Savannah courier. (Savannah, Tenn.) 1885-1979, 1898-03-04
5 Surprising Act Of a Bear. F.;
I cInmAhoNING MANS TALE OF
Z o'kcuMsrANrIAL EVIDENCE.

~, iehiarKable father, Reuben
.,.h ,e..ipone, had lived to be l0Oyears
o,u' said the man from over Sin.
anemahoning way, you never could
nave induced him to Judge n man on
~ouns'antal sa, evidence, after what he
saw up along the headwaters once.
hnu mats what makes me shy of cir
"uinS'antlal evidence myself. I didn't
see this thing that my remarkable fa-
Nher saw the principal reason being,
Sos, Sppose, mat 1t happened some years
"etoIe was born, and"
fears to me as If little thing like
'hat hadn't ought to make no differ
ence to you, Sinnemahone," said the
man in the red, blue, pink, purple. vel.
owand green Mackinaw Jacket. "'Pears
so me that it ought to be jest as easy
uor you TO set here an remember things
that never happened before YOU was
porn as 1t is for you to set here the way
you DO an remember things that never
happened sence you was born. Pears
10 me so, Sinnemahone."
rerhaps you're right, Mackinaw."
SAID the man from over rSinnemahoninp
way blandly. "But have you no regard
'or my remarkable father, Reuben Pet
uoone? If l should set my extraor.
binary memory TO work recalling ante
natal happenings, what use would there
nave been of Reuben Pettibone's livingr
llave you considered what hole would
oe punched in the past history of the
'storied Sinnemahone IL Reuben Petit
bone had not lived and breathed, and
seen and done things, there and there
aooutsP thank you for extolling my
memory, Mackinaw, but remember,
beg OF you! remember Reuben Petit
bone!
mo; didn't see this thing to which
refer, but Reuben Pettibone did, and
the incidents of this one of his many re-
markable experiences he handed down
TO me early in life to point q moral and
ndorn a tale.
"'You may get ketched on the jury
some day, Praxiteles,' he said, so re-
member this and play shy on circum-
stantial evidence. It'll never do to
hang n man on
And so have always been shy Of cir
cumstantial evidence, because of this
thing that my remarkable father saw
up along the headwaters and told me
about. There had been long prowling
In that part of the Sinnemahone bear
of enormous size and acuteness. He
n1 h,,,, 10.
per who had pitted himself against him,
and a man down in the West Branch
country had had for ten years stand
ing offer of $10O for that invincible
bears hide.
"'Tons of ammunition were wasted.
"The hunters were all more than
eager to lay this great bear low, as
much as for the satisfaction and fame
of doing it as for the S100 in the coin Of
the realm the West Branch man was
ready to put up for the wise old fellows
hide. Reuben Pettibone at last evinced
some personal interest in the bear, and,
having few days to spare one winter,
he sauntered up the headwaters for
the purpose of fetching the coveted an
imal back home with him. There would
be fun in circumventing q tricky beast
such as that, Reuben unused, but more
In noting the chagrin Of the unsuccess-
full hunters and trappers. I may as
well say that my remarkable father
didn't get the bear. He was foiled.
But he learned lifelong lesson.
"There was hunter native TO the
headwaters whose name was Samson
.Juff. Samson Juff was man Of such
tlisagreeable ways and questionable
methods in the woods that nobody
would hunt or camp with him. He was
pitifully unpopular, Mackinaw, al
though his jacket had only one color.
Every other hunter on that spread Of
waters was in perpetual state of wor-
riment for fear that Samson Juff
might some day strike the untold luck
of gathering in Slippery Abner, that be-
ing the name the supernaturally clever
bear had come to be known by. No
matter who else might happen to be
the fortunate man to capture the great
prize, his success would be rejoiced in;
Int u Samson Juff should happen to
he the man there would be universal
disgust and grinding Of teeth, and such
cursing as might stop the run of sap In
every tree along the Sinnemahone.
"Samson Juff had cabin two
or three miles from where Reu-
hen Pettibone put up his camp that
winter. Reuben became acquainted
right away with number of other
hunters, and when they learned who he
was their chins fell.
"Reuben Pettibone' my remarkable
father frequently overheard them say
TO one another. Slippery Abner's sands
=, life Is runnin' their last grains out
now, boysl We mowt as well pull up
an quit!'
"Put they didn't, and they told my
remarkable father something more
about the bear and the quest for him.
There was etiquette among the hunt
= 90 in regard to Slippery Abner
: eager as they all were to bring MN
do,yn II one hunter got on the trail OF
.ha hear. no other hunter inter
tored with him, or joined in the chase
unless requested to by the original dis,
unnorer u Of the trail, the idea being that
tbe one who started first should have all
.ho M honor and profit of bagging Slip
~ ~ Abner II he could. This was
ipr.,, III, understood and sacred rule with
wen ,.ore of the Sinnemahone head.
.rotsrs m and none of them would have
thought of breaking it any sooner than
,'orld have thought of burning q
fellow hunters cabin
"Trn,ess II mowt be Samson Juff!
,,mnter told Reuben Pettibone
Samson d do it in minute!
nwell, my remarkable father invited
all the hunters to go with him him at atfe, e,
slippery Abner, and a giadder se' o.