The Ketchum keystone. [volume] (Ketchum, Idaho) 1885-1899, 1894-06-09

- -
THE MARIPOSA "WRALE"
Some Great Exploits Of = Giant
California Hunter.
His 1Aane - Ds ResDe<aassAh ~ sAsoa-
neat-oereagsr TAaa oand"v and
Moro Dsxtsroas Than
Cofbett.
Steps are being taken in Fresno TO
erect . monument to Asberry Wills,
the famed Mariposa giant, who used TO
whip bears .single-hGnded and who
could lift more than Sandow. and was
altogether more formidable In his way
than Corbett.
He was the most famous OF all Cali
fornia's strong men, and was probably
the most phenomenal man in his sue
cesses as hunter ever known on the
Pacific coast. Asberry died over =
dozen years ago, and his body lies in . =
rocky defile near the edge of Kings
Canyon The determination ON the part
of some California pioneers to build .
monument to his memory has caused
many remarkable stories of his prowess
to be related. His phenomenal
strength, coupled with his exploits in
the Sierras, are fresh in the minds OF
the Argonauts.
Asberry was born in Mariposa county,
and at the age of seventeen years
stood six feet four inches in his stock
ing feet, and was at once entitled to
and received the sobriquet of the
butterfly Whale" The word 'butter-'
fly" was the Translation of Mariposs, :
which in the Spanish means butterfly.
The name was originally bestowed to
the county because OF the very large
number of curious butterflies there.
The whale" was exceedingly fond OF
adventure In the wild mountains about
him. He was Of fine physique, pro-
portionately built, and with eyes -
sharp % IN eagles His hair and
beard were as black as ravens wing,
and he always wore quantities Of both
This man was always accompanied
by two companions, whom he desig.
mated 40 ''Old Hell-in-the-Brush and
"Heart Deep" The former was mag
niflcent London twist rife-bore gun.
which carried an ounce ball. It
weighed eighteen pounds, and was IN
old-fashioned muszle loader, but never
in any way went back on the name be-
slowed on it by the Butterfly Whale"
.Heart Deep was huge double-edged
steel dirk weighing eleven pounds.
which tile whale" welded as easily
as the average man would . penknife.
On one occasion, while on . hunting
trip on the south fork Of Kings river.
he came to meadow and concluded to. I.
fence off little of it for the use Of his
mustangs. He and the single COM
panion with him began telling the
trees. By some miscalculation one OF
the trees fell in different diree-
ton from what was expected. and
caught the friend of the giant, crush
ing him to the earth. It had been .,
very lofty tree, was two feet thick,
where it caught the unfortunate man.
and was almost as heavy as lead. But
the whale" was equal to the emerg-
encv. Concentrating all his giant
strength, he lifted the trunk from the
crushed and bleeding form. The man
soon died of his injuries, but his last
hours were much easier BY reason OF
the feat Of his giant friend. Many
other .feats Of strength were per,
formed by him 1T different times His
lifting power was nine times his own
weight, or eighteen hundred poundA
One of his most phenomenal feats Of
strength, combined with his great pres
ence Of mind In time Of danger, was H.
lustrated while he was on the middle
fork of Kings river Proapeoting i4er
gold. just before dusk one evening
he espied . six-months-old grizzly.
weighing fully two hundred pounds, on
shelving ledge Of rock asleep. The
whale" said he would capture the
beautiful thing alive, and began to
steal up on it. Ills companiou, Lewis,
advised him that he had better shoot
It. but the whale" said he would en-
, Joy the fun. At this Lewis climbed .
tree to be ont of any possible scrim-
mage. The giant advanced cautiously
MP to the edge of the ledge and graeped
the young grizzly by its hind feet The,
bear woke, was astonished, and Tor the,
first time in its life summoned, al ita
young strength in desperate battle.
It CHANGED that the edge Of the bowl
der on which the "Whale" stood was
slopinr, and he could not get . firm
foothold. A fearful struggle ensued,
and 1t length both hear and man
rolled of into the .eopse Of yerba
buena and fern. The brute uEas pow
erful and set up yelling.
This called the mother, . huge gfiz-
zly, only Z few rods away, from the
brush. She came twenty feet 1t
bound, growing terribly, and with
eyes blazing like dre. Lewis, from ht4
perch in the tree, tried to shoot her
and fred several times. In rolling oven,
with the bear the whale" had come
up on top. Hercalized Immediately his
precarious position, and, grabbing the
cub by It's heels, swung it with pro-
digious force, by powerful swing OF
his great arms, against tho giant gri1I
NV. It's head struck the Aery brute
souare in the mouth, and IT. bruised
and bleeding form dropped from his
hands. Quicker than Il would be pos,
siblc to tell It the "Whale" had jumped
to the fore and buried the eleven
pounds Of steel Of Heart Deep" in
the vitals Of the old besr, killing her
inmediately. Lewis clambered down
from his tree and looked In vain for.
marks Of his bullets. He had not hit