The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-08-02
BILLS BEAR STORY.
OLD BRJuN DOUBLED ON THE TRAIL
AND FOOLED THE HUNTER.
CangIt at Cabin Door-when the
Hunter Returned From His In
successful Chase He Was Amazed
to Find the Bear at the Door.
Upon the great sqln-tortured Mojave

Upon the great sqln-tortured Mojave
sngebruea, sand and yucca palm
strelarhe'd away in UNMARRIED monotony
mile after mile. in The weary distance
all merged into. one blue, Wavering
nist-.ne mirage. tnrougn which could
sometimes be dimly discerned the great
red bLlus.s that raised a rocky, iInpas-
sable wall against the sea OF yellow
sand. There at the mouth OF the can
yon we lay in tine shadow OF a great
rock, thankful for relieI after a We-ly
tramp OF over 20 miles. Too tired 10
talk, we moved only TO stake our uliIso
AT a little warm, muddy pool.
The silence was broken by Old Bill
Hughes. Il saw this desert" he sad,
''53 years ago. I'm tired OF sagebrusn
and sand. Come back into the cam
yon-'
seated ON a log outside Of his abode
the old man became more communica-
tive Yes he said, Il have been IN
this country for 90 years. Trapped ana
hunted all over the range, but l never
got very far from the desert, somehow.
/ reckon | have killed more bars Than
any other man in California in my
time. See that hide over there nailed
onto THE tree? Kind of curious his
tory, that hide has. 1t used TO belong
to Old Ironsides.' Ever hear tell of
Old Ironsides?' No? Well, you
haven't been long in this country then.
You see THAT thar bar used to be
regular terror i'm this country. He
didn't keep to amy ONE part, but kept
s9liftin' and movin round from one
end of the range TO the other. Made a
ca1a in, of "a r1g1la
Madres. One time he'd be up around
the Antelope valley here and next time
he's hearn from it's down round the
other side of Old Badly. Being big
ger n amy other bar want hard to,keep
track of him, and then he lost some of
his toes in a trap once and his tail
gave him away.
1.-The bar got tn worrying me till 1
couldn't sleep for thinking about him.
He was the first bar that ever held OUT.
The MeXicanS down to Elizabeth lake
said he was bewitcdled, and used to
melt UP silver to shoot at him, but l
reckoned as how a silver bullet warn't
goin ter hit any harder than a good,
old-fashioned lead slug. Well, one
morning 1 got up right early being
linder worried in my mind and growing
thin over the matter and what should
l see but a big bar track right at my
door, leading down round the corral,
an what's more, the toes is missin' on
tibet left hind foot. l just gave whoop
and ram in after my gum. The old boy
had several hours start as | can see
by the tracks. but that don t worry me
none. Tn goin' to get you this time,
old boy says l, and 1 won't smoke my
old pipe until your old hide is mailed
up on that thar tree And 1 starts out
on the trail.
Il reckon tracked that bar clean
over the range. He seems to have a sort
of idea of what's coming this time.
It's fate, and he knows his time has
come to die. But he tries his level best
to get away. And he does, fur over
south of the mountains 1 lose all trace
of him. 1t wasn't no use to keep up
then, so 1 turns round and starts for
home. 1t didn't seem far when I was
going over ON the trail, but coming