The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1898-06-22
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES
A YOUNG ScHooLMlsTReSs HAD AN
ADVENTURE WITH eRulN.

and Give Her Full Credit For the victory
Katie Rankin is pretty 2l-year. oil,
schoolmistrcss in Cummings township
Lycoming county. She is also a heroine
as an adventure in which she was lead
ing character has proved. a ESQ pound
black bear was the other actor i'm the affair
and Katie's schoolhouse was the scene OF
combat. The structure in which pretty
Miss Rankin conducts her school Is locat.
ed near the banks of Pine creek, In a
sparsely settled district. Just back of the
one story schoolhouse stretches forest up
and across the mountain, which rises 500
feet or more IL is no uncommon thing co
see bears or catamounts in these woods.
The knowledge that there were wild beasts
about caused Katie Rankin TO carry re-
volver, for her boarding place is fully half
| a mile distant from the schoolhouSe Dill
| gent practice has made her proficient
| markswoman.
One night snow fell In that locality to
the depth of 90 inches. Next morning
Miss Rankin started for her school, going
quite early so that she could have the room
warm before the pupils began to arrive
The task of trundling through the deep
snow for half mile was moro than she
had counted on, and when she arrived at
the door OF the little schoolhouse she was
nearly tagged out. On opening the door
she was surprised to find one of the win
dows In the rear of the room wide open.
1t had apparently been open all night, for |
the snow had drifted in.
Hurrying up the aisle to make fast the |
window, she was startled TO sec a big |
black bear lying on the floor close to the |
stove. She screamed, for she thought the |
form that of tramp who had taken shell
ter in her schoolroom from the severe
storm of the night before. She was about
to fec when the black form raised up and
she was surprised still more to find it not
a man, but big black bear. Now, here
was predicamentl Run she must. She
sprang to the door; but, behold in her
hurry to get inside when she arrived, a
minute before, she had failed to remove
the key from the outside. The peculiar
make of lock made it an impossibility to
open the same on either side without the |
aid of the key after it had sprung shut,
and thus was the now thoroughly alarmed |
girl made prisoner, with a big black {
bear as companion.
Old bruin sat up on his launches and
1linked at the terrified girl 1t was owl '
lent that her screams had awakened him !
rom sound sleep, and that he was still
lrowsy was more than apparent from his
azy attitude. The bear had found the a
window OF the schoolhouse open, and the e.
perturo thus afforded being not more
han three feet from the ground he easily
OF inside That he had made himself at |
ONE was In evidence from the topsy tur-
condition of affairs. A luncbbasket.
'rt by one OF the pupils, In which several +
xtra pieces of cake remained, was on the s
DOR empty. Books and maps and states =
ERE thrown promiscuously about, and as ~
no impertinent fellow sat looking at the d
mid little schoolma am he seemed sorry in
n the disturbance he had caused in the
,hoolroom.
AT last, having surveyed her to his en-
re satisfaction, bruin gave a loud grunt,
lowed two rows of teeth, then turned %
I'd shambled toward the open window. 0t
18th his fore paws on the sill he looked In
lck over his shoulder at Miss Rankin, on
no stood trembling at the door, then he :.
Used his ponderous form and slid out OF
to the snow. 1t was then that Miss g.;
ankin bethought herself and rammed
II hand into her coat pocket for the re.
liver. With this as helpmate, and the
ar on the outside OF the building, all her
avery returned. She knew that bruin
uld not well get back II she barricaded XII
o windows, and she did want to shoot in,
al, true bear so badly
On going TO the window she was sur. s''
ised to find that the bear had not vet 'o'
ne more than ten feet toward the wood. est
10 snow was SO deep and of such feath- th
= nature that 1t was next to impossible lin
tho woolly coated creature to move
first stood on his hind legs, and with ce'
fore paws beat the snow from i'm front. on
whom he attempted to move forward for
invariably tumbled headforemost into
snow, which at that point had drifted
Ir feet high.
Miss Rankin judged that this was her
ince. she did not stop to think that I
hrs are not usually shot with revolver. II
watched bruin founder in the snow
4 knew that no could not get back to VII
; even though the first few shots did no luI
re than injure him. She waited until col
stood upright, when she leveled the On,
tol at his head and fired Simultaneous '"!
in the report of the flrearm the bear ga
nped into the air several feet, then went il
ing into the snowdrift An instant esr
9r he was again on his feet this time
IN his face toward the schoolhouse win o."
v. The sight of his pretty tormentor Dr.
tne pain OF tho bullet wound in his O
ID maddened the fellow, and his attempt toe
FOUNDER through the snow back to tho -
ldow was terrific. Ane
gain Miss Rankin raised her pistol. "
5 time taking dim for tho bears eve. free
9 bullet went home, and the bear fen - %,
I'm into the snowdrift This time he
$ slow to rise, and before no accom-. -
he'd this another bullet went blowing -
, his body, and he lay down to do
no shooting at the sohoolhuuso was \
ri by those Mt farmhouse Just across
creek, and several of the men folks
nc bnrrying through the snow, one Of \
m carrying gun. Upon arriving at
schoolhouso they were quickly nc
inted with the situation.
he man with the gun made his way TO
ire the bear lay and found that the
st was not dead He raised his gun TO
the finishing charge, but was STONED
'rc he could pull the trigger by Miss
kin, who exclaimed, Here, want to
that bear"