The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-12-18

I write this chronicle. I jerked the rife
70 my face and cut loose at the beast.
He seemed to divine my purpose, for
like a flash he threw up one paw. The
bullet struck him just above the meta
carpal bones of the forearm and tore
h foot almost entirely free from the
supporting bones and ligaments. /
could see the great paw hang limp and
useless. The force OF the impact kicked
the great beast off his balance, and he
fell. roaring and growing. down the
side OF the hogback. at last rolling into
the cover of the low underground of the
bottom, where 1 continued at intervals
to hear his hoarse growls.
As soon as i recognized the power of
my weapon Inc saw what damage 1
had done the enemy / was eager only
to get at my prey. Yet | was wise
enough not to advance at once. for /
knew that each m / waited gave
so much more time for the animal to
become stiff and disabled from his
wound. / risked no catastrophe by any
attempt to Chamber directly down the
side of the steep slope where my game
had so recently preceded me. 1 presume
IL may have been half an hour or more
before i got near to the spot where the
wounded grizzly was lying. / cautious
ly crept up along the side OF the hog
baeh so NAihN u NC aboNt IL u
always a desirable thing in approach
ing the grizzly. which can roll down
Hill faster h "A a brick "a fall off a
chimney. i got to the point which |
wished TO reach. and there. sir, l wit
messed a sight such as l presume no
man has ever seen before or ever will
again!
1 have said that his bear was gaunt
and empty looking. I presume hat for
COma raa Cnn the CREATURE had failed In
find a suitable winter hiding place, and
hence had Travelled for weeks. losing
flesh and gaining hunger. instead of be-
ing rolled up comfortably with its nose
I'm its fur. He may have been crossed
I'm love. ] do not know what had kept
him out Of winter quarters so late. and
made him so ~ravenous as he undoubt-
eddy was. Instinct for once served TO
offer no check to an insane desire.
The bullet. as | have mentioned. had
cut away the forefoot OF the bear so
that il hung but by a thread. The blood
had run down the injured member and
frozen into a long red ribbon of con-
gealed gore. / am able TO describe only
what / actually saw. To make brief
as possible the horrid details. / will sim
ply say that as IL lay there the bear
had eaten off it's own front foot!
Shocked by his awful exhibition, /
raised my rifle and again fired. with the
intent to end the life of the beast. Ac-
cident again prevented complete sue
cess, for even as | fired the bear moved
again. and once more ! saw that / had
only d~ismembered a foot, this time "A
hind foot Again the bear reared and
again it fled. going still deeper into the
service berry bushes. where after a
time II seemed to become silent. Grip
pied as II was. / made no doubt that ii
had died of its wounds, though i still
retained "A saving caution as l APP
preached Il. Peering through the
bushes, I saw the same spectacle in
process of repetition. The bear had ac-
tually eaten up its own hind foot in adj
dition to its ~forepaw! Had / not seen
this with my own eyes | myself should
never have believed il.
l was by this time losing much Of
my nerve, and / admit / was shaky IS
/ fired again. The same fatality at
tended his shot as had the preceding
ones. Need l say that 1 shivered as /
saw hat / had nee more failed of adj
mlnistering a mortal wound, but had
only cut off a third foot, the left mind
foot, Nor was this all. As though To
certify me in my suspicious, the bear
now merely rolled over n began de-
llberately to chew his severed foot. He
ate IL, before my eyes and before mis-
own eyes. we two being the only wit
nesses of this singular and impressive
scene. / sank down trembling to the
ground. I heard a rustling in the
bushes and saw that the bear was
seeking escape. injured as he was.
Again I fired. and this time. of course.
I got his one remaining foot. In brief.
he turned and ate IL! Sick and weak
from terror. | fired again and as | heard
the bullet strike home i sighed with re-
lief. for I knew there were no more feet
for me to cut off, and saw that the end
had come.
I crept up on to my fallen quarry as
fast as my now exhausted condition
would permit. for l was much unstrung
by what / had just witnessed. i stood
at the very spot where 1 had seen the
bear pause and whence ! had heard the
last Indications of his struggles. l saw
the trail plainly marked up to tina;
point. but there it ended. The bear
had gone no farther, for the bear was
dead.
But the bear was not there! This
statement l hardly xpect to go unchal-
lenged. but / make il. and. as | was the
only witness to these facts, / alone I'm
competent to testify. as is plain. The
bear is not competent, ecaus the bear
Is not here and he was not there. Tie
was gone as utterly. IL one may use this
words OF the novelist. and as literally
as though he had been swallowed up,
The conclusion was forced upon ne tina