Abilene weekly reflector., 1895-04-18
ABII WEEKLY REFLECTOR ABILENE KANSAS APRIL 49, 1885,
The best time 70 get goOd snot at a

The best time " get good shot at a
bear Is when the acorns and blue ber-
ries are In season. ue is extravagant-
ly fond Of both, as well as Of hive Of
wild honey, which he devours regard
less Of whole swarm Of furious bees
attacking his impervious sides II he
cannot find acorns enough on the
ground for his breakfast-for, like
most wild animals, the early morning
is the time when he wants his chief
meal Of the day--he climbs the oak
trees and will break of or twist toward
the trunk Of the trees limbs six inches
in diameter. This he does with his
fore legs, which are immensely power
full. His whole strength seems to be
concentrated In them His manner
with blueborry bushes Is much more
gentle, in fact, quite human. 1t is q
sight never to be forgotten to see a
bear picking the delicious mountain
blueberry, that is, II you are at the
proper distance, say, on one side Of a
ravine and the bear on the other. 1t
is then that Sir Bruin resembles Mr..
Homo. lie sits erect on his launches,
reaches out his arms, for now they do
not seem legs, and closing them round
good thick cluster Of the bushes,
draws them up to his breast, and pro-
ceeds to pick the fruit as daintily US
lady eating strawberries with fork.
1t is in the season Of berries, acorns
and other autumnal fruit, with an oc-
casional tree Of honey, that he lays on
store Of fat for his long winter nap
in some cave or rocky den, which he
seldom leaves before early spring.
Although Mr.. NJ seldom has to ex-
ercise his skill in shooting Il bear, he Is
probably the best shot in the lower
ranges Of the White mountains. His
only rival is n boy now about fifteen
years old. The remarkable thing in re-
gard to this boy Is that he has but one
sound arm, the other having been par
alyzed from birth. His left arm hangs
like soft. limp rope, yet 1t is wonder
full how much he can help himself with
It. lie will swing IL around rake
staff or fork handle md do almost rs
much work as II he had two arms.
And with q shotgun or rifle he is tri-
umphant over beasts and birds; on the
wing, in tree, on ground or water, no
bird or animal can escape his quick and
unerring aim.
1t is singular how often the crippled
and MANNED undertake the very things
that seem the most impossible for
them, and usually with success. There
Is distinguished artist in Antwerp
who, having no arms, paints with his
toes.
People who live In the lowlands, in
towns and cities, know little Of the life
Of the boys md girls Of the mountains.
The girls help their mothers and early
learn all the parts Of housework; they
also help in the bayfield,, and general
ly know how to milk COW. Perhaps
1t will interest some girl to know TINT
In the earliest language Of our race,
the Aryan, daughter meant millsmaid
The boys work In the fields and woods
and know how to handle n gun or
set traps by the time they are ten or
twelve years old. At sixteen they can
tell more Of tho habits and haunts OF
birds and beasts and all sorts OF Gu
rious woodcraft than can be found in
books. They are familiar with every
nook and corner Of their own teri
tory. The one-armcd lad referred to
has already gone beyond, into the
haunts Of the bear, and probably will
not be happy or think himself quite a
man until he has killed one. There are
plenty Of men and boys in the White
mountains who occasionally shoot or
trap bears just for the sport or to get n
few extra dollars. In this amusement
they learn many interesting things and
acquire health and hardness together
with good stories Of their adventures
and exploits. At White mountain
freside you can be well entertained of
an evening listening to these rccitals
in the quaintest language, interspersed
with tales Of strange, mysterious hap
penings, Of which every neighborhood
has good store. For mountain dwell.
ers are credulous, bit superstitious,
and easily astonished. Though brave
in the face Of real danger, and even
fond Of hazardous adventures, they
have this contradictory Characteristic
Of being alarmed in moment by any
mysterious sound or sign, any strange
unusual event.
The occasional bear slayer always
has the story to tell it Is an event In
his life and that Of the nelghborhood
But Mr.. NJ, whose business Is the
! destruction OF bears, seldom cnlarges
upon his captures. lie hassno admira-
tion or respect for bruin. lie thinks
him dirty, cowardly beast, his skin
better off than on. lie rather prefers
to talk Of his habits, anatomy and the
quality Of his fur on more often Of the
very rare animals that he has some
times found in traps; or Of woodcraft,
In which he Is nn expert. His usual
catch of bears is from fifty to seventy
five year. The skin Of the bear varies
in price from fifteen to fifty dollars, ac-
cording to quality and size, This value
Of the skins, with sales Of the skeletons
and the state bounty Of five dollars
reduced lately from ten dollars--gives
Mr.. NJ a sufficient income, so that
he lives in his own good-sized house,
well furnished with books, musical in
strumcnts and children, altogether the
home OF comfortable, well-to.do citi-
zen.
-"Woodman, Spare that Tree" was
written by George L. Morris, the story
being founded on an incident which