Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1896-07-30
THE FIELD OF ADVENTURE,
THRILLING INCIDENTS AND OAR
ING DEEDS ON LAND AND SEA,
Exciting Adventure With Grizzly
| A Thrilling Runaway-a Vessel
Collides With a Whale.

T AIRY L. ROMAINE, who
NJ has just returned to his
home IN Elk City, Idaho,
6 after spending several
weeks prospecting in the Bitter Root
Mountains, relates most exciting adj
venture which befell him near Murray.
the county seat of Shoshone County :
"My partner, Ben Williams, and I
had been working our way along the
range from n point near Big Bald
Mountain to the loop where the Bitter
Root range and the Ceur d'Alenes
form a big, natural amphitheatre,
where big game, especially elk, are
plentiful. We decided to stay there
until we had time to follow up the
lead, as old miners say. We pitched
our camp under the shadow of rock
ribbed sentinel, passing our first night
in the little tent which had served us
splendidly during several hard rains.
On the following morning Ben found
the track of bear down by the spring
where we got our water. The print
of that foot was as big as dinner
plate, and the fact that some empty
salmon cans and some other refuse
which had been thrown just outside the
tent were missing set us to thinking,
and it wasn't difficult to trace the con-
nection between the missing articles
and the owner of the big foot.
'There was no more tenting for
yours truly after that, SO We built us u
sort of stone fortress in suitable
nook, where nature had already done
the mason work on three sides. After
laying up the wall on the vacant side
we placed heavy poles across the top,
on which we put fiat stones.
''We did all our prospecting to.
gether for week or ten days, Ben
carrying his big 5000 Sharp's special
and acting as body-guard, while
handled the pick. All that time We
saw no bears, but plenty of elk and
antelope and not few mountain
sheep. Our grizzly bear scare finally
cooled. One morning decided to ex-
plore side canon. Bob was to
climb over the big spur that loomed
up over our camp, swing around and
meet me ut noon near sharp cone of
rock which we called Currecanti
Needle. 1 found mighty likely
pay rock up that ravine, and
the further l went the better the
showing. The place is undoubtedly
the site of an old volcano. Great
masses of rock from overhanging crags
have fallen and rent the floors, with
some of the fissures very wide and ap-
parently bottomless. Knocking off u
piece of friable sand rock / found it to
be auriferous, or goldbearing rock.
| don't know whether the yell I gave
split any more cracks in the crock round
there or not, but one thing do know,
[ nearly split my throat in tho effort,
and then L mounted tho big chunk and
swung my hammer like mailman,
knocking of chips right and left until
[ had big pile.
''Soon 1 heard noise close by, and
.upposing it to be Ben, L yelled ::
Hurrah, Ben, I've struck it RIP
Just then looked up, and the sight
saw froze my blood. Not forty feet
distant was an immense silver tip
grizzly.
quartz hammer at the monster, and,
as he dropped on ali fours, / leaped
from the rock, hoping to evade him
by lodging around the boulder. 1t
may have been foolish move, but l
had no time to think. After jumping
from the rock | was obliged to halt u
moment, in order to satisfy myself
which way he was coming. improved
the moment by drawing my forty-four
Colts from its sheath.
"When tho bear reached the point
where he expected to nab me, and
found that / was not there, he gave
vent to n tremendous snuff, followed
by kind of cultural roar, and again
L heard him coming at double quick.
l ran as | never ran before.
'I glanced hurriedly around and
saw the gigantic fellow coming like n
demon and then 1 stepped into one of
the iissures | told you about, and down
l went like flash. The grizzly was
SO close on me when fell that he went
entirely over me, carried by the force
of his momentum. Hewas back again
in n moment though, his immense
head hanging over the rim of my mar
row prison, which I quickly and most
gratefully saw was too narrow to ad-
NIT his bulky body.
81 was on my knees not six feet be-
low the grizzly, and l felt that 1 could
do deadly work with my revolver ut
that range. [ pointed my pistol
straight at the yawning red mouth.
My pistol roared IN my cars. Five
shots more were fired as fast as could
send them, and then my gun was
empty, but, thanks to my lucky stars,
ono OF my bullets pierced an eve and
the job was done.
81 was as weak MS baby when
climbed out of the tissrre. | got all
over it though when Ben came, and ]
told him [ just knocked that grizzly
ON the head with my quartz hammer
because lie seemed to object to my To-
eating claim round there"
a Thrilling Runaway.