The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1899-06-02
EXCITING BATTLE.
A WICKED ENCOUNTER BETWEEN A
MAN AND A BEAR.

1t Ended In n Clinch and a Roll
Down "a Snow Covered Mountain
Side-A Close CEII. In Which the
Man just Escaped With His Life.
To roll down a n covered noun
tain side tightly clasped in the embrace
of a grizzly bear is an experience few
men pass through and live to tell. But
that is what happened to Frank Lecky
of Fresno, and when it was all over he
had only a few scratches and bruises
and a big bearskin to show as signs Of
his terrible encounter.
ut was the wickedest fight l ever
got into" said Frank when telling of
his experiences. land I have been in a
good many, going out hunting in the
Sierras every winter, as I do.
"This big fight happened up in the
Whitney country 1t was just a few
miles east of the Minarets and in the
spot where a fellow is always pretty
sure to find big game.
"It was pretty late in the afternoon,
and 1 was all alone in camp, as the
other boys had not returned from a deer
hunt they started on in the morning.
~ had been doing in the tent all
day, but came out to have a look at the
sky. As l glanced along the top of a
bluff a few hundred feet from the camp
I saw something dark moving about.
"That was enough for me. I got my
rife and started right after it. The kind
Of game l was going after didn't con-
Germ me at all. but / really didn't ex-
pect bear. at least such big cantanker.
Gus bear.
"Taking a roundabout way through
the snow, I soon reached the top of the
bluff and began to crawl along care
fully in order to get a good resting shot
and not come upon my game too sud
denly.
"Finclly l caught a close view of a
big dark body moving behind a clump
of bushes. 1t was so large that for a
moment I thought I had been stalking
a COW and was ready to kick myself
Then a long drawn sniff and a deep
growl told me it was bear I was sight
ing. Instantly I was all excited with
interest and strained every nerve to get
the beast in line and so plant a bullet in
the right spot. The bear, however had
a mind to keep his eyes on me and kept
moving abont as he peered between the
branches of the brush.
"Suddenly one of the horses down in
the camp neighed loudly and attracted
the bears attention. AS the bear turn
ed and exposed his side l fred. Down
went the bear like a bag of wheat, and
I thought my rifle ball must have gone
clean through it's brain. Without stop
ping to consider whether my shot had
really been fatal. I rushed forward. As
| stopped down to see where the ball
struck, the bear jumped up, and then
I knew had only creased it-that is.
just grazed it's head or spinal cord and
knocked it senseless for a moment.
Before I could swing my rifle for
ward to get in a shot the bear had
knocked it out of my hands and was
right on top of me. Somehow I man
aged to draw my knife and get in a few
jabs that did no damage. The bear
Rugged me tighter and tighter, and ]
kicked harder and harder and jabbed
wildly with my knife. Then we both
rolled on the ground, and the bear tried
to bite my face, but I kept off his fast
clawing blows by hugging tightly
against him. I jabbed and jabbed as
we rolled owe and over, and the bears
face and claws were pretty badly cut
and M of his eyes was put out Of SER
vice. The snow all around was torn up
and spattered with blood.
"Before I knew it we were just on
the edge Of the bluff, and an almost
vertical wall of lay just below us
for over a hundred feet to the bottom.
"This frightened me more than the
bear, for I knew what it meant, but be-
fore I could think of doing anything we
were over the edge and rolling down at
lightning speed.
''It could not have taken more than
a few seconds, but it seemed to me like
years. Now I was on top Of the bear,
and now underneath. Snow filled my
eyes and ears, and I was scratched and
wounded and bumped until I thought
my end had come.
cit seems to me that I kept striking
at the bear as we rolled, or rather shot,
downward. for we were going at the
speed of a cannon ball. Then there was
a sudden bump while I was on top, and
the bear gave a moan of pain and let
go of me.
"That gave me my chance. and !
drove my knife into his heart.
"The skin measured over even feet.
l found out while we were cutting him
up that when he struck the rock at the
bottom of the hill he shattered his
spine. It was just a piece of luck that
the bear struck the rock and not my
self. San Francisco Call.
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