The Big Stone Gap post. [volume] (Big Stone Gap, Wise County, Va.) 1892-1928, 1894-12-13
SMART BEARS.
Their Actions Surprised Unclo Bill Aaz zss-
s1s,,nna ,s,iyf F7o E.eaencd tie Gauss

~srr
through thick an. thin, said Uncle ON
Hammond, of Eldrea, that Sullivan
county bears, an specially them tnas q
lives mp Eldred way, was slle snartes Z
bears on earth. am Pn glad done
it, for they're provin' to me this season
In the most amazin' way that hafn !.
The victim O. misplaced confidence. !
tell you, I'm proud O. Sullivan county
bears this season. I'm kind o sorry
they done it, though, cause it seems
to me now that it hain't much oet.er u
murder to go out an knock one o 1hen
bears over.
I gener1y start out tolable early M
the season TO skirmish round in the
woods up in the Eldred district, SO 70
see what the prospects is for pear anu
things, an while had always seen q
heap O. evidence thatour bears was I'M :,
common smart it hadn't never s,pr1seu
me much, KNOWN that they was oui,
Ivan county bears, livin' in the Eldreo
woods, an so couldn't help it. But
there hain't no doubt that when took
nv skirmishin' tramps through the
woods this season was s'prised IRON
the ground up. AS was goin' along a
tolably fair-sized bear jumped out OF I, q
boiler stump. Course there WASH
nothin' sprisin' bout that, but STD O
givin' me grin, as our bears usually
did when thew seen me in the woods,
an then trottin' off, this bear riz up on
his hind feet, gave few Lively 9lg
steps, topped over on his fore feet' as
slick as anything, an stood there as
stiddy as if he'd been planted there!
Now that was s'prisin'. 49,
'Great Natur'p' says ]. IF this was
any bear but one of our'n, says J. 4
wouldn't a b'lieved it!''
The bear stood on his hands Ter a
mute, an then Aoppcd back ag'in TO
his feet, an fore I'd hardly ketched
my breath he turned back summer
set clean over the stump, an, cockin
his head to one side an GRIMM at me,
az much as to say: "Wel, how does
that strike you?" went off Into the
brush, turnin' handspsings one after
t'other, Eastern could count EN- TILL
he was out O sight!
Couldn't been a real bear!" says l,
after got over my s'prise enough SOS
could talk. "N1ust a been wound-ur
bear, with wheels inside of it, " says.
But 1 went on a skirmishin', an
hadn't gone more'n a quarter OF mile
when come on to sight that was SO
amazin' that jest had to set down an
wonder how I'd ever dare to tell it,
even in the Eldred country, where
they knowd how smart our bears was,
an s'pect to have my neighbors ever
recognize me ag'in as a Teller citizen o
truth an veracity. An what was the
sight seen? On the limb Of tree
more'n forty foot from the ground a
bear was hangin' head downwards by
his toes. Suddenly he pulled himself
no an grabbed holt O. the limb by
his paws, an went to s1innin' the
cat twistin' hisself bacl1'ards and for
ards twixt his forelegs jest as easy as
II he been born and brought up to
circusin' o that kind.
Iwisht hadn't seen it," says. 81
visit I hadn't seen it, fer I'll have to
keep it, all to myself, an I'll bust"
says
But if / visit I hadn't seen that
much, what do you s'pose my feelin's
must ben when I seen the rest that
was comm. After the bear had skinned
the cat mebbe half dozen times, he
pulled hisself up an hung by his toes
ag'in. Then he begun to swing, an
when he got to swingin SOS he almost
stuck out straight one way an t'other,
he all of sudden let go his toes on the
limb, an shot over to another limb, an
ketched on to it with his paws. He
swung there till he got a goin' like all
possessed, an then he let go O the limb
an sailed to another one an ketched on
to it with his toes. An so he kept on
agoin' till he got SO fur couldn't see
him.
I'll pike for home now These bears
IL gittin' little too spooky fer me-"
says.
:, picked myself up an started fer
home, but hadn't gone fer when a
bear jumped up on a log an went to
standin' on his head! I didn't wait to
see what more he could do, but made a
break on short cut to git out O. them
woods.
!vFhe strain o. keepin' this to myself
ii be more'n kin stand as it isn' says.
81 wish these bears hadn't done it.''
I guess I'd gone mebbe mile when /
come out into a little openin', an fer a
a minute I was sorry l had come that
way. But only fer minute. After
that was glad, fer right afore my
eyes was the hull business bein' made
clear A tremendous big bear, the
color of saddle, an with collar
round his neck, stood in the middle of
the openin'. Around him was dozen
bears, all of 'em young chaps. ] had for
got ali bout that big brown bear, but
recognized him. Last year a couple
CT Italians came through our district
with that bear. He was a trained bear,
am could do more tricks than any bear
I ever see He could turn summersets,
an dance, an throw handsprings, an
stand on his head, an skin the cat from
a pole, an do lots of other things. The
bear liked the fun, but he didn't seem
to like the company he was travelling
with, an one night he gave 'em the slip
an run away. The Italians hunted
high and low, but they couldn't find
him, an they went away feelin' had,
tell you. Nobody never seen nor heard
nothin' g. the trained bear, not till
run ag'in him there in the Eldred
woods. An what do you s'pose be was
dom when run ag'in him? Teachin'
them young bears of our'n all his