Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1893-06-22
FIRST SHOT AT A GRIZZLY.
How One Man Felt when Meddiins with =
King Of the Bear Tribe.

King OF the Bear Tribe.
discovering no bear, l advanced
slowly and cautiously. Suddenly per-
ceived a rank, peculiar odor; IL re-
minded me Of that encountered at the
roo in Philadelphia in 1884, while I
stood contemplating some bears in the
pen below. / now knew l was very
close TO bear, and that from the To-
cality II must be a grizzly. Oh. how
frightened wasl had never met a
grizzly; what / should do ! hardly
knew. The thought OF being alone,
too, and out Of sight and hearing Of
Hank, all made me quiver and shake
like an aspen. While thus meditating,
and looking in every direction,
and trembling from head to foot,
soon saw the cause Of the
odor, standing on all fours, with
his tail toward me- digging In
a hillside. My heart went like a trip
hammer; | could hear the blood rush
ing up through my carotids, and feel
its impact against the base Of my brain
my throat was dry, and my hands trem-
bled as grasped my rife.
II surveyed the huge brute few
seconds and saw that he was about
eighty yards away. stood on a hog
back or ridge, and between the bear
and myself was ravine thirty feet
deep and filed with thicket Of under
brush. The grizzly stood on clear
ground. II did not take long TO see
that had the advantage; this was the
head of the canyon; TO my right
was black thicket Of pine, in front
was the animal, TO my left the canyon
stretched away to the lake. A small
| sapling grew where stood; let myself
down on my knees and toes, and pro-
jected my piece over "A branch OF the sap
ling. l was waiting for the bear to
give me an exposure of its side. The
wind blowing brisltly from it TO me
gave IL no opportunity TO scent me.
felt as imagine a soldier feels on the
eve of his first battle, only more so.
realized fully what small thing
| should be in n hand-to-hand conflict
with that wounded and infuriated mon
ster; but was determined to fight II IL
| cost me my life.
by this time | became more com
| posed; my nerves had resumed their
usual tranquility; / was thinking of
what an everlasting shame IL would be
TO my conscience TO steal away and let
that magnificent beast get off with life;
and while thus cogitating the bear
slowly moved into the position | desired,
and when there with steady nerve |
glanced along the blue barrel Of steel
and fixed the sights on line with n spot
about where | thought its heart lay. held
1 h.r IL Al II
ger. Bang went the magnificent arm,
and simultaneously the grizzly leaped
into the air, utterinR loud, prolonged
cry of pain. Through the smoke saw
II fall on one side and quickly recover
itself, its head toward me; with mouth
wide open and head erect II began the
charge. threw another cartridge into
the barrel. looked, the bear had
reached the bottom OF the canyon and
was making its way through the brush,
blowing and snufiling cody awaited
its emerPence, but IL never came out.
Midway the thicket could see branches
quivering, but could not see the bear.
AT this juncture another grizzly,
larger than the one shot, came out OF
the pine thicket to my right and
| Dounueu uoWn 10 Illt spot OF tne qulver'
ing bushes in the bottom of the canyon
and was also lost to sight; did not have
time or opportunity to shoot it. Imme,
diately behind me In the timber heard
the cry or wall OF still another bear
This again terrified me beyond express
sion. sat there gazing at that thiclSet
one hour by the watch-l2:9O TO 1880 D.
M, October 10, lSg2-and no bear ap
peared. All was still as death, and
from inaction, began to get chilly
No amount of money could have in
duced me to venture down to those tive
mammoth brutesin that canyon. did
not even know that one was dead, and
was painfully aware that one at least
was untouched. SO, believing that
skillful retreat is as good or better
than poor victory, decided to return
and get re-enforcements in the shap,
of Hank.
~ did so, and when we reached tn,
spot we advanced abreast; Queen in ter
ror at our heels, into the thicket. W,
found one bear stone dead, but tn,
other had gone.-A Hunter, in Fores
and Stream.
1