The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1895-11-07

cen minutes L looked GOWN upon IllS
most interesting spectacle, and was
about making up mind to try what eff
feet the sending OF a rife ball into one
Of the unsuspecting bears would have
on the gathering, when suddenly a
change came over each and every sill
yer tip. Those that were snOozing in
the sun sprang to their feet The
wrestling and sparring ceased and
every bear stood in an attitude Of in
tent listening.
a few seconds later [ heard a pro
longed wailing or baying, evidently
subdued by distance, and borne from
the direction Of the mountain beyond
the woods. 1t did not seem possible
that the bears | now saw below me
could be the same ones | had seen a
few minutes before, the personifiration
Of supinoness and listlessness. They
tramped to and fro, every posture a1d
movement showing that they were fur
ious with rage The stiff halr on their
necks stood erect, and | could see,
even at that distance, their eyes glar
ing tiercely A chorus of savage groWls
denoted their intense displeasure.
The strange baying [ had heard
rapidly came nearer, until [ could dis
tinguish that it was made up of saw
age yeIp5 and barks and vicious snarl-
ing. | supposed that pack OF wolves
was rushing toward the valley, and
that the silver tips were preparing to
Fgiye it bloody greeting for intrud-
ing upon their retreat The noise
made by the advancing pack had be
come one wild wave of discordant
sound, made UP of blood -curdling
yells and yelps and howls. The bears
had massed themselves not far from
the base of the bluff, and immediate
y beneath where [ was standing
That there was to be q terrible combat
Of some kind [ knew, and, as my ex
cltement and suspense increased |
threw myself fiat on the ground and
peered over the edge of the bluff.
feeling that | could not possibly stand
with safety on the height and witness
the battle.
4 had scarcely taken my position
when the edge of the woods seemed to
become suddenly alive. From between
the trees and along the timber border
for long distance yelling and howl
ing like demons, crOwding, pushing
and tumbling over one another in
their haste for blood swarmed a horde
OF the most ferocious looking beasts
it could be possible to imagine. [
saw at once that they were not wolves
and then [ knew they must be a pack
Of the dreaded wild dogs OF Wind riv-
er. They had come down from their
mountain haunts and trailed the sil
yer tips to their summing place to this
quiet valley. There must have been
more than hundred wild dogs in the
pack. The bristling, savage front
these fifteen ponderOu5 bears present
ed would have halted the tiercest,
hung'iest pack of timber wolves that
ever sought prey and sent it back in
nasty retreat. But these wild dogs
rushed on like compact unhesitating
bilow. They threw themselves upon
the massed silver tips, and the terrific
conflict began, TIE mingled roars Of
the bears and the snarling, bowling
and yelping Of the wild dcg5 filled
that peaceful vale with such sounds as
has assailed few human ears. In less
than 4 minute the ground was atrewn
With the blood aud nutilated bodies
OF wild dogs, and twoof the enormous
bears We're literally torn to pieces
The bears became widely sep arat
ed early Ill the fight A dozen dogs
would attack one bear. Some wOuII
leap at his throat, and fasten their
frightfGl fangs there. refusing to re-
lax their deadlg hold even when torn
almost limb from limb by the bear, or
crashed into pulp in his mighty en-
brace. Others attacked in the rear
and at each side. surrounding the
doomed beast and tearing away his
flesh everywhere. the places of the
dogs that fell being quickly filled by
Others.
Il think the battle must have lasted
for fifteen minutes At the end of
that time every bear but one had been
killed. From their carcasses dozen Of
the ravenOus pack We're tearing the
flesh and gorging themselves at the
feast they had won. The lone 6urviv
ing bear was an enormous brute. He
had backed himself against the side
of the bluff, and the dogs that assailed
him could only attack him from the
front. lis flesh hung in strips from
his sides and breast. and blood poured
IN streams from wounds in his throat
Yet he fought the swarming dog de-
mons for fully five minutes after his
last companion had fallen, and all
about him the ground was piled deep
with his victims. At last [ could
see nm begin to tOtter and sway An
immense dog, with a head and Jaw of
enormous size, sprang clear over the
ranks of dogs that were struggling TO
get their fangs in somewhere in the
brave old silver tip, and caught him
full iii the ragged, bleeding wound in
his throat. The bear gave roar that
male the bluff tremble, threw his la
cerated forelegs around the dog that
had fastened himself to his throat and
drew them quickly together. l could
hear the dogs Bones crunch above all
the noise, but be did not loosen his
jaws from the bears throat even to
give his death yell That was the sill
ser tips lastvictim, He fell like a top
ping tree to the ground, with hisdeath
clasp around the dog he ha / crushed,
and with the dogs death grip at his
throat
The battle was over. | have been
on bloody battle fields, but | have
never seen one that presented a more
slckening sight than that spot after
this fierce conflict was ended Icount
ed forty-tive horribly mutilated car
cases of wild dogs that We're strewn
over the ground. The soil had been
turned into bed of bloody mud. OF
the fifteen bears nothing was left of
thirteen bus their stripped bones, SO
quickly had those ravenous dogs torn
axaV and dpyOura6 the fash nf tbair