The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1899-08-05
cling ard hcw,ing and snarling and

yelling ard hcwing and snarling and
munching and crunching as followed
her exit / never heard before nor since.
| crept to the opening and peeked out.
The old bear stood with her back
against the ledge, and the whole pack
of gaunt and hungry wolves was hurl-
ing itself upon her, trying to force her
down. She had scattered wolves to the
right and to the left, and the opeL
space in front of the cave was strewn
with their carcasses. l grabbed my
gun and went out to the aid of the
bear. Between the two Of us, we soon
had every one of the pack dead. Then
the bear bethought herself OF her
grudge against me, and turned on me
with her fierceness at the 'boiling point
| was obliged to put load of buckshot
through her head, and she tumbled
dead among the wolves
Then Reuben wiped out his gun and
looked around on the battlefield. He
counted 20 dead wolves. Like a flash
he figured it up that with the bounty
on wolves at eight dollars scalp he
hay lying at his feet just $232-the
amount OF the mortgage on the Petit
bone clearing and $32 to spare! More
than that, there were the two bears.
and their hides were worth $40 more!
Little Reuben just jumped and yelled
with joy, because now he could lift his
father out OF the all-pervading dumps
and save his childhood's home. And
while he was jumping and yelling he
heard noise behind him, and looking
round, what should he see tumbling out
of the opening in the cave but two
bear cubs that he hadn't known any.
thing about.
'Twenty-nine wolves!' Reuben Pet.
tibone was fond of telling me he shout.
ed. "Thirty-two dollars more than
enough, besides two dead bears and two
live bears that hadn't seen! No more
all-pervading dumps for pap!'
And there wasn't either, and l sup.
pose that when that long-lost boy got
home with all those skins there was
the"
"Sinnemahone," said the man in the
red, blue, purple, yellow, green and
pink Mackinaw jacket, breaking in on
the narrative; land that tremendous
snowbank that shet this amazin' young.
ster from gettin' home? Did the heat
O that battle melt it off the face O. the
mountain or did the dyin kicks O. them
wolves dig it up and scatter it like
chaff before the roarin' hurricane? Or
was that sloshin' 12-year-old father O
your'n so burnin' with thirst arter the
battle that he jest fell to and gobbled
all that snow before he could cool that
ragin' and consumin' fever DOWN."
The expression on the face of the
man with the variegated jacket was ag,
gravating, and for moment the man
from over Sinnemahoning way looked
as if he had left something at home and
was inclined to go right away after it;
but only for moment. Then he seemed
to remember that he could get along
just as well without it, and said, bland
ly, but with reproach in his tone:
Il had hoped, Mackinaw, to be
spared the recital, because the way that
the child Reuben got home with the
skins, and the scene when he got there
always touches me, and is tender. How.
ever, since you seem to yearn for it,
will tell you how it was. While Reuben
and the old bear were fighting the boy
discovered something. If he hadn't
made that discovery there would have
been no point in his jumping and shout
ing with JOY. The discovery he made
was that the surface of the great snow
bank that stretched away between him
and the home of his childhood had
taken on a crust that was almost one
glare of ice. So, before the bear had
given her dying kick, Reuben had laid
his plan, and as soon as he got through
jumping and shouting for joy he be.
gun to carry it out He tied the two
dead bears together with strips he cut
from his moccasins and tied the wolves
to the bears with thongs he cut from
his powderhorn straps and his buck.
skin breeches. Then he dragged the
lot to the edge of the glaring, slippery
slope of snow. Taking a bear cub I'm.
der each arm, he lay down among the
wolves and the bears and pushed them
to the sloping glare.
- remember so Reuben Pettibone
used to say that there was whiz and
"a WHO'D and ske-wush, and never knew
another thing until | come to, sitting in
the kitchen at home. They had heard
me come and found me in the back
yard, mixed up with the bears and the
wolves. The house was full of neigh.
bors, and pap, low in the all-pervading
dumps as he was-for the import of il
all hadn't struck him yet was brag.
ging ON me and how / stood up, only
IL years old at that against and gath.
; cred in 20 wolves and four bears, and
two IF the bears alive
And here, Mackinaw, is where comes
the part that touches me in tender
spot, and which l hope will shame you
; if it doesn't melt you. When Reuben
came fully to and heard his father brag.
ging that way he rose and said:
Pap said he land he has told me
ST many times), 4 never thought any.
thing about wolves nor bears. Wolves
nor bears were nothing to me. Twasn't