The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1893-01-19
A FLORIDA sEAR STORY.
At Least the Scene Was Florida; the Beast
Acted Like q Pike County Bear.

story winch they earnestly asked ME 20
believe, and as l am nothing If noc &C
communicating, | believed it. The bear
this story was about acted To me so
much like a Pike county bear that ]
couldn't help but believe that il really
was one OF that county's PERENNIAL brain
family who had gone doy. 70 Florida
TO spend the winter. / believed the
story, so don't see that there is any,
thing in the way Of believ ny that the
bear was from Pike county II he was
he will never be seen there again, and
his folks might as well know 1t.
According to this story, a party az
New Workers were hunting souew here
on the Florida coast when they came 70
mass OF wreckage that had been
washed up on the beach from some IN
fortunate vessel As they approached
the wreckage they were surprised to Sc
bear nOsing around among IL The
bear was 50 much taken up with his in
spection of the miscellaneous articles
strewn about that he did not
detect the presence Of the hunters
and they had q good opportunity
70 watch his actions There were
cocoanuts, oranges, PineapPles ami
other things of that kind scattered
about, besides casks and boxes which
were still unbrolen. When the party
first came in sight OF the bear he was
evidently having his first interview
with a cocoanut He looked at it with
ccmical doubt for a minute or so, and
then smelt of it cautiously. His inves-
LEGATIONS thus far being satisfactory, he
touched it with one paw, drawing the
paw away quickly, as if he were afraid
the queer object was hot Then he
tried it with the other paw. and this
satisfying him that there was no danger
concealed in the big nut, the bear sat
down in the sand with a contented
grunt, took the nut M in his paws and
prepared to regale himself on the new
found morseL 1t was plain that the
bear had not expected to meet with so
much resistance on the part of the nut,
for when he brought his teeth down on
the hard shell MS mouth Sew open and
he dropped the nut as if it had been red
hot At the same time he clapped his
paws to his jaw and hollered, 'Ow-w-w.
ow-w-w,' for all the world like a man
who had been suddenly struck with
toothache pang.
This was so comical that it came
near ending the show, for it was all the
couvulsed spectators could do 10 keep
from bowling right out But they held
in and by and by bruin made his next
move. He picked up the nut again, iu-
spected it carefully aud closely for a
long time and then held one tide of it
in his mouth and tried to crack it with
his teeth. Failing in this, he gave an
angry snort and threw the eocoauut as
far from him as he could Then he fell
on all the rest of them that lay about
and scattered them about on the beach
as if he was the demon bowler in a
cricket match. When he had sufficient
ly vented his anger in this way on the
nuts, he picked up an orange. That
suited him, and he sat down and feasted
on oranges He ate all that were with
in reach, and he then moved to get
among some more, when he got a sniff
from keg that lay on the sand. lie
paid no more attention TO the oranges ,
but had that keg on its end in less than
no time. A piece of the head was out
and, taking the keg in under one arm.
he rammed his other paw through the
opening in the head, took IL out, and
carried it to his mouth and sucked il
with such unmistsks bic gusto that it
needed no words to tell that the bear
had found something that lay way over
oranges He kept the paw working
o. Fr1 - 10 lrar ~ Ia
mouth as rapidly as he could sop
and suck, but that process was
too slow for him, and, wrenching of
another piece from the top of the keg,
he pushed his head through into it
According 10 the story, the bear must
have become conscious Of the fact as
soon as he got his head in the cask that
he couldn't get it out again, for be i'm
mediately made the attempt TO get it
out. His ears and the big folds Of skin
about his neck and fowls wouldn't let
it come He raised on his feet, and the
keg sat on his shoulders like a helmet
many sizes too large. The breeze had
carried TO the spectators by this tire
the intelligence that the keg had
Jamaica rum in it--or rather did have
until the bear lifted it in the air, when
the insidious contents ran down and
bathed bruin with its redolence from
head TO foot The bear howled, but |
within the confines ofthe key his utter
ances sounded far-off and hollow. He
clutched At the keg, frat with one paw
and then with the other, but in vain.
To add To the couicality of the bears
situation, brGin had become tipsy and
tottered and staggered as be clawed !
and howled.
The hunters yelled with laughter !
that no one tried longer 70 keep in, and !
the bear was still sober enough 10 |
know that there was company about I
that meant no good for him, and he /
Strengthened up for second as 20 get /
his bearings, and then started, /
blinded By the key and nearly /
drunk besides, 10 make his /
escape II he could By accident lie |
headed straight inland, bat had 20 go I
up quite steep rise He veered and I
staggered gp the Hill, but g. the top +
tun bled heels over head, aud rolled .
back 20 the bottom, right IN the midst .
Of the hunters he picked himself up I
and growing inside The ksZ with I.
drunken Jury. he danced about. siria- .
ing out with his paws Ike q genuine T.
sluzger One % the dsrlies who was
with ihr party felt sOrry for the bear.
and picking Up a club broke the KEY .
pieces The broken bits fell from The
bear and b~;o-e The GarzeT who had .
been 20 kind 20 MIN could get ogt q his .
way. the bear fetched Alrn = clip a-1ag-
. &c tbe bead with bis paw HAT sent
= .-- 49, ---llr-- Ii - 40 t. frat |