Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1899-10-12

old bears can lick grizzly bear in
NO time. They are quicker than chain
lightning, never see human being
more than once in few years, land
would tackle a drove OF elephants
without seconds thought. They'd
charge the very devil. Don't know
anything but fight for a living,
They've got tusks that are over half a
foot long and sharp as needles, They
could rip open rhinocerous quicker
than you can think, and they have the
biggest mouths full of the most awful
teeth I've ever seen in any menagerie.
When they are wounded, it is like an
animated cyclone If any OF you peo-
pie 60 down the Colorado to hunt,
and you shoot one OF the wild bears,
you've got TO shoot to kill or hunt a
big tall tree in the best time any hui
man being ever made, or you are a
goner, sure. Don't climb sapling,
for boar would soon dig it up by the
roots and then rip you to pieces.
Don't forget when hunting old bears
to keep near tree which you can
climb quick"
Colonel Dan Waters stopped here
to draw his breath. He was telling
folk of Ramona, CAL, of the droves OF
wild hogs along the tulelands of the
lower Colorado river. He continued:
"Three Yuma half-breeds and l
went up into a sparsely settled foot
hill district to drop over. as ! sup
posed, a hog or two in the course Of
the day. 1t was plain when we got
among the trees that some swine had
been feeding there, but we could not
see hide nor bristle of them. We
turned the big dogs loose, and in less
than twenty minutes we heard deep
bay over on the right about quarter
of mile away.
"In few minutes heard crash
in the underground and a savage
grunt and snort, and out started a big
sow and two half-grown pigs Just as
the sow appeared over slight eleva-
ton about $50 feet away ] fired and
keeled her over. The pigs stood still
q minute until they caught sight OF
men, when they charged furiously.
! knocked one of them over before
they had made twenty-five feet, but
the other kept right on, the picture OF
demoniacal rage, with foam dropping
from his jaws and teeth and tusks
swapping like castanets. Luckily, |
placed myself under a low branched
live oak tree, and | lost no time in
putting myself out of the reach of the
savage beast. The tree was thick,
spreading oak, and was safe enough
to take things easy ! had swung
my Winchester over my shoulder be-
fore assembled the tree, and one shot
from my gun settled the hog.
"About two hundred yards away |
could see Jack, my Yuma savage, lean
ing against sapling which was not
more than five or six inches in diane
ter. Attracted by the rush of the
hogs, Jack drew away from the tree
Just as a tremendous old boar darted
out Of the underbrush about fifty
yards distant. Jack saw him coming
like cyclone, and, without consider
ing, shot at him. The shot struck the
boar fairly between the eyes, but it
might as well have been fired into a
monitor for all the harm it did The
bullet fattened like putty, and did no
other damage than more thoroughly
to enrage the boar. When he saw the
Indian he gave a fierce snort and
started for him, with the foam flying
from his mouth and his fierce little
eyes glinting with devilish ferocty,
Jack had not time to reload his gun,
He skinned up tree, but, unlucki.y,
it was a sapling barely big enough to
hold his weight. The boar didn't stop
in his charge, but ran full tilt into
the sapling, shaking it so badly that
the Indian had all he could do TO
hang on.
when the boar found he couldn't
knock the tree down by sheer force
he deliberately went to work in an
other way, lie walked around the
tree three or four times, until he
seemed to have found spot in which
to begin operations, when he stopped
and began to dig and tear up the
ground with his long snout and to
tear and bite off the roots with his
long tusks, 1t was plainly evident
that something would have to be done
pretty quick, or our mess would be
enc short. Poor Jack was hanging
on and yelling with all his might,
and every yell appeared to add to the
rage of the old boar
calling to Jack to stop yelling and
to hang on to the tree, | prepared to
let the brute have bullet The dis.
lance was about $50 yards, and as it
took a close shot to effect anything
against the tough hide of an old boar,
l made preparations by standing on
a big limb of the live oak tree and
resting my gun on another, about on
a level with my shoulder My first
shot struck the boar behind the shout
der, but as he stood quartering to-
ward me the only result was to tear
out big piece of his hide along his
side, inficting painful but not dan.
gerous wound When the boar felt
the sting Of the bullet he made for
the tree was in. He must either have
caught glimpse of me or have seen
the smoke of the shot. Calling to the
Indian to slide down out Of the little
tree and make for big one, turned
my attention to the boar.