Bismarck weekly tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1943, 1895-04-05
CHUCK FULL OF FUN.
HOW MAX RANSOM LEARNED THIS
TRAIT OF THE BLACK BEAR.

NMHT-
tn Bear Stripped Him and Put on the
Clothes-His Friends Seem to Doubt the
Story. but As Evidence Of Good Faith HI
Doesn't Shoot Black Bears Now.
Il don't care what anybody says OF
thinks" said Max Ransom Of this city.
an observant sportsman and one who
thinks twice before he shoots, sbut I am
convinced that the predominating trait in
the character of the great American bear
Is a longing for fun. I mean the black
bear. The grizzly bear and all his near rel
attves, or, as some say, his descendants,
such as the silver tip and the cinnamon
bear, have no sense of humor in them.
But the black bear, Judging, as I do,
from a personal experience, is simply look
ing for something to have fun with when
he goes out I had killed quite q number
of bears before I had this little experience,
but I have never killed one since or at
tempted to kill n I wouldn't have the
blood OF a bear on my hands for anything.
Seems to me I'd feel as If I were q MUIR
derer. I mean a black bear, Of course.
1.-THE way I happened to change my
mind about black bears and their DISPOSE
tion was this: Two or three of us were up
in Pennsylvania one fall deer hunting.
One day, after standing on a runway for
two or three hours, and judging that the
dogs had taken the deer in another direc-
ton, I put my gun down and walked away
a short distance to u barberry bush to pick
some of the tart berries. A frost had
knocked the berries all off the bush, and
they lay thick on the ground beneath it.
I stopped down and was enjoying the re-
$woch{~- ~ ~. E--sL ~uLon r RoIL---o-
thing tap me on the shoulder. I looked
up, and there. towering above me and
with a grin on its face as near as a grin
could possibly be on a face not human,
stood a bear at least five feet tall, being on
his hind feet, looking down at me, his
fore paws hanging limp against his chest.
1t was the bear, of course, that had tapped
me On the shoulder.
Now, here was a situation. I couldn't
get at my gun. I had a knife in my
pocket, but with that universal belief I
had always had that the bear is a fierce,
ugly and pugnacious beast that wanders
about with his eye constantly skinned for
some one that he can pitch into and scat
ter about and chew up I didn't think it
would be wise for me to rise from the base
of that towering bear, right into his
clutch, you might say, and defy him with
a knife. The bear seemed to be waiting
for me to do something. I was in squat
ting posture and really couldn't make up
my mind what to do. So I Remained just
as l was, trying to think what ought to
be done under the circumstances I guess
the bear must have got impatient, for he
reached down and tapped me on the shout
der again. 1t was just a gentle tap, as If
he were simply calling my attention to
something or other. Then I made up my
mind. thought I might throw myself
quickly forward, get to my feet, cut and
run and make a circuit among The trees!
%supposing all the time that the bear would
be chasing me until I could get back to
where my gun was. Once there, I would
have no further apprehension as to the re-.
suit. F,
S I made a surge forward, but before
my head had scarcely changed it's position
the BEARS paw closed on my shoulder. In
an instant he jerked me to my feet, turned
me square around and there I stood, face
to face with him, he with a paw OH each
of my shoulders. I thought my only
chance now was to get my knife in action
before the bear finished me, and I careful
ly slipped my hand in my pocket and got
the knife. l was stealthily passing my
other hand over to open the knife when
the bear calmly reached down with one
paw, snatched it out Of my hand and
threw it away. From the position the
bear was in I might have given him a
tremendous kick in the stomach and dou
bled him up SO I could have got to my
gun before he got over the effects Of the
kick, but I didn't think of it, and I'm
glad now that l didn't. I wouldn't have
EOn-Hyn fhon rhof f1,ouo ,,o,11p :, -, Loo~o
and would have gone on killing them in
cold blood. .
After the bear threw my knife away
he took off my hat, looked it over and then
put it on his own head in a rakish way.
He was more thar grinning now-he was
actually laughing, and his eyes twinklod
mischievously. The next move he made
was to unbutton my hunting coat and
take toff of me as slick as could be. This
he throw off to one side INC then took off
my vest. He laid tho vest on the coat.
'Heavensl' l said to myself. This
bear is going to strip me SO he can chew
me up better. :
After taking off my vest the bear
pushed me down on the two garments and
deliberately n expertly drew off my
boots! Then he sat down opposite me and
drew the boots on his own feet. After he
had done that he yanked mo off the coat
and vest and tried to put the vest on him
self. 1t was too small, but he got the coat
on all right, and then he was a sight that
made me tumble right down there and
~howl. 1t was the funniest thing I ever
saw. My mirth seemed to please the bear,
and he danced around like a tipsy RATS.
man, cutting all sorts Of ~fandangoes mt
pigeon wings. I guess this lasted ten
minutes, and I was sore all through from
laughing, when suddenly the bear stop
ped, cooked his head on one side and lis
tened a moment. Then he stripped my
coat off and tossed ii TO me. and sitting