The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1893-01-11
A Florida Bear Story.

groceryman, "they told me q bear story
which they earnestly asked me to believe,
and, as am nothing if not ascommo
dating, believed it. The bear this story
was about acted 10 me so much like 8
Pike County bear that I couldn't help
but believe that it really was one of that
County's perennial BEuin family who
had gone down to Florida to spend the
winter. 1 believed the story, so I don't
see that there is anything in the way of
believing that the bear was from Piks
County. If he was he will never be seen
there again, and his folks might as well
know it.
According to this story, party of
New Workers were hunting somewhere
on the Florida coast when they came to
mass of wreckage that had been washed
up on the beach from some unfortunate
vessel. As they approached the wreck
age they we're surprised to see bear
uosing around among it. The bear vas
50 much taken up with his inspection of
the miscellaneous articles strewn about
that be did not detect the presence of the
hunters, aad they had good opportunity
to watch his actions. There were cocoa.
nuts, oranges, pineapples, and other
things of that kind scattered about,
besides casks and boxes which were still
unbroken. When the party first came in
sight of the bear be was evidently having
his fret interview with cocoanut. He
looked at it with comieal doubt for
minute or 30, and then smelt of it cauti-
ously. His investigations 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 contented
grunt, took the nut up iu 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 en- the part of the nut, tor
when he brought his teeth down on the
hard shell his mouth few open and he
dropped the nut as if it had been red
shot. At the same time he clapped hi
paws to his jaws and hollered, 'Ow-w-
" ow-w-wl' for all the world like
man who had heen suddenly struck with
toothache pang.
"This was 30 comical that it came near
ending the show, for it was all the con-
vulsed spectators could do to keep from
bowling right out. But they held in and
by and by bruin made his next move.
He picked up the nut again, inspected it
carefully and closely for long time, and
then held one side of it In his mouth and
tried to crack it with his teeth. Failing
in that be gave an angry snort and threw
the cocoanut 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 were the demon bowler
in cricket match. When be had suf6-
cient.y 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 within
reach, and he then moved to get among
some more, when he got q sniff from o
keg that lay on the sand. He paid no
more attention TO the oranges, but had
that ksg upon its end in less than no
time. A piece o. the head was out, and,
taking the keg in under one arm, he
rammed his other paw through the open.
ing 10 the head, took it out, and carried
it to his mouth and sucked it with such
unmistakable gusto that it needed no
words to tell that the bear had found
something that lay way over oranges.
He kept the paw working to and fro
between the keg and his mouth as rapidly
as be could sop and suck, but that pro.
cess was too slov for him, and, wrench.
ing of another piece from the top of the
keg, he pushed his head through into it.
According to the story: the hear mast
have become conscious of the fact as soon
as be got bis head In the cask that he
couldn't get it out again, for he immedi
ately made the attempt to get it out.
His ears and the big folds of skin about
his neck and jowls wouldn't let it come
He raised on his feet, and the keg sat on
his shoulders like helmet many sizes
too large. The hreeze had carried to the
spectators by this time 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 redol.
ence from head to foot. The bear howl
ed, bat within the confines of the keg his
uttersnses sounded far off and hollow.
he clutched at the keg, first with one
paw and then with the other, but in
vain. 70 ado to the comicality of the
bears situation. Bruin had become
tipsy and tot.ered and staggered as be
clawed and howled.
THE hunters yelled with laughter that
no one tried longer to keep in, and the
bear was still sober enough to know that
there was company about that meant no
good 10 him, and he straightened up for
a second as if to get his bearings, and
then started, blinded by the keg and
nearly blind drunk besides, to make his
escape if he could. By accident he hoad.
ed straight iolaud, but had togo up quite
g steep rise. He veered aud staggered
up tho hill, but at the top tumbled heels
over head, aud relied back to the bottom,
right in the midst of the hanters. He
picked himself up, and growing inside
the beg with drunken fury, be danced