The Portland daily press., 1898-05-11
1ue KLoNpIKE BEAR.

.,.,ost as Much In Evidence as
Gold In the Frigid Ciime-story Of a
Hppt wherein Patience and Per-
Are Finally vindicated.
aNo - saws the bloated aristocrat reflect
,ro,n 1T can't say as did hev any adyen-
,,,res s in the Klondike-leastways what 1
,ra,,ld call adventures. Course I can't
denv that hev been in some queer sorapes
thet We might call adventures, but to NV
exnerienoed mind they are nothin-abso.
lutely nothln.
"No. no" shouts the little band in tba
corner grocery, mot at all! They were
real adventures, an we want you to tell ms
some of them.
Thus earnestly exhorted, the bloated
aristocrat takes fresh chew of tobacco.
shifts his position on the baking powder
box and tells the following thrilling warn !:
"It was in May, few days after first
arove in the Klondike, thet me an nv
mate determined to go out an hey b ar
hunt. Bars, ye know, are mos ez plen-
tiful up thar ez gold, an thet's needless. ;"
Here ne braces himself and looks at his
pointed shoes with evident self content
ment.
"Waal, we started ont, gun an knives
in our hands an lots of ammunition in
our bags. We walked about 40 mile, I
suppose, fore we struck bar, fer, like
gold, thar is sometimes considable
stretches where they re wantin. This one
we found under a tree, perfeckly motion
less. Gosh, but he wuz a whopper Mos
16 feet, l guessed, ez soon ez I saw him.
Bill, my mate, didn't thin.s he wuz SO
long, but WIZ right
Thar he sot, never movin hair, ez me
an my pardner separated an crept ez sly
ez we could up to the beast guess Bill
got shar first. fer pretty soon sBangl' went
his gun.
"Waal, sirs, Iwuz mos tetotally s'prised.
knew he wuz bad shot, but l did think
he'd como near enough to at least frig hten
the bar. But he never, budged Then 1
heard Bills gun go off again No effect
on Mr.. Bar.
Let him shoot, sez I. 'S'long's he
don't desturb the annermile, I've no OF
jections.
"And shoot he did Why, sirs, s'pose
he shot 80 bullets into thet thar bar an
never one hit. He knew, s'pose, thet
Bill couldn't even strike rich lode, SO he
Jest sot thar to tantalize him.
"Purty soon l heard Bill a-yellin:
Sam, ye darn fool, why don't ye
shoot the contrary critterY'
Jest a-goin to, sez I, with an in
diff tone of voice, for wuz pretty
sure could bring him down. Pity ye're
so narvous, Bill
II heard him mutter, Tell with nervous
I ness, or somethin, an then I took aim.
Jest careless sort Of aim, fur wanted to
hev some fun with the beast. But sure
ez my names Sam Williams, boys, thet
| thar critter never moved.
.'sI'll do er die, sez I, an I spit on my
hands, rested the rifle on the tree an fired.
hit him fairly in the heart an had the
satisfaction Of seein him stir. Tibet wu2
al, though, an / determined to investi
gate an consekently run up to him. III
| be tetotally consarned, boys, If thet b'al
wuzn' t froze stiffer'n nicycle! Together
with the warm sun an our bullets-ful
Bill he'd hit him once-we he'd aroused
him little, but by the eighth star in the
Little Dogs tail it took us three days te
thaw him out SOS to give the fatal thrust. .
As he utters this .grandiloquent phrase
he looks up just in time to see the last oc
cupant Of the room passing out the door
while from without comes peal after pea
of immoderate laughter Toronto Satur
day Night