The Wichita daily eagle., 1893-12-16
AN INTERRUPTED AUCTION.


Jake and Bank Meant to Trade Bears, but
the Bears Objected.
"Jake, how'll ye trade bears?' asked
Hank Reynolds of Jake ketcham one
morning. Hank was leaning over
Jake's dooryard fence on Catbird creek.
and Jake,s tame bear Pocono was play
fully performing on pole in the yard
''I'n trade We my bear fur rour'n
Hank" said Jake, fur three bushels
'taters to boot"
s'All right" Hank replied, "'fetch
your bear over to my place next Sun
day and III do it"
NO. I can't do that Hank" said
Ketcham. '''cause it's too fur and the
COINS bad: but I'll tell We what will
do. though. Mr.. Gardner's goin' to
have vandue next Friday. Bring
your bear to his place that day. and
I'll take mine up there. and we'll trade.
But don't fergit the 'taters. Hank"
That's fair enough, Jake" Rey-
nolds said. Its bargain"
Reynolds lives on Shad berry Hill six
miles from Ketcham's and Burton e.
Gardner owns farm on Goose Pond
Run, about half way between. Rey-
noids came down to Gardner's place on
Friday of latt week with three bushels
of potatoes in blackboard wagon and
his tame bear Toby hitched to the rear
Toby and Poeono were twin brothers,
but they hadn't seen one another since
Mike Noonan stole them from their
mother in Daly's swamp four years ago
last spring. when they We're small cubs.
When Auctioneer w. Il Evans mount
ed barrel and started to sell cow,
Reynolds led Toby to a corner of the
barnyard and let him amuse himself
by gnawing a bone. ketcham soon
came up the road with Pocono in tow,
and marched him into the barnyard at
the end of a chain Toby growled at
the sight of Pocono. Pocono growled
back, and the next instant both bears
broke away from their owners and
clinched. Reynolds and Ketcham yelled
and kicked at their pugnaeious pets,
but the bears were in for bloody bat
tie, and they speedily got rid of their
collars, rolled and tumbled, ,clawed and
bit, plunged through tie crowd of bid
ders, and knocked the barrel from un-
der the auctloneer's feet just as he was
asking: do / hear no more?"
Auctioneer Evans climbed up q
stack of buckwheat straw in a hurry
and the bears tore around the
barnyard till the cattle and sheep
stampeded to the roads and fields By
that time all the bidders had f d, and
the auctioneer sung out from his perch
on the stack: "How much am offered
for the bearscn 1.-TWO ceptsr' some
body yelled back from the road. where
at the auctioneer shouted 'Sold!" at
the top of his lungs
Meantime Ketcham and REYNOLDS
dubbed and kicked the fighting bears
with all their might, but the bears
clawed and bit and pummeled one
another as though they had always
been wild. The fur and blood flew, and
the bears tipped over the watering
trough, upset wagon, smashed a cut
ter into kindling wood, broke through
the siding of shed. and rolled into the
meadow, where they fought harder
tLiftA CfCl. OCCic
and turned tail, and the men rushed in
with clubs and pitchforlss and sep
arated them. Ketcham ran Pocono
into stable. and Reynolds put a rope
around Toby's neck and tied him to
the blackboard. Both bears were badly
used up Mr.. Gardner made Reynolds
and Ketcham pay him 81 each for the
damage the bears had done to his prop
erty.
Jake, wouldn't trade now if you'd
give me three bushels of TIA ters to boot.
instead of me givin' 'em to you. Your
bear amt no good" said Reynolds
But you have traded" said Jake,
'and I'm going to let you have Pocono
and take Toby and the 'taters."
Guess not" said Reynolds. ''Toby
and the 'taters goes hum with me-" and
he whipped up his nag and started,
and Ketcham had to take his bear back
to Catbird Creek-N. Y Tribune.
BY CARAVAN