The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1894-01-12
jim sHELDoN,s GREAT SHOT.
Its Results were so Extraordinary That
lie was Satisfied 40 stop Hunting.

"My friend, Jim Sheldon, OF Cooper
| City, on the Pecos River, New Mexico"
said n former ranchman of that re-
gion, never went hunting but once in
his life, but he had a great day of 1t
the time he did go. There were num-
Der of elk hanging around in that
vicinity, and Jim got 1t in his head
that he wanted some elk meat. L
don't know whether he wanted elk
meat because a cheeky she grizzly bear,
with three cubs, had been playing hob
with his stock of beef cattle for IA
couple of weeks and he felt as If he
couldn't afford to eat beef or whether
he wanted elk meat just for the fun
of getting it. Anyhow, he mounted
burro one day and started out after
an elk. He got on the track of one,
and, thinking he could sneak up on 1t
and get shot at 1t surer by going on
foot than he could by riding, he dis
mounted and let the burro take care
of itself. The contrary little cuss went
right on ahead of Jim, and wouldn't
come back. In less than five minutes
he was out of sight.
IF you never saw burro when he's
scared you've missed a sight. 1t isn't
so much the sight Of him, either, that's
so funny, although that's funny
enough to get him seven curtain calls.
It's the hearing of him that's the side
splitting part of scared burro. But
1t isn't often that n burro is scared.
When he is, up goes his tail, his ears
and his bristly name. His eyes bulge,
and he tries to run in every direction
at once. His utterances are what
knock you, though. They are not loud,
but moumful, and come in sudden
s.Na IN Al
noises n couple of deaf mutes make
when in earnest conversation, only Of
more volume and of wider range of
tone.
'Jim's contrary burro had been out
of sight perhaps ten minutes when
Jim saw him coming back. He was
scared, and no mistake. His ears were
way up, and so were his name and his
tail His eyes were bulglng, and the
way he ran the mournful gamut Of his
tcrror-stf1cken voice when he came up
TO Jim was better than Niger min
strel first part. But he wouldn't let
Jim catch him. He circled round and
round, now and then stopping and
gazing back in the direction from which
he had come, and talking fearfully
about what he had seen.
81 wonder If it's InjinsT said Jim.
"Jim got 1t in his head at first that
II was Indians, but then 1t struck him
that 1t must have been that the burro
had run across the elk and that the
elk had made charge on him, so Jim
concluded to go on and see. The burro
didn't go with him, but struck bee
line for home, and that was five miles
away. Jim sneaked along down the
river for a quarter Of mile or more,
"a nd fhnn rounded a oh IN hnr1 T1,n
instant he got around that bend he
squatted, for not more than 100 yards
ahead of him stood grizzly bear, and
tumbling in the grass near her were
three cubs.
1.-The blasted brute that's been
slaughtering my cattler said Jim, and
he pulled up to give her the slugs. But
as he pulled up and ran his eye over
the gun barrel, he almost fell over, for
just beyond the big grizzly stood the
elk, feeding away as peaceful as n
cow. At first Jim didn't know what
to do. He wanted elk meat, and he
knew that If he fired at the bear away
would go the elk, and never stop in
side of twenty miles. If he shot the
elk the chances were that it would rob
him of his revenge on the bear. Re-
venge came out on top, and Jim pulled |
up ana Dlazed away at the grizzly.
When the smoke cleared away Jim
looked to see what had occurred. The |
grizzly lay on the ground giving her |
last kick. The elk had dropped in his |
tracks and lay there as stiff and mo-
tionless as II he had been stone elk |
The three cubs were shifting and whin- !
ing around their mother.
"'Pizen junlperr said Jim. What In |
thunder have / doneT
He walked up kind O. slow and with |
his eye peeled, but there wasn't any |
need of his doing 1t, He had aimed |
for the bears heart, as he thought, but |
his bullet had severed the spine at the |
neck, and then kept right on until 1t |
was stopped by the elk's heart, which |
to be Just In range. The |
bear and the elk were dead before |
they heard the report of Jim's gun. |
Jim tied the three cubs so they couldn't |
get away and started for home after |
help. He hadn't gone half way, |
though, before he met plenty Of help |
His burro reaching the ranch |
without him had alarmed his folks,
and party had started to look for
him. They took in the dead bear and
elk and the three live cubs, and Jim
would scarcely talk to common folks
for month. But he never went hunt
ing again. He didn't want to spoil his
record"