Cottonwood report. [volume] (Cottonwood, Idaho) 1893-1901, 1893-03-03
"A Great Bear Hunt

things fortFe people of4his world
and when once excited seems to
have no limit to the extent it
can deprive one Of his powers of
reason,
A few years since | had occa-
sion to meet couple of young
men who had abandoned city life
in the eastern states for the while
and had decided to rough it in
the engineers life Of one of our
western railways. The boys as
we call them, although being
bright and we'll educated, knew
nothing of the pioneers life save
as chronicled in fiction, and
were always ready on idle days
to take their guns and rods and
look for sport. The story told
by these young men in after years
so strongly shows the extent to
which imagination will 60, that
/ have decided to repeat as near
| ly as ! remember the story as
told to me:
Owe had Just come from the
/
east and had both secured posi-
tons in the same surveying par
| ty on the Oregon Short Line in
the midst OF a rugged range of
mountains. Evenings were spent
in games and telling stories, and
our old bear and hunting stories
were rehearsed until one day the
engineer in charge informed us
that we would have few idle
days and if we wished could go (
| hunting. |
owe had found excellent fish
ing in the creek on which we were
capped, and with poles in hand |
we started to explore the fishing
haunts of the North Fork. At |
the junction of the two creeks we
came across the cabin of an old !
hunter and were invited in, and !
soon had not only our first taste
of ierked venison, but number
Of stories of his experience with !
the wild game of the section.
During the conversation we ask
ed what kind Of noise bear
made aud how we would know
when they were near. He in
formed us that the time when
bears were most dangerous was
when they were with cubs and
that oft times we could tell their
being around, by peculiar buz-
zing or humming sound which
was produced when they were
sucking their paws. He also
told us that excellent fishing
would be found about four miles
up the creek as there were no
cabins above his. Bidding our
new friend adieu, we started for
the place indicated, and soon each
had an excellent string of trout,
and were slowly fishing down the
stream not very far apart. Sud-
denly we were startled by pecu-
liar sound which we simultane-
ously recognized as the noise
mentioned by our old hunter and
were satisfied that it was a she
bear with whole regiment of
cubs. Our guns were all in camp
and what was worse, the noise
was approaching us. Regardless
} of fish, poles or lines, down the
! stream we went until we had to
stop for breath. Again that
peculiar noise and this time
nearer yet, We now became salts
fled that we were being chased
and that our only hope was to
| keep in the stream and if posi-
! bic reach the cabin before the
enemy were upon us. With
speed increasing with our fear,
, over slippery rocks, through
pools and on rifles, down stream
, we went until completely exhaus-
I ted. We paused again; this time
} in a deep pool with the water up
to our chins, thinking that Dame
Bruin and her band might fail
to see our heads above the water.
The noise came nearer and
nearer, and momentarily we ex-
pected to see the brush part and
t feel our bones crushed by the
} fearful enemy, when 10! and be-
: hold! Passing down stream and
e now but a few feet above our
t heads was a little humming bird
not much larger than your
/ thumb, the vibration of whose
VrrNr l., L