The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1895-05-17
THAT MAN UP A TREE
HOW HE TRANSFERRED A HEAVY RE.
SPoNSi5lLlTY TO DR.. PALeN.

Inc Only Wild Bear the Doctor Ever Saw
=" inc Woods Confronted Him When Ito
Went to Help His Fellow nIan-Tbero
Was "a Nard Fight,
l never saw but ono wild bear In tho
WOODS III my life, and lived i'm n back
WOODS locality until was nearly 3d." said
Dr. Palcn of Troy. "Not that there weren't
plenty OF bears in our woods, but / never
went out looking for any and didn't Inn.
pen 10 run against any in my travels.
ihis particular bear and had u fight, and
good one, and will not conceal tho fact
from you that tho bear did not kill me.
bue nc mussed mo up enough to sntisfy
.uF Dear ana tho man who caused all tho
trouble never rs much rs had his hair
ruinpled. Tho man who introduced me tc
inc bear never saw before. I don't know
Mi''o MS name was, and have never seen
him Since
:, was ON my way to sec a patient who
,i'cu seven or eight miles from town on n
packwoods farm. 1 was about half way
,hcrc When heard some ono hail mo.
lookcd In the direction of tho sound md
saw III tho top of a small maple tree, or rs
near the top as he could climb, n man who
seemed to be excited. Tho tree wasn't
more than 20 yards from tho road, and a
thick growth of undcrbrush was between
IL ana where was. 1 stopped my horse.
iielloF hollcrcd the man. Como
over here an SEQ what yo kin do to'ard
gittn fcllcr down out o. this tree, won't
ye? 1 got up hero durn quick, but got
TO have help fore kin git down agin.
What arc you doing up there any
how hollcrcd back.
Waitin TO git down. replied tho man.
Not another durn thing, an you kin help
me
got out of my wagon and mado my
way through tho thick bushes toward tho
tree, thinking all tho time that this was a
queer customer had struck. got through
the brush and camo out into quito largo
opening where tho tree stood, and in
stantly saw that tho man had good reason
lor saying that he'd have to hayo help in
getting down out of tho tree Raging
ABOUT the foot of tho trco was big bcar
mad all over, and evidently having it in
deep for the man up In tho trco I stoppcd
at the edge of the thicl1ct rs If I had been
rooted there. Tho bear wasn't ten feet
away. AS soon rs could regain posses
sion of myself began to baok cautiously
away intending to get to my wagon and
let somebody else take the job of helping
the man out of tho tree, but tho bear had
discovered me- and linking mo in some
way with the cause of tho trouble between
1t and the man up tho trcc came rushing
toward inc with n growl that betokened
the ugly temper bruin WIS In.
Il had Il seven shooter with me, and as
the bear came toward mo couldn't think
OF anything better to do, SO 1 pulled the
revolver and began blazing away 7 put
five bulls in the bear before he cleared tho
hnt Z 1.. {,nn u ~
but he came right on. 1 turned and made
for the road and my wagon in away that
made those bushes crack, the bear smash
ing along after me. I'd have made the
buggy all right if it hadn't been that when
my horse saw tho bear coming out of the
bushes he didn't wait for mo to get into
the wagon, but went tearing away down
the road MS fast as q badly scared horse
could run. / sped after tho runaway, and
the bear came right along after me He
gained on me- and I turned and fired ut
him again.
II don't know where tho bullet hit him,
but it knocked him down. He was I'D
again, though, in less than no time, and /
gave him my last shot, nnd rs he didn't
fall ran for n high rail fcnoo mt the low
er side of the road, intending to get over
IL and cut for Il farmhouse that was half %
mile away, across lots. I got to the top
rail, but wasn't quick enough. The bear
grabbed me us l had mounted the fence,
tho rails smashed down beneath our
weight, and over and over VIC rolled to-
gethcr into tho ditch ut tho side Of tho
road. III that short roll that bear man
aged to strip me almost completely Of my
clothes from head to foot, and In tho tum-
bic my knee was spraincd, and my arms
and sides were dug deep by tho bcare
sharp claws. l thought it was oil up with
me, and consequently was surprised, when
we landed in the ditch, that tho bear sud-
denly relaxed his clutch, gave two OF three
convulsivc gasps and kick or two and
didn't move any more 1 scrambled up
and sprang to the middle Of the road, where
I picked up big stone, ready to uso 1t on
the bear If he returned to tho attack. But
he didn't. Howas dead. And if he hadn' It
been an unusually tough old customer ho'd
have been dead long before. Every one Of
my seven shots had gone to vital spot,
as I found out afterward.
Before limped on my way in the wake
of my runaway horse glanced at the ma
plo tree. The man who had hailed me
wasn't there. I had helped him down, for
fact, and he had disappeared I had
limped q milo or more, guess, when a
of the bushes ut one side Of tho road, and
with n grin said:
Did yc git him, cap'nT
at was the man of tho maple tree.
believe it was good for him that there
wasn't another shot in my pistol pull
ua,-zsu.z..,rzz.zz-zz.