The Dickinson press., 1895-05-25
BEN AND THE BEAR.

l OAAAN AAAND AAXA I1lxAAV
"Once when I was driving from
Peddy's Mills to the Cross Forks, in
Northern Pennsylvania" said John
Gilbert, travelling groceryman, "and
was passing through a neat looking
backwoods clearing, where there wat
d house OH II side of the road and a
corn and u wheat field and n big patch
Of turnips on the other side, l heard
some one mailing me. The sound came
from down the in the turnip patch. l
looked that way and saw a woman
standing at the lower end OF the patch,
200 feet or SO away, waving her hands
above her head.
"'Hullo!' she hollered. Il guess ye'd
better come down here an gil me q
lift wi Benjamin.
II saw Il man in n half-sitting pos
ture among the turnips. looking very
pale, and apparently disabled, so l
jumped down from my blackboard,
hurriedly tied my horse and lastened
to give the woman a lift. When ]
reached the spot l saw that the man
was looking about in a daZed way,
that one arm, hung limp ut his side,
and that his right cheek was discolor
ed and swollen. About ten feet be
hind him lay a double -barreled shot
gun.
"'What is the matter, my good
woman? l asked. somewhat alarmed
at the mans plight.
partly Bar" she replied, cool, but
looking anxiously ut the man on the
ground; hut mostly cause Benjamin.
is SO sot in his ways. Yander's the
bar. This here is Benjamin.
"The woman waved one hand to-
ward the stone wall off to the left. ]
glanced in that direction. In an angle
of the wall, not more than fifty feet
away, lay a huge bear, dead. Before
l could ask any more questions Ben
jamin had come around and made an
effort to get to his feet, and with the
aid of his wife and myself he got
there. He vas a little lottery, though,
and his arm panied him, and his right
cheek kept on swelling and getting
blacker and blacker.
Mother said he, you was right!
Mined a ben plenty
Benjamin is sot in his ways said
Mrs. Benjamin to me, but when it
gifts plunked inter him that he's wrong
he owns up like q man.
I'VE helped Benjamin back to the
house, and his wife blew Il blast on q
big tin horn out of the back door.
Then she went to bandaging Benja-
min up. In the course of ten minutes
a Big brawny woodsman, who had
been at work somewhere about the
clearing, came hurrying to the house
in response to the blast on the horn.
"'Pete,' says Mrs. Benjamin, 'Benja-
min has tumbled his bar, but he's
kind O. disfiggered hisself a doin' Of
It, an mebbe We better scuffle over to
the mills and tell 'em to send the doc
tor
"Petc hurried away, and Benjamin,
having been made comparatively easy
by his wife's administrations. looked
at me and said:
"'You e it all come from
Ben1amin,' interrupted the good
wife, mildly but firmly, 1T all come
from you being SO sot in your ways
mother said Benjamin, :admittin'
Of 1t. an Acknowledged that you was
right, an that mined a ben plenty; yet
supposin' l hadn't heerd the quail
whistlin' down on the fur hedge O. the
turnip patch?' -
An supposin' you hadn't been so
sot In your ways as to be bound to 20
an hunt that quail?' responded the
wife.
"'That's so, mother assented Ben
Jamin. But this is how it started,
any way. l was standin' ON t'other
side of the road, yender, yistiddy.
lookin' over the turnip patch fence,
when l heerd a quail whistlin' down
on the fur side O. the patch, on the
edge O. the woods. I dunno, says l,
wuther it's ben predestinated fer me
to hev that quail for supper or not,
but I'm gointer give the good o. doc.
trine a show for itself, l q
so l come in the house an told
mother bout the quail an how I had
an idee that I'd take the gun an gc
down in the turnip patch an mebbe
get n quail fer supper. Mother al
lowed that l was foolish to waste time
on the quail.
"'1t'n more'n likely be more'n three
mile from the turnfp patch fore yor
git down there with the gum" sale
she.
But I argued that 1 thought
know'd quail an what quail was II
the habit o. DOM an I took NV shot
gun an went out.
Powerful sotr said Mrs Benia
min.
4 went down sly as a fox to'ard,
where I'd heerd the quail whistlin',
continued Benjamin, but 1 couldn'
lind 1t nowhere, an I didn't heer |
no more.
Guess mothers right says I, an
I sot down on top O. the stun wall
ponderin' like. F.
I hadn't sot there long when
heered a noise in the brush an look
In round seer a sausin' biz bar com
slommixin along, as If he didn't he,
any idee where he come from an,
didn't keer a single ioty where b
was bound for. l guess l must
opened my eyes considerable fer l WI,
not 'spectin' to seeb'arfi an natural,
was took back. Socks! says I. Il mus
git that bar! What's a quail 'longsid
O. b'ary says ].
4 shot both bar'ls O. my gun a
the bar, but he didn't drop. He jis
stopped an looked around ut me as
he mowt he astin'' NE what got me u
10 do setch a thing. Then he starte
ahead ag'in nc keerless as ever.
watched him till he got out O. sight
an; then I happened to think that quai
] shat wasn't calc'ated to teay man,