The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1893-11-07
1T WAS A LUCAI sIi0i
1T SAVED A ROCKY MOUNTAIN Rtt..
TER's LIFE FgG TINES.

AAO ooA SsSA NAhAs ~tu " -aASI " -
Once Mole Restored He Counted III Five
Dead Bodies-No wonder III liz Called -
Famous story Teller.
A group OF men were sitting on the
hotel porch swapping" yarns. tsone
people do not believe in luck: well, | do,
and I'll tell you why" said the traveller
as he paused and deliberately put his
right leg across the knee of his left and
glanced pensively down the street. The
group pricked up their cars, for the
traveller was a famous story teller, and
all rightly judged that his remark was
but the prelude to the recital OF one of
his adventures.
When | was some 10 years younger
than | am now" continued the traveller,
Il was exceedingly fond of hunting.
One fall my love of this sport led me to
take a hunting trip in the Rocky noun
tains. was ambitious and wanted to
add a grizzly bear skin and a few elk
heads to my collection of trophies, and
incidentally, if it might be. to let day
light through an Indian or two.
"Well, for two weeks | hunted with
out getting sight of hair or track of elk,
bear or Indian, and the thing was be-,
ginning to get >monotonous, when one
afternoon found me trayersing the bot
tom Of a deep canyon. i was alone, my
guide having remained in camp on &C
count of a sprained ankle. The bed of
the canyon was rent with deep assures
and covered with great rocks, and it's
sides were scanned and cracked. A few
stunted shrubs and trees, of the kind the
elk is fond of feeding upon, grew along
the sides and bottom of the canyon, and
[ hoped to find some Of the animals here
cropping the tender twigs. AT last, just
as | rounded a high point of rocks, !
caught sight of an elk, a noble fellow,
standing some 10 rods up the canyon
with his face toward me. He was nos
ing the air suspiciously, and | feared
that | would not get a shot at him unless
| was quick about it. Accordingly
threw my rife to MY shoulder, and TAX
ing hasty aim at the broad, fat forehead
fred.
Il was totally unprepared for the
startling effect of that shot. Almost at
the instant my finger pressed the trigger
there came a puff of white smoke from
behind a rock some 90 rods up on the
opposite side of the canyon, and saw an
Indian leap to his feet only to fall back
dead, while at the anne moment a pierc-
ing scream, seemingly coming from di-
rectly over my head, caused me to look
quickly up. In the midair, with great
paws outstretched and long, sharp nails
extended, / behela a mountain lion APP
parently about to drop on my head. ]
bounded to one side. As | did so my
blood almost froze with horror, for !
had jumped directly over a rattlesnake,
which now lay o two feet from me,
with his head reared ready to ftrike.
Before / could make a movement I'd
defend myself from this new danger
down upon the snake fell the body of the
lion, crushing out its life. The liol
rolled over once or twice and then, tc
my surprise, lay still. / had not had
time to recover from the terror and as
constituent caused by these startling in
cidents when my ears were greeted with
a terrific believing, and looking up the
canyon / saw the elk charging dowr
upon me. | whirled about, intending tx
seek safety in fight, when, to my utter
confusion, not a dozen feet away and di
rectly in the path | must pursue if | con
tinued my fight a monster grizzly beal
reared himself up on his hind legs ant
with wide open mouth rushed for me
was in an awful situation. could se,
no possible way of escaping. On thu
right hand was the perpendicular wal
of the canyon and on the left a dec
chasm. Before was the grizzly bear an,
behind the rushing elk. Death faced m
whatever way / turned. trust | ma.
never feel the horror of that momen
again. The grizzly bear sprang forwar,
to seize and crush out my life with hi
strong arms, and the elk gave a might,
bound, his huge horns lowered ready t.
transfx my body.
"At that moment my heart seemed &
sink into my boots, and | fell fiat upol
/ the ground. With a crash like that G
> the collision of two locomotives. the AM
mails met over my pfostrate form. In
; terrific momentum of the elk bore him
self and the bear over my body. Flo
about five seconds there was a tremen
dous struggles; then both beasts fell
locked together, to the ground, and in
moment more had expired. One of til
sharp prongs of the horns of the elk ha
: pierced the heart of the grizzly. and til
elk's neck had been broken by the bea
I in his death struggle. | bounded to NJ
feet. not knowing whether to run G
stand still, SO sudden, so terrible and 8
many had been the dangers which ha
n threatened me. But everything wa
quiet, and all my foes were dead.
ION investigation ] found that m
q rifle ball had struck the elk at the bias
of the horns, where the bone is thic
' --1 ---