The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1897-10-23
VASA AND THE BEAR.
A Child's Adventure In Days of the Early
Settlers.

Settlers.
Northwestern Pennsylvania was a
dense forest at the time of which I
write. There were no railroads, towns,
churches, schools or pretty houses as
there are now, yet there were houses
even IN those wild woods-a house and
a stable built of trees which the set
tiers AK had felled, little lot fenced
by rails from more trees, where among
sprouting stumps the first garden was
raised, and thus home began. Year
by year the clearing was enlarged, and
corn, wheat and oats were added to the
garden truck Roads were made through
the woods TO other clearings and the
homes grew into neighborhoods.
In one Of those early homes lived
little boy with an odd little name that
had been borrowed from royal hero of
Swedish history. Vasa's first recollec-
lions were of the log house home and
the dark woods which surrounded the
home clearing. He played alone about
the stumps and piles of brush and by
the high rail fence that skirted the
woods, but he never ventured farther.
He knew that wild beasts were among
those trees--beasts that killed and ate
the pigs and chickens and sheep and
calves sometimes. Why not boy? Once
he had seen bear and thought he
should have been scared to death if his
father had not been along. AS it was he
could not forget his fright at the great
ugly brute that glared and growled at
them before it walked away.
AS the clearings grew and neighbc-s
became more plenty the wild ami
went farther back into the woods a.,
were but little feared.
One day when Vasa was Just years
old his mother wished very much to cut
a garment, and the shears were at her
mothers, nearly mile away.
Let me go get them, said the boy.
Thinking no harm could befall him in
the now fenced road, the mother gave
consent.
The little fellow set off proudly on
his first errand as happy as the birds
that sang in the trees and fearless as
the chipmunk on the fence, with which
he ran merry race.
He was half way to grandma's when
a cracking noise on the opposite side of
the road startled him. He turned, and
his eyes distended with fear as they
rested upon the form of real bear, Sit
ting under hickory tree, cracking and
eating nuts.
How terrible it did look to the fright
ened child as he stood gazing at it and
how he should ever pass that
obstaclel
A hero, like his illustrious namesake,
he never thought of Sinking duty and
going back.
He did not dare go straight ahead,
For surely then that awful bear would
BEE and catch him, but without bit of
noise he climbed the fence where the
saucy squirrel was awaiting another
race and stole among the trees. The
race was with the bear, all unconscious
of the fact until the boy was climbing
the fence into the road once more. Then |
bruin saw him. The nuts dropped from |
the big paws, and the awkward brute |
began to gather himself up and prepare
for action.
Our little hero slipped off the fence
and flew for grandma's as fast as two
little fat legs could carry him. He never
screamed or cried. All his breath was
needed for the race-and he won.
How far the bear ran or in what di.
rection no one ever knew. He was gone
when Uncle David came back with
Vasa and the shears, though traces of
his visit were plainly visible.
Threescore years and ten have passed
since those early days of humble homes,
wild woods and savage beasts, but Vasa
still tells-to his grandchildren-his
adventure with that awful, awful bear.
Ida Rays in National Stockman and
Farmer.