The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-06-06
MEN AGAINST GRIzZLIES.
A Terrible Combat in the Humboldt
Nominating.

Mountains.
From the St Louis Globe Democrat
Santa Ana. Cal-The death of Thomas
ter in this place the other day recalls to
the minds of many an old pioneer in the
Golden state one of the most desperate
fights with grizzly bears ever recounted
about the fire in mining camp. Bret Harte
made the affair the subject of a poem ia
the Overland Monthly in his days of APP
premiership as popular writer
One day in the fan of 1858 three placer
miners who were on their way across the
mountains and through the timber were
travelling up a narrow canyon, almost a
gulch, in the Humboldt county mountains
in Central California. The men We're al
most famished, having had no food since
the noon of the previous day. They pass
ed huge bowlder and saw several hum
dred rods ahead a family of eight grizzly
bears. Three were large shaggy beasts
and the others were probably a year old.
The men held hasty consultation, and,
their hunger making them desperate and
having much ammunition with them, they
decided to attack the big fellows for the
sake of the steaks they might get. The
men looked to their old muzzle-loading
guns and saw that their ammunition was
safe. Then they advanced upon the
mighty beasts each man having arrang-
ed with the others exactly where he was
to shoot. Thomas Seabring always claim
ed that he had sense enough, as the men
got near the ferocious grizzlies, to give
up the hunt and climb for safety up
tree with his gun slung across his shout
der The other men, 5. X. Wood and
Isaac Wilson, threw prudence to the
winds and advanced to within fifty yards
of the bears. Wood fired his rifle and the
| nearest bear fell, biting and tearing the
ground as though in the agonies of death
While Wood was reloading his rife Will
son brought down a bear. Five of the
| grizzlies retreated up a ravine, but one
shaggy monster remained with her fall
| en- companions. She sat erect on her
| haunches and turned her eyes on the men
| as If daring them to battle. Wilson, aw-
ed by her aspect, ran for a tree, while
Wood tried to reload his gun, but found
himself unable to ram the ball down on
| the powder. While in this predicament
! the grizzly that had not fed rushed at
! him. Wood succeeded in getting into a
| small buckeye tree and used his gun to
| beat the bear off as she attacked the tree
| with the intention OF shaking him out
While he was engaged In fighting off this
bear Wood, to his horror. saw the ami
| NAL he had wounded rise and rush toward
! him No blows that he could inhict on
| the wounded animal could check he'll At
/ the first spring she made, the tree broke
and the bears jumped for Wood. He
| gained his feet and made with all speed
| down the mountain. where another small
| tree stood about thirty yards away. he
/ reached the tree with the wounded bear
/ at his heels and, selling the trunk, he
/ swung his body around so as to give the
| bear room to pass him, which she lid,
/ plunging headlong down the mountain
/ nh tn arI llafnYn Wood
with his failing strength. swing himself
| into the tree the second bear bounded up
and seized his right ankle. BY this time
| the wounded bear returned, and as Wood
! fell she snapped at his face. He dodgcG
and she caught his left shoulder
Then commenced terrible struggle.
! The maddened animals tugged In Oppo-
| site directions at Woods ankle and shout
/ der. and he was In imminent danger OF be-
! ing torn to pieces. He fought best he
| could but each exertion he put forth only
| intensified the rage of the bears When
| he was almost faiting with pain the bear
| that had not been wounded dropped his
| ankle and trottcd slowly after his com
| panions up the ravine. Then the wound
| ed bear let go her hold on his shoulder.
| Wood sank back on the ground ana lay
/ perfectly quiet, as though dead hardly
/ da -lng TO breathe. The grizzly stood ma
! jestically over him, watching for the
| slightest movement. and snarling with
rage. The pain that racked the mans
frame was frightful and he risked his
4 life In an effort TO assume an easier posi-
| ton. At the first movement the grizzly.
! roaring furiously, rushed at him. She
| showed her nose close to his face and
/ smiled at him, but Wood was again mo-
uonless and the bear raising her head,
! gave vent 10 unearthly screams. Wood,
! knowing that his life depended on II, re-
/ a 49,. ND ha
| after her companions up the ravine.
| When he attempted TO rise Wood found
/ that his right hip was disl0cated ana his
left shoulder was Chewed TO the bone,
while his clothing had been stripped from
| his body and his flesh had been chewed
/ in a hundred places. Inch by inch he
| painfully dragged himself from the spot,
/ until seabrlng aud Wilson, accompanied
/ by David A. Buck, the latter OF whom
! had been left 20 guard the camp, found
/ him and carried him 70 their quarters.
| Al this spot the party remained twelve
/ days subsistlng on the meat Of the bear
/ that had been killed. They were lost In
the mountains. but finally Wood despite
his agony. insisted upon being tied 20 q
i horse and accompanying his friends In
i the search for q path TO civilization Dur
Ing the ten days that followed every step
/ OF the horse that Wood rode caused un-
speakable torture 10 the rider, but Wood
/ pore III IKE martyr anu an o'eaHiVhal
groan was an the complaint that escaped
his lips Finally. the miners found "a road
| out Of the mountains and following that,
| went down TO farm near Santa Rosa,
| IN SonOma county. For three months
Wood was cared for there, ana surgeons
were hired for him by contributions IN all
the mining camps IN that region. But
Wood never got really we'll He WIS a
cripple for life. and his Old companion In
| the mines. George Hearst. Afterwards 2
| 49,. -