The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1894-11-03
TOLIN' A GRIZZLY.
Extraordinary Yarn by Maine Forty
Miner.

Nhy Bdyine Interference Allowed Him But
0ne Grizzly-How He Was Frozen to
the Ground-A Story That Is Stranger
THAN Fiction. Consequently True.
He was not putting away at an old black
1itpes nor was he rolling his quid in his
mouth nor even sitting beside a campfire.
lie VAS an absolute teetotaler. this old man.
for be used neither tobacco or rum or pro
family and yet he had been cowboy and a
hGarter ia the Rockies. His life had been
she Of unusual adventure and hardship.
pet he could tell story without a pipe or
Rn oath or a campfire. He told this tale to
ME in the midst of furious thunder storm
jim the Maine wilderness. The lightning
WAS almost continuous as was the roar of
the thunder. 1t rained in sheets. But we
Were quite, CONSIDERABLE, in the lea of big
p@ck On the shore of the lake, and Struggled
together beneath orr upturned boat.
This thunder'n lightnin's about the
worst ever Seed said my companion. ut
makes me think of the biggest explodin'
snd blaZin' that ever | did see an that was
the time gut my first grizzly. 1t was this
away. We went up the, Umpka River in a
canoe eme'an two others. III yer think its
fun ter ketch bass sr two in this lake,
5er'd orter been with us. Them was the
days when the salmon ust ter. come up from
the ocean and jest fill them Oregon rivers.
We saw 'em so thick that they showed each
other out on the shore. Yer don't believe
thats Well, It's so. Il
The Injuns had ycornered 'em, yer see
They built sorter fence out slantways in
ter the river an the salmon would foller it
er long till they kept pling up. tween the
fence and the shore till. they filled up the
water and run over on ter the land.
The little Injun .tops an girls. stark
neckid, would run down 10 the STORE and
gran one err them big thirty-l ound salmon
and start off UP the bank, an III of er sud
den the salmon would nop an they'd roll
down the bank, an first the fish would be
on top an then the 10y. That's sport, for
yer, in the fshin' line. WELL we KEEP err pad
dim upthe river. We was kinder prospect,
in round, yersknow. We went up the west
branch of the wes. lrancn till we come to
ef place that stopped us. The river ONE
shall.r all ter once. seed how twas right
Off. 1t run over er kind or Iorous rock
and soaked inter it, yer see, go that there
was only small oo.sa in the boilers and
little stl eans running from one ter the
other. All the water was in The rock yer
see. Wall, The river run ,Lro gh kind of er
gully there and Tor Il. If a il lie there was
the biggest heap eg drift wood an logs an
jumps an brush that ever seed. Yer see
it tome down The liver and stuck on the
rocks at the porous place. here Was
acres an acres of 1t an all dry cs finder.
put er match to it sn' away she went.
Ben gatln ring hire fer ages, yer gee. and
there was CT tremensas pile OF 1 1t lltzed
Up higher an higher and ght SO hot that We
had ter climb the bank 'toIt er hundred
yards ter git tleHa OF it. We was se,tfn'
there or wateLfn' it. when I'LL of a sudden
there was i.efiienj IS explosion. We'd
s'pe:ed that The lfoaf er them flames was
60 loud that We couldn't hear nothing
else. put we he~ru tlite explosion ANU We
SEED ih' rlvtr bed 81 goin up IN the All an
the Dli.An WOOD lell All round US an SO ald
pieces or rock ana aewn IN the aver there
was ehhnks INC river neo as nis = S Ills
BOAT or gtln inter 'Ae air
II Keep on expieoln' AN eAploeln' an We
gut outer the way hSeis th yer. II
h'haer scarf ns az hfst' out l seea now
was r'sht OH. 1er see Lat oig Ire gut
int efses roeh a"lei Lon an JEST soon
! 5 'he water III IL sut MOI erAah IL went Oh
ih'.f steam an pie" tHe river ecu ihter
s,-lhereens
IL sep r1i loain Ter most nall eTn hour.
happenca Ter seeHFomelnlng El"ck way up
Tue LII slde er mofln. IL come nearer an
nearer an seed II was er grizzly. lie was
tr eohlhs ter see what all that NOISE was
apodt.
He'd stop AID listen TIL he heard an eS-
los1on an then ONE Il long err spell AZ
III stop n listen. lie alunt see us. lie
"aint iLibkin or no LIN jest then- mt
init Noise. bitneby he elm out On er IL lie
tree that SUCK out over Inc Tl'ef- q ne
nla' fre,ts shot. lsier shoot Iret y
close i'll them DAYS. Jest aimed Ter the
back ef his neck t,nu lie dropped OH the log
like er turtle.
4 hat W. the first an only grizzly ever
shot an I've lived ernong ELI fer years.
But somehow Inevtr happe ned ter git er
sight on one of EN-. l spose God Amitey
come ter the conclusion thai il a man took
ter tom lrizzlys by lowin' up river beds.