The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1899-08-08
BULL AND GRIZZLY FIGHT.

A Battle to the Death Watched BY
Man Up a Tree-Furious Charges OF
the Bull Met with the Skill and Gil
gantic Strength of the Bear-Cattle
Eagles and Wolves the Spectators
The Death of Both Combatants.
Some years ago, as agent of a bic
firm of cattle spectators, said vel
known Pennsylvania, Il spent a good
deal of time in the great Northwest
One day, having time on my hands,
thought I would get rid Of it pleasantly
by trouting trip to stream that lay
| a few miles south from our camp. The
weather had been hot for some time.
and when l got over to the river found
the headwaters were not much better
than dry land, all the moisture could
find being little puddles here and there
in the bed. So I concluded the best
thing for me to do would be to march
right back to camp. There was a
heavy thicket along the north bank of
the stream some distance above where
| came out on the dry bed and a few
cotton wood trees were standing maybe
hundred yards back from the bank.
AS l turned to retrace my steps | saw a
small herd of wild cattle standing off to
my right. Among them was young
| BULL a splendid specimen of his kind.
He and the rest of the cattle were eye
ing me with suspicious curiosity. I
didn't like the appearance of the bull,
for he had way of lowering his head,
throwing dirt with his fore feet and ut
tering an ominous sort of below that
seemed threatening, / turned and
walked away, moving toward the cot
| tonwood trees. CHANGING back over my
shoulder, I saw the bull coming along
after me. I increased my speed and so
| did he, until / was running my fastest
and the bull was doing his best behind
me- y can't say exactly how 1t was
DONE but it wasn't many seconds before
| / found myself in one of the cotton
wood trees, out of reach of the bull, who
was Immediately under the tree, paw
ing dirt and acting as if very mad.
1.-THE bull paved and grumbled few
minutes, and then turned and walked
| toward the thicket, on the creek side of
which there was a water hole. The
other cattle went on quietly grazing
where l had first seen them. I suppose
| the bull started toward the thicSet to
| get drink at the water hole, but he
| never got the drink. ! saw him push
his way into the thicket, and the next
| instant l could see that he had got into
| trouble of some kind, and that trouble
proved to be a grizzly bear. A fierce
struggle followed in the thicket. The
tops of the bushes swayed to and fro,
and | could hear She heavy crash of
driftwood as the two powerful animals
fought A cloud of dust rolled up from
the spot 1t was not distant over 100
yards from the tree in which l had
taken refuge. Scarcely two minutes
elapsed before the bull broke through
the bushes. His head was covered with
blood and great flakes of flesh hung
from his fore shoulders. But instead of
showing any signs of defeat, he seemed
literally to glow with defiant rage. In
stinct had simply prompted him in his
retreat to seek All open space. He was
1.-the and wiry, yet wonderfully massive
about the shoulders. having the finest
qualities of strength and symmetry
For a moment he stood glazing at the
bushes he had retreated from, his nos
trls defended and his whole form fixed
and rigid. But scarcely had l time to
ilOlS llllS, NiiVii lhS bNdis q iitSN, iG-
pulsive- looking brute, broke through
the bushes into the opening. He was
the most formidable specimen of his
kind l had ever seen, and my eympa-
thies We're al once with the bull, in spite
of his belligerent attitude toward me
a few minutes before.
when the bear made his appearance
out of the thicket the bull did not wait
for his charge, but, lowering his great
head to the ground, rushed madly upon
the bear. The latter seemed to appre-
ciate the abilities of bull, and summoned
all the wariness of his nature to his aid.
He waited until the bull was almost
upon him, and then sprang aside with
marvellous quickness, seized the assail- |
ants horns in his powerful grasp, and
pressed the bulls head down against
the ground by his great strength and
the weight of his enormous body, biting
the bulls nose and tearing the flesh
from his cheek and shoulders with his |
long, sharp claws.
Presently both animals paused in
their desperate struggle, but the bear
did not relax his hold he had obtained |.
on the bull. The cessation in the strug-
gle had probably been of ten minutes !
duration when suddenly the bull made
one desperate lunge, broke the embrace
of the grizzly, hurled the bear off his !
head and backed away some ten PAGES. |
The bear lifted his huge head and stood |
ready for the next assault. The herd |
of cattle had by this time gathered in |
from the plain and surrounded the COM |
batants, mooing and believing and |
paving up the ground, and maintaining |
a terrified neutrality. The bull did not |
remain at rest a moment after backing
away for a new charge, but rendered |
furious by his wounds, he gathered all
his energies and, with resounding bel
low, rushed with impetuous force and |
ferocity upon the bear. The latter at
tempted to use the tactics that had |
served him so well at the first onslaught,
but the second charge of the bull was
irresistible, in spite of the bears ter
rife blows with his paws, and the
grizzly went down in the dust before his
crazed antagonist, and vainly tried to
defend himself The bull thrust his
horns under the bear, caught him in the
Wi of