The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1893-09-01
LOADED FOR BEAR.
An Amateur Hunters Experience In the
Magda1ena Mountains.
Especial Correspondence

Especial Correspondence
SANTA FE, Aug. 81.-"No more bears
in mine' was the emphatic announce
ment made by Mr.. William Hall of st.
Louis as soon as he was able to make
known his wants. And he had never
met but one bear either.
He had been in New Mexico two or
three weeks and was doing some anna
teur hunting in the Magdalena noun
tains southwest of Socorro. He had gone
out with the desire and intention of find
ing and killing bear and was very
much disguised when he had spent a
week in camp and had not yet seen one.
So one day he started out alone, telling
his companions he was going out loaded
for bear and wasn't coming back until
he got one.
But all this did not make his surprise
one bit the less when big cinnamon
suddenly rose up out of some brush a
few feet in front of him. He was so
surprised that he forgot what he was
there for and simply stood and stared
at the huge beast as it began to make
for him in bee line. But before the
animal quite reached him his wits re-
turned, and he swung the rifle to his
shoulder. He says that he pulled tie
trigger and is quite sure that he landed
one bullet inside the bears hide, for he
is positive that he heard a dull thud.
But he admits that what he heard might
have been the bears paw on the side of
his head, for the creature brought
tremendous raking blow down the side
of his head and across his throat.
And then Mr.. Hall knew no more I'M
til pain brought him to his senses some
time-he has no idea how long-after-
ward. Then the bear was gone and has
not since been in evidence. But it had
inflicted horrible punishment upon the
intruder into its domains. Mr.. Hall had
been knocked over low precipice-a
small cliff a few feet in height-and
either the fall or the force of the bears
blow with it's paw had broken his right
leg. The flesh was torn in great strips
from his right thigh and right arm, and
flesh and skin hung in tatters from the
right side of his face. He was so weak
from the loss of blood that when he tried
to drag himself along the ground he fell
back exhausted and almost fainting.
Then he tried to call out for help, but
found that he could not make sound,
and there was an excruciating pain in
his throat.
He thinks that he must soon have
lapsed into semidelirious condition
and remained in that state for some
hours. He lay there in the sun all
through the hottest part of the day, but
toward evening some Mexicans came
along and found him. One of them took
off his shirt and tore it up, and with the
strips they bound up his wound the
best they could. Then they carried him
in their arms to the nearest wagon road,
put him into wagon and drove him to
Socorro. Through all of this Mr.. Hall
was conscious only at rare intervals,
and he could not speak nor even whis-
per single syllable.
He had gone into the mountains from
Kelly, and so in Socorro no one knew
who he was or where he belonged. A
physician there set his leg and bandaged
his wounds, and then they sent him on
the train to Sante Fe to the hospital of
the Sisters of st. Vincent. One of the
sisters returning to Santa Fe from So
zorro cared for him on the train.
Finally settled in the hospital, it was
several days before he recovered strength
enough to care whether the bear should
come back and eat him up or not But
one day he made some movements with
his left arm which were understood to
mean desire for pencil and paper. They
supposed he wanted to let them know
his name and how they could communi
cate with his friends. So they watched
anxiously while he slowly and clumsily
penciled something on the paper, and
then this was what they read, "No more
bears in miner
A .swipe of the bears claws across his
throat had torn it open and injured the
vocal chords, but this wound healed as
well as the others, and when he returned
toSt. Louis, where his father is wealthy
and influential citizen, he had recovered
his voice. FLORENCE FINCH KELLY.