The Mason County journal. [volume] (Shelton, W.T.) 1886-1927, 1894-02-02

| Burning leaves and glowing twigs be-
gan to fall upon and about him. The
heat and smoke were less where the
bear, with her cubs at her heels, had
crouched low, with her nose close to
ground. She was determined to wait
for vengeance to the very last The
wind became stronger. The roar OF
the advancing flames grew louder and
louder To stay longer in the tree was
impossible There was no chance for
life there. There was fighting chance
for it with the bear. Taking his jack
knife from his pocket and opening it,
Nelson slid quickly to the lowest
branch of the tree, and swinging him.
self from it, struck the ground three or
four feet beyond the bear, and made a
| dash for the road. The bear, with her
head thrust against the ground, was
taken by surprise, but she was up
and after Nelson so quickly that he
had but four or five yards the start of
her. But terror almost gave him wings.
He gained on his implacable pursuer.
Burning leaves and branches fell thick
ly about him.
s'The heat was intense. But on he
sped, gaining slowly but surely on the
bear. To his horror the heat grew
fiercer as he advanced. There was but
one explanation for that. The fire had
greater Roadway in that direction, and
was approaching nearer the road there
Suddenly, in turning a sharp bend in
the road, Nelson stopped. There was
no thoroughfare further. The flames
had reached the road not fifty yards
ahead, leaped across it, and wall Of
roaring flame barred the way. Nelson
turned and looked behind him. The
bear was still slouching in tireless gait
on his track.
ITO remain at that spot ten minutes,
perhaps less, meant the most horrible
of deaths. In short time the flames
would reach the road along the part of
it that he had come and shut him off
from escape in that direction. The
woods on the opposite side offered no
avenue of escape, for they were but a
narrow strip of slender growth be-
tween the road and rocky ledge, per-
pendicular and nowhere less than ten
feet high. The only way for Nelson to
get beyond the danger of the fire was
to retrace his steps down the road for
an eighth of a mile, and to do that he
| must contest the way with the infuri-
ated bear, now once more upon him.
There was no time to think or plan.
Nelson, who had held on to his knife.
pitched blindly into the bear. He does
81 1,,,+ /,
remembers a fierce but brief hand-to-
hand struggle, from which he emerged,
| bleeding and tattered, to find himself
again in full flight down the road the
bear close behind HIM, the air sitting
with heat and smoke. and fiery frag
ments of the burning wood falling
about him in thicker shower than
ever.
"He had not run long before the air
grew cooler, and he knew he had
passed the danger line of the fire. But
he was nearly exhausted, and the bear
was still on his trail, and, of course,
tireless. No one ever saw tired bear.
1t was mile to the nearest clearing.
Nelson knew he could never hold out to
gaining on him. He resolved to stop
and have it out with her there and
then. At that moment he almost
tainted with joy. In the swaying and
jolting of the blackboard as the terror
striker horse had jolted it over the
road, the rifle had been thrown out,
and there it lay, ready to Nelson's hand,
at the side of the road. He had to put
three bullets into the bear before she
fell, and she would not die before he
had fired two more into her. Then he
rested The two cubs came toddling
along by and by. And he captured
them alive, after all
Nelson found his horse at the clear
ing, mile ahead. He went back and
loaded his bear upon the blackboard,
which had endured it's lively trip with
out mishap, strange to say, and reached
home by roundabout way, determined
that he would never nix his freight
ing and bear-fghting again"