River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1899-06-08

off. About 40 fate above tn ground
there were a large hole in tn tree.
Thin thinks !, luckin' hard at tn tree
an tn hole forninst il. av can't get
bear I'm thinlin there do be sleepy
coon thot's comm Sevenspot's way.
For, moind We, tn snow lay heavy on
tn ground. An ] knew that bear
would take to tree like that ownly
as a last resort, for whole bear can
climb smooth tree ay it's big enough
II can't climb down, but must slide,
tal1in' chances av broken bones.
'Raysonin' that way an feelin' sure
av sleepy coon, putt aside me rifle
an climbed tn tree. Whin raiched tn
hole / putt me hand in an felt for tn
coon, phwat / were sure were there. ]
raiched and raiched, but could find no
bottom to tn hole. Thin, thinks /, sure
there do be more Ways than wan av tam
in a redskin. Av | can't get tn coon
wild me tishts, ! may wild me fate So
with that l climbed higher an thin low
cred mesilf fate foremost into tn hole,
me fate an lift mesilf out, coon an all.
well, sor, let mesilf down little by
little till l were ownly hangin' to tn
edge ay tn hole by me finger nails. An
thin, av a suddint, me hould broke, an
whit rattlin' an crashin' down tn in
soide av that tree for full forthy fate.
Shure, the hollow raiched clane to tn
ground. An whin l got there / found
mesilf in tn compiny, not av coon, but
av two bear cabs. I've been in some
toight places, bunkie, but shure that
were intoirely too snug a fit. There
were no way to get out, an tn old she
bear moight be due at amy minute.
"Shure, were just fixin' me thoughts
to say few Hail Marys whin tn hole
up tn tree grew dark-loike, an / knew
Mrs. Bear were comm an that it were
tonne to die. Thin castin' me eyes up
pard in an attitude av devotion, were
just beginnin' to say Hail. whin OBJ
served that tn bear were not comm
into tn hole head first, but hindfore-
most loike meself. An with thot me
unspoken prayer were answered wild an
idea. Shure, bunkie, that bear let her.
self down tn insoide av tn tree until /
could raich her tail. Thin takin' firm
hould av it, L drew me penknife and
iabbed her har-r-rd. You should have
seen that bear 90 back up tn hollow av
thot tree. Whin she raiched tn hole
she plunged wildly out av it, an being
clumsy at goin' down smooth tree fell
tn full 40 feet an broke her neck.
Manewhile she'd pulled me up tn hole,
an catchin hould az tn edges / climbed
out an whit back to tn fort. TIL COM
pany had bear steaks tn mkt day"
Sevenspot finished his story amid an
awed silence. The old soldiers looked
pensively out of the window. So did
Sevenspot. The rockies gazed at each
other with open mouths. Then one
more adventurous than the other pulled
himself together and remarked:
"Aw-rats!"
Sevenspot gazed unmoved out of the
window, but the old soldier to whom he
had addressed the story threw glance
of disdain over his shoulder and said TO
Sevenspot:
There goes the alarm clock, and as
soon as I've told you little story we'll
go and have a drink. The alarm clock
that went off just now reminds me of il.
My company was stationed down at
Fort Sam Houston, Tex. There wasn't
much to do but chase horse thieves and
rustlers. There was fresh rookie sent
down from Slocum up here. He hadn't
been there more than day or two when
he was ordered out with a squad after
horse thieves. We chased those thieves
allover the Panhandle, sleeping nights
on the ground. Of course we had lari
ats to run around us at night, so that
the rattlesnakes and tarantulas couldn't
get into our blankets with us.
1--WE showed the rookie how to fix the
lariat and posted him generally. One
night a RATHER looking for warmth
coiled up just as close to the rookie as
the lariat would let him. Just at day
light bird or something disturbed his
snakeship, and he cut loose with his
rattles for all he was worth. The rookie
stretched, yawned and iabbed at moth
ing with his elbow. Then he yelled;
damn it! Hannah! don't you hear
the alarm clock? Get up and make the
fire!
That's how it first got out that he
was married and had made false en-
listment, and, of course, he got bob
tail discharge and three months hard
labor without pay"
Then Sevenspot and the other old sol
dier marched out for their drink, and
for three minutes, at least, not rookie
said a word.-N. Y. Sun.