The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1896-05-17
MORAN'S SpARRING BEAR.
mrs UNIoUE ENCOUNTER WIZ n
IN 1HE MAINE FOODS.
NJ Scientific Use OF Ius Paws u wsrdsd
OF isis BLOWS with mn We and Eventually
Disnrmed lIiua = HniEscniped with Ar
other Axe II Pursusd Him co Hts DooSs

Disnrmed lIiun -HniEscnlped with Ar
other Axe, 1t Pursued Him 60 H's DooSs
ASHLAND, Me-. May lathe Maine In.
dlans shy that when the Creator had mixed
lanpblack with His clay and made the negro
He put In aome new clay and manufactured
the French Canadians without stopping IN wash
out the tub. The result was that nearly all
the Frenchmen reared in Canada were very
dark skinned, showing plainly where the
lampblack had been added To their original
makeup.
John Moran Of Ashlnnd. Aroostook county,
a lumberman Ivy occupation, and n hunter dur
ing vacations, Is one OF these lampblacked
Frcnchmen, who came TO Maine some twenty
years ago with no fortune but good health.
and with no knowledge OF the English LAM
guage except c little commonplace profanity,
which he had picked up from the Yankees
whom he met on the drives. Since his arrival he
has forgotten nearly all French he ever knew,
and has gained a picturesque jnrRon that Is re-
corded in no vocabulary and has no place aInona
the confused tongues OF Babel. The result 10
that hts ordinary conversation must he taken
with a large amount of faith, and when he
gets excited and the inter1ections begin to eN-
plode, one can do much better studying ERvp-
tian hieroglyphs than In trying TO fathoin whae
Moran means. Moran is Of a persevering ma
ture, however. and when he fin Is that he 10
talking over the heads Of his auditors. he starts
in to spit, gesticulate. and swear until his en-
vironment looks and sounds as IL q cyclone had
swept 1t.
Some time this sprlng-nobody has yet boeu
able to fix the date-Moran met q bear In the
woods and held a short conference with the
same. the details OF which meeting nobody
has fully lea armed, though Moran has told the
story every evening for n month, and has
winked and stamped about to make bis mean
ing plain until he IL cross I yed and the soles OF
his river driving boots are worn as thin as
parchment. April was a dry, cold month. and
the village lawns were looking brown and
dead when Moran told his bear story the firss
time. He spit and stormed about the store
for two evenings and damaged the goods go
mention bears for six months under penalty
Of haying, the cracker and cheese privilege
and the dandelions are in full bloom, .Moran's
bear rsidld story or h has 'f.d been ieen1 revised. translnted: ana
approximately as follows:
Along in April when the maple sap had gone
aloft TO make new summer suits for the trees
and the .bluebirds were taking sky baths to
put fresh tints on their wings. Moran WAS
t tfoush ~ = He is0 was Ssoa a mile nj s'o or so a" from M h soas.
jogging along with his axe over his shoulder
Hnn hss w dl"ne a s R"il a snrn In sh aF paah i Hrsu shs
him up against a great hemlock tree which tho
wind had blown down.
detour around, the tree. he put his hand on top
vault, With a caution born Of experience, he
looked to see where he would land. and, as his
head neered above. the log, something heavy
and hairy shot up from the other side and hit
him squarely across the ear. As soon as no
him. he found he was under a small spruce
two rods back from the log, and saw his din
nuts. scattered about on the dead leaves in .
way that made him feel cad.
Rubbing his eyes, he gave another look, ana
saw a large bear sitting I'M lyningt the side or
the log and overlapping tho dinner with the
h sI or u an o sp.c or Mo mla9 h dsa FlTI, psw so t its e eyer
and with its left paw it was gathering in all OF
the roast pork in sight; n..,.,
remove the evil spell. and then l!mped to his
scanned him through the hole in the dough- i,
nut. as much Ms to say:
advantage Of mr.. doncher know"
The icy efrrontery of the bear was more than
f%ayorIte, dinner: When to these insults were
has Just borrowed SIS and wants to forget il.
Moran felt that he must have that bears
:Moran's only weapon was a light, sharp axe.
a anTii iass o tns Ss' pa@ s'l rahke and rh hta he hot m ssGs
several swift passes with his axe to learn hoy
time he tried a blow with the edge of the axe
the bear countered on the side or handle and
avoided a serious wound. Eventually he
struck with the fiat of the axe. and was pleased
to see r the bear sqt It's paw half of in The corn.
cut its own head off il il it had not duckoi adroit-
.Moran's next blow was given with the force
Of a c%ataFp,ult, and was aimed straigh! for the
not only diverted the axe. but pulled it from
mis- hands and sent 1t flying far into the woods.
It wac now a mad man against lame bear:
and Moran knew that the odds were all In
favor Of the bear. While Moran was feeling
applied ar lie p the Gousnnat to its eye and "e examtned
Moran saw it was of no use to fight such a
cold -blooded monster with n Jackknife. So
he went around the tree and started for his
sap camp, which was only twenty or thirty
following him at a distance, aud fairly shouted
with glee when he reached camp and found
bunk. In a few minutes he had stripped To his
trousers and undershirt. and. swinging his axe
The bear, ducked and jumped ahead. pass
ing under, alorap's arm and facing about for
With II professional skill and then came a
sweeping blow straight down from above. The
drove drov "f Il nearly to the gro sroa nd leaning for:
ward, the bear pushed up on the handle, and
t tered n tEs ae sdF that fH" sla th trI Saar IS nose 1oss" 10 G !s
upper jaw, cutting cords and tendons until the
keen blade was hidden in the fur.
He heard, the bear growl in pain, and saw The
skin on the front Of the head fnrl up anu roll
back. like the hood of an ovcrcoat. Then a
EMERGED from the mass OF hair. aud the bear
was after Moran baldheaded. II WAS II long,
hard run. over windfalls, through swamps.
and up and down hill. Every time Moran
looked back lac saw that, grinning s@ull, and
the terror put wings on his feet as he fel for
home. leapiuV among cradle knobs and Yelling
at every bound, When he reached the house
he was SO grateful for his cscane that he never
thought To look back for the bear, but Just
barred the door and sworo in "A language that
WAS uuinfplliuihlp even Tn hi, own family,
There is Il sCalpcu bear abr nd In the forest
around Moran's home today, but Moran 10
not looking for It, He has lad enough. lilo
says that u grinning bcar's skull still haunts
his dreams. and that he has no desire 10 re-
vive the recollection of his battle and flight.