The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1894-07-11
OLD EPHRIA1I.
Fights To the Death with Two Fcro-
ciOus PumRs.

A hunting party has just returned
from a trip Of about 100 miles into the
mountains, whore they had one of the
most thrilling experiences ever recorded
in the annals Of California.
Uncle Ben Thompson, one OF the best
known hunters i'm the Rockies, was in
charge of the party and in his character
istic way gives most interesting ac-
count Of the trip. He says:
"Taint every day YOU kin find old Eph-
RAM any more. Time was, and 'twarn't
so long ago nuter, when 1 could take a
man who was spilin' for a fight whar
he could git IL. but 'ceptin' a few. way
off from nowhar. thar amt no grizzlies
in the mountains. You kin find cuffeys,
but there amt no fun In EN-; they run
end you shoot at 'em like you would a
COW. but old Ephraim IS different The
more ! know about i'm the more want
company when I see one When the
party come to me and asked If we could
find any bar / told 'em we could try
but I didn't have much faith in runnin
across EN-. We struck out for Dead
Mans Gulch, thinkin' if we didn't get no
bar we might kill painter or two.
"One mornin' / elm down the canon
. 600 feet TO kim o. look aroun' and git
my bearins. 1t had been a var or so
Stree had been out yonder an / wanted
to git the right lay OF the Ian fore We
went TO huntin' I'm good earnest. l seed
bar signs fust thing an / llnOwed Il was
old Ephraim an that he war a big un
Then / started back for camp to cit the
party together. / didn't want no truck
with me alone an on foot. ] hadn't
gone morn 100 yards when / seed one
come through the bushes an 1 started TO
run-so did he. K "ar as purity a race
as you ever seed until | elm q tree,
then the bar jest went to sniffin' roun'
the groun' kind O. mad because I'd got
away.
In about a minute there came the
worst yOulin' / ever heerd, an I knowed
that there were a cub puma up in that
tree just above me, an the old 'un
couldn't be very far away. Then 1 seed
her crouchin' on a limb watchin the
bar, she hadn't seed me, an jist gettin'
ready TO spring. then / knowed her mate
war somewhat nigh about, for puma
got too much sense to tackle a grizzly by
itself. She screamed for her mate an
he answered from a tree nigh the one l
war In an the bar got ready TO fight.
Then the male puma came through the
air an lit on the bar. but didn't git q
good holt the other lighted sQuar on his
shoulders, an / knowed that the fight
would be a purity one. The bar rolled
over an as he went got a blow In on the
male puma, knocldn' II about twenty
yards, an 1t didn't git up no more. But
the she one want so easy 10 git rid of.
The cat stuck to him, tryin' to cut his
throat. while he tried to git a lick in.
Jest one chance war all he wanted, but
he couldn't git il. OF all the snarlin'
and youlin' an screamin' that beat the
world. She had to let go onct, an Eph-
rain got in a lick that knocked a big
hole in the side of her head. but she was
plucky. an that time got her teeth into
his throat He turned over on his back
an got one of his feet under her body,
Just rippin' her open, but the teeth aud
front claws had done their work. an In n
few minutes both animals war dead. Ar
ter l war sartin that thar would be no
sudden resurrection / elm down the tree
and goin' back to camp we got the bodies
OF the three and skinned EN-; then We
went an killed the cub that had first
told me he war thar. It's the first time
In my life that / ever got a grizzly with
out firm a gun. We dinn't fin no more
on the trip. but he was one of the biggest
ever seed. "-Pasadena (Cal) Special.