perfectly help
less, and knew that the train, with all
the officers of the road and their friends
on board, was booming along, and that
in less than two minutes it must come
dashing upon the engine. The inevita-
BILE result of such catastrophe was ter
rible to think about. The storm was
now raging frightfully through the
woods. Trees were falling on every
side, and | could almost feel my hair
turning gray. AS lay there, struggling
to free myself, a bear, terror stricken by
the awful commotion in the woods and
hurrying to escape from its fury, came
climbing into the cab, and stumbling
over the butt of the heavy limb that
pinned me to the floor, tumbled against
the furnace door, The bear scrambled
to his feet and went paving wildly about
in the cab. But | gave no thought to
the bear, for, mingling with the trmult
of the storm, heard the rumble and
tremor of the approaching train on the
rails. Suddenly heard familiar click,
and instantly the engine started forward
with a bound. l turned my head and
looked at the lever. The bear, in his
aimless clutching about in the cab, had
caught it in his paws and had pulled her
wide Open.' The track was down grade
all the way to Gravely's, and, great
heaven! how we flew! The excursion
train was right behind us, 1 knew, and
in few seconds more would have
crashed into my engine. But that great
horror was escaped. and although l was
pinned down by the limb and had bear
for pilot, l almost tainted with joy
Down the grade we flew like the vino
that was bowling all around us. The
humping and rolling of the locomotive
seemed to make the bear wild with eX-
element, and he pranced about the cal
like crazy person. Then of sudden
the sharp curve and the danger GUS tres
tie beyond Gravely's flashed across my
mind. At the rate we were going, ever
if we rounded the curve all right, We
would strike that trestle alta mile min
ute, and down we would 90 the bottom
of that ravine, hundred feet below!
With this new horror upon me, thu
engine flashed out of the woods into thu
open country. Just mile and hal
more to the trestle, and l couldn't SCI
how any thing on earth could save us
AS we tore by the little station al
Gravely's the bear, in his prancing anC
clutching. caught sight of the whist,
cord. That excited his curiosity, AM
he siezed it and gave it lusty pull. Tit
whistle responded with a shrek tina
startled even me. It's effect on the bea
was electric. He tumbled over back
ward and fell across the butt of the liml
that held me down. His weight tiDDeC