Elmore bulletin. [volume] (Rocky Bar, Idaho) 1889-1906, 1894-02-17
HEBOSS BEAR STORY
A BEAST THAT STARTED 4 LocoMo-
TIVE AND BLEW THE w wHlsTLE.

a Locomotive EnEineer's Interesting
stery-Brain Kept the Traln Out er :
smashup-tf yea Dsna neliews ft,
Read the Thrining Detmiis.
When the c. r. and W. w. railroad was
built. years ago. four miles of the track
passed through au unbroken piece Of for.
est kncwn locally as the Bear Den woosis
The name was due TO the tact that q
scanned and rocky ledge. extending diag
onally acrt,ss the wild stretch, was favor
lite lodging place for bears which were
numerous In that region then, and In fact
still hold their own there In numbers sum
cient to be- source Of much annoyance TO
the farmers who strive for living on the
borders Of the woods. The road connected
Chiffon Forks with the settlements AT
Wigtou's Willows. a distance Of twenty
eight miles. and was built TO develop the
timber and coal resources Of the region
was she engineer OF the construction train
during the building Of the road. and it was
u common sight to see bears come out OF
the woods ut frequent points along the
line and inspect with ludicrous curiosity
the strange work that was going on sn
their domain. We got NO we didn't mind
them any more than we might 40 many
pigs grunting along the track.
The railroad was completed toward she
end Of the summer. and day was set for
running the first train over it from Chiffon
Forks 10 the Willows. There was long
trestle mile west of Gravely's station
which carried she road over a ravine that
was more than hundred feet deep. The
track went onto the trestle from n very
sharp curve, and the trestle was NOT en-.
tirely finished, NO that no train or engine
could yet be run over IL with safety, ex.
cept with very slow and careful motion.
| The day the train was TO be run the sec.
/ tion foreman discovered that d piece Of
track near the eastern extremity Of the
Bear Den woods could be bettered consid
erably by little more filling In and bal.
lasting, and as everybody ON the work had
to I've a sort of general utility man, he sent
my fireman and me with n carload of
gravel 10 bolster up the weak spot The
job was bigger one than II was thought,
and when we had finished the work II was
almost time for the excursion train 10 be
coming along.
| In fact we had heard the locomotive
whistiing at Cherry Run. two miles east of
us. We had also heard the mutierings of
one Of those fierce storms that were com
mon In the region. BY the time we had
got on the engine aud were preparing to
pull out for Gravely's the storm came
bowling down worse than any ! had seen
since had been on the road. We could
hear the trees crashing down before II, and
a. | jumped In the cab big limb from n
hemlock came swooping square on the Ell.
! gine. and pinned me down between the
tender and the cab aud held me there as II
] were In wise. The fireman had stepped
up on the coal In the tender, and the same
fearful gust that bore the limb down on
me caught him and whipped him out OF
the tender ms II he had been a bundle of
| straw, and | heard him drop In the brush
of to one side Of the track. Tie didn't come
back and | supposed he WAS killed
There lay perfectly helpless, and knew
that the train with all the officers OF the
road and their friends aboard was boom.
ing along. and that In less than two min
utes It must come dashing at full speed
| upon my engine The Inevitable result Of
such n catastrophe was terrible 10 think
about. The storm was now raging fright
fully through the woods. Trees were tall.
Ing on every side. and could alnl lost feel
my hair tnrning gray. Az lay there
struggling To free myself. bear. terroi
stricken by the awful eommotion In the
4
fury. came climbing into the cab, and
stumbling over the butt OF tina heavy limb
that pinned me to the floor tumbledagainst
the furnace door. The bear scrambled 20
his feet and went paving wildly bout In
the cab. But ! gave no thought TO the
bear, for mingling with the tumult OF the
storm ! heard the rumble and tremor OF
the approaching train ON the rails.
Suddenly heard familiar click, and
instantly the engine started forward with
bound. | turned my head and looked at
the lever. The bear, In his aimless clutch.
Ing about In the cab, had caught III with
his paws and had pulled her wide open
The track WAS down grade all the way "a
Gravely's. and, great heaven how We few
The excursion train was right behind us.
knew, and In few seconds more would
have crashed into my engine. But that
great horror was escaped, and. although
was pinned down by the limb and had q
bear for pilot. almost tainted with Joy.
Down that grade we new like the wind
chat was bowling all around us The
thumping and rolling Of the locomotive
seemed to make the bear wild with excite.
ment. and he pranced about In the cab like
= crazy person. Then Of a sudden the
sharp curve and the dangerous trestle
beyond Gravely's flashed across my mind.
At the rate we were going. even II we
rounded the curve all right. we would
strike that trestie az n mile minuth and
down we should NO to the bottom OF that
ravine. 100 feet belowl
With this new horror fresh upon me the
engine flashed out OF the woods inao the
open country. Just mile and halt mors
70 the trestle, and couldn't see how any
thing on earth could save us. As We tori