The Van Buren press. [volume] (Van Buren, Ark.) 1859-1914, 1898-05-28

than 30 PAGES away. takin' in tbs scene.
lookin pleasant and shown no sign
but what he was glad to see Bill and
Jabe enjoyin' themselves, and actin as
If he might jine in with 'em if they
asked him. The dog was the only thing
that seemed to poster the bear and
threaten to raise his dander. Jabe, he
knows bears considerable, and he says
to Bill:
"sBill, he says, that bear seems to be
sociable and seteh, but as you amt
loaded for bear you better call your
dog and go along with me, he says.
"But Bill he felt huffy that the bear
should come a-nosin' round where he
wasn't wanted and intrudin' on their
picnic, and he was for emptyin' his gun
into Bruin.
lilies nigh enough for me to wing
him, even If my shot are SMALL says
Bill. He'll run, anyhow, as soon as
he hears the gun. Bears is awful
towards | was readin' book about
'em only yesterday says Bill.
"'Bill,' says Jabe, you come along
with me, no matter what the book says
but Bill he knowed, and he says:
"'Jest you hold on, Jabe' he says.
I'll give him a fine load of shot in his
nose and then Jest watch him run!'
"The bear he jest KEEP on settin' there,
lookin' pleasant at Bill and Jabe, bat
givin' the snappin' and snarlin' dog
glare now and then. Bill he hauled up
and aimed at the bear. Jabe he walked
pretty fast to tree that stood jest back
of him and got ready to shin it.
"'Now watch him rum says Bill, and
he banged away at the bears nose.
"The bear did run, sure enough. But
somehow he didn't run the way Bill had
calculated on. He run straight for
Bill and the pleasant look wasn't on
his face no more. He snorted and
howled. Bill dropped his gun and
tore up the highest tree. JADE he was
half way up his tree. Bill got to the
branches O. his'n jest as the bear got to
the bottom of it, and as he grabbed a
branch it broke and down he come kerr
fiummix. lie struck square straddle O
the bears back. That s'prised the bear
so that it sort O. discumfuddled him
and he give two or three crazy whirls
around and then away he went like a
race horse straight for the thickest part
o. the swamp, Bill hangin' on to him
like grim death, cause he was afeard
to git off. The dog was so skeert at the
first rush o. the bear that he dropped
his tail betwixt his legs. SO Jabe says,
and struck a bee line to'ards the west,
with his eyes hangin' most on his nose,
and he hain't never been seen nor heerd
on sence.
"Soon as JADE see the bear prancin'
away into the swamp with Bill he elm
down outen his tree. For somethin'
like ten minutes he heerd the laurels
a snappin' an crackin' off in the
swamp.
eff Bill is huggin' onto that bear all
this time says Jabe, he can't be much
less than tore to shoe strings the way
them gnarly laurels must grab into
him and snatch him.
"By and by Jabe heerd some one give
a yoop from some'res out in the swamp,
and he had an idee it was Bill, and he
whooped back.
"'Hello. BILL he yooped. is the bear
a runnin' yit?'
"But Bill didn't say, and by and by
he come creepin' and crawln' outen the
Iaurels to the openin' where him and the
bear had started from. All the clothes
he had on him wouldn't hardly make
block for bedquilt, and he
was stripped like zebra from head to
foot where the sharp brush had dug
into him and the bear skun along with
him through the swamp.
"'Did the bear throw you, Bill?' says
Jabe.
"'No,' says Bill. He scraped me off.
He slid into holler log and scraped
me off, consarn him.
"'But you made him run all right
says Jabe. You said you would and
you did,
"Bill didn't say nothin', but when
they got as nigh home as the edge O. the
clearin' JADE he went in and borrowed
Sans other suit so as Bill could get the
rest O. the way home, and that's the suit
Bill was wearin' when Sam got cotched
on the jury and had to have 1t back
ag'in.
"'And jest for that, says Bill, I've
got to go without new rabbit dog and
a lot of fishin' things. l always was
down on this here consumed jury sys-
TEN, anyhow says hen. Y. Sun.