The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1893-04-26
HIS FlRsT SHOT ATA GRIZZLY.
How lie Tclt when Meeting with "A King OF
the bear Tribe.

How lie Felt when Meeting with "a King of
the bear Tribe.
Discovering no bear, advanced slowly
and cautiously says a writer in Forest and
Scream. Suddenly / perceived rank,
peculiar odor; il reminded me Of that
encountered at the 100 in Philadelphia in
1854, while stood contemplating some
bears in the pen below. | now knew / was
very close 10 a bear and that from the
locality il must DO a grizzly. Oh. how
frightened ! was had never met
grizzly; what should do hardly knew.
The thought Of being alone, too. and out
OF sight and hearing OF Hank, all made me
culver like an aspen. While thus medi-
tating and looking in every direction and
and trembling from head 20 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 trip ham
mer: could hear the blood rushing up
through my carotids, and feel it's impact
against tho base oil my brain my throat
was dry. and my hands trembling as !
grasDed my rifle.
surveyed the hugo brute a few seconds
and saw that he was about eighty Yards
away. / stood on the hogback or ridge
ravine thirty feet deep and filled with n
thicket OF underbrush. The grizzly stood
on clear ground. Ii did not take long to
see that had the advantage; this was
the head OF the canyon 10 my right was
black thicket OF pine; in front was the
animal; 10 my left the canyon stretched
away 10 the lake. 4 small sapling grew
where / stood | let myself down on my
knees and toes, and protected my
piece over a branch of the sapling. | was
waiting Tor tho bear To give me an eX-
posure OF its side. The wind blowing
briskly from il 10 ne gave il no opportu-
n.tv to scent me. felt as / imagine a
soldier feels on the eve OF his first battle,
only more so / realized fully what a
small thing / should be ia hand-to-hand
conflict with that wounded and infuri-
ated monster. but / was determined TO
fight II 10 cost me my life.
BY this time | became more composed;
my nerves had resumed their usual tran
guilty: | was thinking OF what an ever
lasting shame il would be TO my con-
science 10 steal away and let that mag
nificent beast get off with life, and while
thus coCitating the bear sloWly moved
into the position / desired, and when
there with steady nRrye | glanced along
the blue barrel OF steel and fixed the
sights on a line with a spot about where
thought its heart lay, held IL there a sec
ond. aud pulled the trigger. Bang went
the magnificent arm, and simultane-
ouslv the grizzly leaped into the
air, uttering loud, prolonged cry OF pain.
Through the smoke l saw 1t fall on one
side and quickly recover itself. its head
toward me; with mouth wide open and
head erect il began the charge. / threw
4 A. Ia inf ho /
The bear had reached the bottom OF the
CANYON and was making its way through
the brush. blowing and snufiing. cody
awaited its emergence, but il never came
out. Midway the thicket l could ses
branches quivering, but could not see the
bear.
At this iuncture another griZzlv, larger
than the one shot came out OF the pine
thicket to nv right and bounded down 10
the spot of the quivering bushes in the
bottom of the CANYON and was also lost 10
sight | did not have time or opportunity
to shoot IT. Immediately behind me in
the timber heard the cry or vail of still
another bear This again terrified me be-
vond expression. / eat there gazing at
that thicket one hour by the wRtch-l2:S so
10 l so D. m, Oct -, 1S92-and no bear
appeared. All was still as death,
and, from lnactiOn, began 10
get chilly. No amount of money
could have induced me TO venture down
to those two mammoth brutes in that
CANYON. / did not know that one was
dead aud was painfully aware that one at
least was untouched. SO believing that
skilliul retreat is as good or better than a
poor victory. decided to return and get
reinforcements in the shape OF Hank.
did So and when we reached the spot
we advanced abreast, Queen in terror at
our heels, into the thicket. We found
one bear stone dead, but the other had
gone.
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