The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1894-05-09
Ripples from the WinoOski.
THE BEAR FIGHT AT SLIP HILL.

Down where the river cuts through the
foothills, east of the Hogbacks, there &C.
Cured, some more than sixty years ago one
OF the spunkiest bear fights on record since
the days of David Crockett. 1 expect this
bear was on his last round of foraging be-
fore going into winter quarters. He was
large and fat, and was started near Middle
sex Center.
The first to get on his track was George
Holden, a young man not much over
twenty. Armed with long-handled pitch.
iork, but strong of limb and swift of foot,
he put the bear to his best speed for some
four miles, over banks and braes, through
wllds and windfalls, till they reached the
river bank near what is known as "Slip
HILL" The bear was not in the best run.
ming condition and thought best to take to
a tree, but as he started up one, the young
hunter, who was close at his heels, iabbed
MIN savagely in the rear with the pitchfork.
lIhat old fork was made by the " Center 4"
blacksmith, Abram Gale the tines were
hammered out in the shape of the New Jeru-
salem " Tour square," and they had about
the curve, size and polish of cows horn).
When bruin felt this instrument of torture,
he was as mad as fire, and at once came
down to the ground, rising on his hind feet,
and growing fiercely, he reached for the
boy.
1t looked like an unequal game. Here
was the bear, the champion wrestler of the
animal tribe, weighing 400 pounds, opposed
to boy of 100 pounds without claws or any
other weapon of defence but his hands
But George Holden was born with that
courage, nerve, and will that dsdains to
count odds-such courage as led Boone into
the wilds of Kentucky in 1863, as led
Crockett to die in 1886 at the Alamo" as
led John Brown to attack the solid South in
1859 Such courage had this Middlesex
boy OF 49,. Without an instants hesta-
ton, he grappled with the angry monster
and the performance was begun They
soon fell to the earth, and rolling, wrthng,
scratching and biting were in order for
few minutes. George, on his part, devoted
his energies to trying to hit the bear on the
nose, to choke him, or to tear out his lolling
red tongue; while the bear used his claws
vigorously on the boy in vain attempt to
p" tore his eensides all off," as the Canuck
Antoine says in "Uncle Lishas Shop"
and fighting thus, they reached
the steep bank of the river where it falls off
at about seventy degrees for many rods.
Down this incline they went, rolling side
wise, endwise and otherwise. Their speed
was " fast and followed faster " as the force
Of gravity increased. Down, down they
went humping over brush, logs and stone,
still in close embrace, and with all the en-
thusiasm of young lovers trying to hug one
another to death, till they reached the lev
waters of the Winoosk.
Here new complications arose, aside from
the danger of drowning-the combatants
were sweaty and the water cold. There
were chances for chills, COMPOSITIONS, con-
symptoms and conniptions. So they wisely
to call that round dra,o, and, |
citing go their holds, started up the bank |
again. The bear was the better climber,
and, getting up to the little plauteau first,
made for tree and got up high before his |
oe could fire that ugly old fork at him. |
Then for the first time the young hunter
,alled for help. He sent his voice clear as
/ trumpet back over the trail for his tagging
who, hearing the note of triumph |
n it, hurried on. The first to arrive had |
'nly shotguns, with which they aggravated |
ruin with birdshot, whereat he " grinned |
horrible a CHASTITY SMILE" Soon there |
anne one with long rifle-the clerk of the |
own, Horace Holden, Esq.,-who, with one |
shot, brought the bear to the |
round, and the fight was over. But young
George Holden, as the hero Of the battle,
vas permitted to cut off the big paws of the |
'east to keep as trophies of his hard-won
,ear fight
He was for twenty-five years my nearest
leighbor,-a brave, generous and loving
nan, one of the first to die for his country
n the war Of 1916. His grave may be
in the Louisiana owlands but
he mountains of Middlesex are his monu-
nents.
Green be the turf above thee,
Friend of my better days.
None knew thee but to love thee,
None named thee but to praise"
VIC.