The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1895-07-12
IMPRISONED.
Exciting Adventure OF Young ana
Pretty School Teacher.

ExCftfuE Adventure OF rOuuf suH
Pretty School Teacher.
Katie Rankin is pretty, twenty
year old schoolmistress In a Pennsyl-
yania town. She is also heroine, as
an adventure in which she was the
leaading character has proved. A
two hundred and fifty-pound black
bear was the other actor in the affair,
and Katie's schoolhouse was the scene
OF the combat.
Just back of the one-story school
house stretches forest, up and across
the mountain, which rises five hun
dred feet or more. II Is no uncommon
thing to see bears or catamounts in
these woods. The knowledge that
there were wild beasts about caused
Katie Rankin to carry revolver, for
her boarding place is fully half mile
distant from the schoolhouse.
One night snow fell in that locality
TO the depth of twenty inches. Next
morning Miss Rankin started for her
school, going quite early, so that she
could have the room warm before the
pupils began to arrive.
On opening the door, she was sur
prised to find one of the windows in
the rear of the room wide open. It
had apparently been open all night,
for the snow had drifted in.
Hurrying up the aisle to make fast
the window, she was startled to see
a big black form lying on the floor
close to the stove. She was about to
flee when the black form rose up, and
she was surprised still more to find IL
not man, but big black bear.
d. NI,A ht1N IN \ h0Va
hurry to get inside when she arrived,
a minute before, she had failed to re-
move the key from the outside, and 1t
had sprung shut, and thus was the
now thoroughly alarmed girl made a
prisoner, with a big black bear as a
companion.
Old bruin sat up on his launches
and blinked at the terrified girl.
At last. having surveyed her to his
entire satisfaction, bruin gave loud
grunt, showed two rows of teeth, then
turned and shambled toward the open
window. With his fore paws on the
sill he looked back over his shoulder
at Miss Rakin. who stood trembling
at the door, then he raised his ponder
cus form and slid out into the snow.
It was then that Miss Rankin be-
thought herself, and rammed her hand
into her coat pocket for her revolver.
With this as a helpmate, and the bear
on the outside of the building, all her
bravery returned. She knew that
bruin could not well get back If she
barricaded the windows, and she did
want to shoot a real true bear so
badly.
On going to the window, she was
surprised to find that the bear had
not yet gone more than ten feet to-
ward the wood. The snow was so
deep and Of such a feathery nature
that it was next to impossible for the
woolly-coated creature TO move.
She did not stop to think that bears
are not usually shot with revolver.
She watched bruin founder in the
snow, and knew that he could not get
back to her, even though the first few
shots did no more than injure him.
Simultaneous with the report of the
firearm the bear jumped into the air
several feet then went rolling into
the snowdrift An instant later he
was again on his feet, this time with
his face toward the schoolhouse win
dow.
Again Miss Rakin raised her pistol,
this time taking aim for the bears
eye. The bear fell again into the
snowdrift. This time he was slow to
rise, and before he accomplished this
another bullet went ploughing into
his body, and he lay down to die.
The shooting at the schoolhouse was
heard by those at a farmhouse just
across the creek. and several of the
men folks came hurrying through the
snow, one of them carrying a gun.
The man with a gun made his way
to where the bear lay, and found that
the beast was not dead. He raised
his gun to fire the finishing charge,
but was stopped before he could pull
the trigger by Miss Rankin, who ex-
claimed:
Here, l want to kill that bear"
The man stepped back, and Miss
Rankin, from her position at the win
dow, sent another bullet into the WOOL
ly mass that lay partly hidden in the
snowdrift Miss Rankin has had
rug made of the bearskin