The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1893-11-17

| Will SJALZ4S OSdIS, SdIu SA-DSHaoOl
James G. Fair, to San Francisco
Examiner reporter. Il don't think
/ shall ever forget either of them.
''In 1861, when ! was mere boy,
lot of us-all, l believe, men grown
except myself-went up on Powder
creek, rear Sacramento, to hunt
bears. We had couple of teams
and-wagons, and were well accoutered
in every way. The men were telling
what they would do if they came up
with any bears, and had it arranged
to nicely.
1--WE had scarcely got into Powder
creek when big grizzly loomed up
on a well-beaten trail coming toward
us. Behind him was another big
| bear, and in the rear was another.
and so on. There were eight or ten
OF them, all trudging along, and they
lowered up like giants. Not one of
the party had courage to shoot.
Their heels grew light, and it was
the main object of our lives to get
out The bears had been seen soon
enough for lis to get the horses and
lives. but our carts, in which were
all our meats and other provisions,
had to be left behind
LAS the bears struck into the grass
near us the whip was laid to the
horses and we got out of there with
all the haste imaginable. The bears
then fell to and ate all our provisions.
have laughed over this experience
many time and have never gone on
a bear hunt since. | got enough OF
it. The grizzlies in those days were
very plentiful They were every
where. They had beaten roads all
over, were savage and every once in
a while killed some one. Nobody
then knew how to handle them. They
were inexperienced, and it was no
wonder many lives were lost The
| Mexicans used to lasso them. l re-
member one day an American lassoed
one from his horse. The grizzly
came at him and he couldn't get the
rope loose. The grizzly killed both
tho man and the horse.
There was a man named Eisen-
bach who was about as good hunter
as ! ever saw. lived with him
several months. He killed a good
many grizzlies, but one day he
wounded one and then ran away
to climb a tree. He got part
way up and took hold of limb, but
the bear grabbed him by the foot
and tore his heel off. He could
never walk much after that
"Now this other experience of
mine was with wild geese in Cali
fOrnia. and it is so big that few,
except those who are familiar with
them, can readily believe it. l own
Landing, on the Sacramento-the
Yolo ranch. raise a great deal of
wheat, and every year as soon as the
wheat comes up the country is over
run with geese
Il have seen droves of them two
or three miles long, and SO thick
that when you shoot into them with
rifle you are bound to hit some of
them. They are so plentiful that l
am obliged to hire herders to keep
them off. They settle in great
bands. A band will settle down on
five acres, say, and you won't hear
quack nor squawk, but the geese
are there and very Industrious, and
before you know it they have pulled
up and eaten every bit of the grain.
They have skillful way of grasping
the tender shoots in their mouths
and pulling and relaxing, and pulling
again, till they get the swollen
grains with the blades, and then eat
the whole.
o&1 e o1
them in large numbers, but they
often come in entirely fair weather
I keep my herders TO drive them
away. If it were not for this would
not have any wheat. The men are
armed with loud-sounding Winches-
ters, and they keep shooting among
them all the time. At night the
geese don't bother, but early in the
morning and all through the day
they literally swarm. The herders
go out early in the morning and stay
all day 1t is a continual battle.
The geese must be kept going all the
time or the wheat is gone.
"1here Is dog on the ranch that
is the most singular and at the same
time the most valuable dog I ever
saw She is dead against the geese
and is constantly rushing at them,
and soaring them away. She has
raised six puppies and has trained
them all to fight the geese. The
troop of dogs are extremely useful.
They are about half shepherd and
half bull, and wherever they are
they keep the geese in motion. When
the men are plowiug they get very
close to the geese. Take fourteen or
sixteen teams. each with big plow
that turns four burrows. They come
along in a string. The first one is
good way of. The next is little