The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-03-17
On the Old Line of the Brave Mother,
the Baby and the Bear.

the Baby and the Bear.
Williamsport Special in Pittsburg Dis
patch.
1t was on one of the warm days last
week that old Lige Gray, a veteran hunter,
trapper and an-round backwoodsman,
was found smoking pipe in front Of the
little log hut which the old fellow calls
his home, situate in the wilds of Potter
county.
1t is here he stays when not wandering
about the woods in quest of game, sIyly
nosing along a trout stream or trudging
from ravine to hill and back again, set
ting and watching his traps.
Old Lige is a famous story-teller, and
his stock Of backwOods anecdotes is un-
limited. He was born and raised in the
forest, spent his long life therein, and he
will doubtless end his eventful career in
the trackless wilds of the lumber woods.
Indeed "Lige" seems to have been born
under an unlucky star, for when he was
yet babe in arms a big black bear car
ried him off, and had it not been for his
plucky mother he would probably have
served as a choice morsel for bruin. 1t
was of this incident in his life that "Old
Lige' spoke on this bright spring day.
1T never gets this var season o. the year
but what it remin's me o. the time when
my mother saved me I'm bein' chawed
up by a big bar. Manys a time has may
old mother told it to me, so that it's as
fresh in my memory as if it 'twere only
Yesterday tibet it heppened.
Eye see, I'm nigh onto 60 now, and this
heppened afore l war a year old. My
folks, when / war born, lived on small
clearin' bout dozen miles I'm the near
est settlement. 1t war in an awful wild
section, an it war purity hard grubbin'
| fer mother and father to make a Twin.
| Thar war two o. the boys an the gal as
war older n me, so the old folks he'd a
| little help at least in the maxim o. sugar.
| They he'd spent one day in this particular
| spring in the camp carryin' sap to the
| kettle, an the next day mother and my
| oldest brother war goin' to bail it. Father
/ he'd to go to the settlement tibet day. an
didn't 'spect to git back much afore noon.
He left early in the mornin ar mother
! she took us child'n an went down to the
/ sugar camp. She he'd me wrapped in a
! big homemade blanket-I have the blank,
! ct in thar yet-an' as I was boun' to go to
| sleep, she rolled me up an slowed me
/ away in a sap trough that warn't in
use, then sat about fxin' things fer the
boilin.
Now father had made a big heavy
mawl for use in keeping the fire well
| under the kettle, an this allus stood long
| side a tree near the fire. The fire on this
mornin' war burnin' an crackin' list
| as jolly could be, an the childun an
/ mother war busy bout the kettle All
| of a student they heard me cryin', an
! on lookin' over toward the trough whar
mother had laid me she war Almost scared
! sick to see a big black bar a maxim
| through the camp an over toward the
! woods, with me an my blanket in his
| paws
Now mother war afeers O. nuthin'. but
! this unexpected turn o. affairs upsot her
! fer second or so. But she war not long
in maxim up her mind what to do She
grabbed the big mawl an started arter
the bar an me. Old bruin war a clumsy
/ Teller, an with me an the blanket
couldn't make very good Roadway, so
tibet my mother soon caught up with the
varmint, who KEEP lookin' back at her all
the time GRIMM an snarlin' like a
big dog what has a bone, an is afeerd
he's goin to lose it.
WAL, mother didn't care fer this.
When she got near 'nough to the bar to
reach him, she up an let him have a
whack 'longside the head with the heavy
mawL The old Teller growled louder'n
! ever, but he didn't let go o the bundle
Jist then he war maxim fer a log what
crossed over a little ravine, the bottom o.
which war lined with rocks.
My mother knew as how the bar cd
cross over the log without any trouble.
1 an once over he cd soon get away in
the thick laurel bushes. Old bruin knov'd
it, too. fer he hurled all he could He
war jist about steppin' on the log. when
mother raised the mawl again an brought
1t down square on top of his head
That was too much fer him an he
dropped me an blanket, an 1 went roll
lin an cryin' into the little ravine among
the rocks. The bar then turned on mother
and she war spectin this an war ready
| to give him battle. But her blows he'd
told on the old Teller, who by this time
wer as mad as a hornet, an It war more
of stagger than anythin else when he
made fer her She hit him right between
the eyes an sent him to the ground. Jist
then she heard a rush behindh er an
turnin' round she saw old Wolf our big
dog, tearin' toward Mr.. Bar. The dog
war on the varmint afore it cd git up on
its feet, an with the sistance o. mother
| old Wolf soon he'd bruin stretched out.
Then mother turned her tention to me.