Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1893-01-25
PoMPADoUR ALA GRIZZLY.

|
POMPADOUR A LA GRIZZLY.
Tho Remarkable Effect of Being Chased
Down Mountain by a Bear.
| George f. Leidig, the proprietor OF
| Grants Springs Hotel, Mariposa County,
who arrived here a day or two ago,
says that game of all kinds is very
| plentiful in his vicinity and few miles
away in the high mountains.
81 have known of some curious things
in reference to the varied wild game OF
Mariposa," he said, "but | never knew
of stranger thing than happened to
my son George and stage driver Joe
RidgeWay of the Yosemite line some
time since. George, you know, is en-
gineeer on the Central Pacific Railroad,
on the division between Wells and
Carlin.
"Well, he and Ridgeway thought they
| would go up above Glacier Point and
have look around. You know that to
get to Glacier Point you must climb
about 3, 500 feet, and do it all in but little
more than a couple of miles. It's a
hard task, and when you get up there
you look sheer down, as it were. from a
balloon upon the world. Before you
are spread the waterfalls of the MERGED
River, the snowcapped cones of the
Sierras, and everything to make up a
garden Of wonders. Probabably in the
world there does not exist a grander
sight.
at is within the confines of the cele-
brated Mariposa grant, to which the
dauntless explorer, Col. John G. Ere
mont, once had a title, but which he
finally lost after much litigation. This
was for many years known as the home
of large numbers of grizzlies, the most
formidable to be found anywhere.
Since there were so many of them, not
all the hunters that have gone into that
region have succeeded in wiping them
| out.
when George and Joe had finally
succeeded in getting to the top and
had gazed upon the panorama before
| them they started to the south on q
shoulder of the mountain. They had
not proceeded far when there were in
dcations of bears. Their great tracks
were visible in some places along the
trail end they kept sharp eye out for
them. They thought without noticing
much that they were the tracks of black
| bears. There were some birds, and al
together the boys were enjoying them
! selves.
"Just as they began to descend q
winding knoll on the ridge they heard a
thrash1ng in the bushes as of some one
whaling them with long club. The
two had become separated. Ridgeway
was where he could get the best view,
and he suddenly caught sight of big
grayish, black object lying on a log. He
knew at once that it was grizzly, and
he let fly at him.
whether be hit him or not was
never found out, but Immediately there
was more thrashing and a shrek from
the bear that made the tall pines ring.
Then there began a journey ofthat bear
srizzly can run like wild buffalo, I'M
wieldy as he looks. Ridgeway could
see be had shifted George, or caught a
! glimpse of him through the bushes. and
yelled to him to look out, as the grizzly
was after him. Then he took to his
heels himself. George had scarcely got
the warning when the bear was almost
upon him. He turned and flew down
the mountain.
sit was a terrible race. Now it woul d
look as though George would evade the
bear and then it would appear that
| there was no escaping his paws, George
zig-zag9ed over stumps, fallen trees,
and through bushes, the bear still after
him, and finally fell down rocky de-
| clivitv, where for time he lay half
dead. The great brute had finally given
up the chase, luckily for the young man
| he was after, and at length Ridgeway
| got to George and helped him to stand
| up.
"Now, here a strange discovery was
made, to which | call your attention.
| You have heard of peoples hair turn
ing white in a night, rs though man
had lived lifetime in a few hours?
"When George got down to my place
his hair, which, since his birth, had
been flat on his head, stood up like
stubble, as though it was Waxed and
| combed up. More than that, it staid so
| for two weeks before he could get it
down to where it was formerly.
1.-THE terrible race he had with the
bear had caused 1T. We all took notice
of it, and talked about it during the
| whole two weeks. L suppose this may
seem impossible to some, and they may
not believe it, but it is entirely true.
| Nothing any of us could do during
| the fortnight would make the hair stay
| down.
George is as brave as anybody, but
| he couldn't help knowing the awful
danger he was in, and when his hair
rose up the consciousness of the danger
was so great and remained so long with
| him that it took this length of time for
! 1t to get down again. Since then he has
had no use for bears, especially griz-
zlies, and those familiar with the dang
erous race he had do not at all wonder.
- San Francisco Examiner.
Very CIeverly Done.
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