The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1899-05-25
Fight on a Texas Ranch.

COHDOys Ol OPaQSler rdDc0 Hdu A0AA-
grown bears. captured at one time or
another in the Santiago Mountains. The
bears wandered about the ranch and sta
bles, eternally in some mischief, but no.
body feared them, as they were always
good-humored and playful Over at Tom
Ray ranch, near Los Chisos, the boys
owned two-year-old Mexican lion, or
panther. That sort OF pet will always De-
come dangerous by the time it is two
years old, and this particular one was
about the meanest lion ever caught in
that section, and the boys of Tom Ray
concluded to fight MIN, If battle could
be arranged, with the bears OF Spang-
Ter.
Before arrangements could be made
Mexican Pope, a hunter for Spangler
ranch, discovered a den of peccaries, or
wild hogs. as the Texans call them The
band discovered by Pope had for It's
headquarters a cave in a foothill of the
mountain. The mouth Of the cave was
less than two feet in diameter, but the
cave itself was fully forty feet wide
and sixty feet long. Pope was hunting
at the time, and the musky odor of the
peccaries betrayed them. Luckily for
Pope, the band must have just returned
from some excursion, as they were asleep
at the time, and before they woke up
Pope had corked up the entrance to the
cave with rocks which were thickly
strewn about
When Pope returned to the ranch and
told his story, the cowboys proposed
battle royal. They sent word to Tom
Ray ranch, and the cowboys of that
ranch brought over their Mexican Ion.
Meanwhile the boys had built a heavy
rail fence about one hundred feet square
and ten feet high above the cave. The
next morning there were fifty cowboys
of Tom Ray Ranch, as many or more
from the Rocket ranch, and nearly one
hundred of the Spangler ranch boys gath
| cred together. The ground within the rail-
ed enclosure was cleared of every obstacle
except four good-sized stumps, to each
of which bear or panther was chained
with a twenty-foot chain. Each Of the
stumps had been squared off three feet
| above the ground.
AT l o'clock everything was ready for
the battle except the peccaries. This part
Of the work was delegated to Red jim,
an Indian cowboy of Spangler, with the
betting at two TO one that Jim would
get pinned before he could get out of
| reach of the Infatuated peccaries. But
Jim knew his business. He first rolled
stones and placed them several feet from
the mouth of the cave to impede the
brutes should they get out too quick for
him. Then he slipped a lariat around
the big stone which covered up the mouth
of the cave. Retreating fifteen or twenty
feet, he gave the lariat strong pull, and
but came a stream of raging wild hogs.
They didn't catch Jim, but they came
close enough to spring at his heels as ne
scaled the fence. Then fully hundred
mad and swapping peccaries stood min
ute and looked around. In front, forty
or fifty feet away. were three big bears
and a Mexican lion. Most people would
think that such a sight would have scared
the peccaries, but il did nothing of the
sort. On the contrary, the bears and the
lion began to displaYe signs of uneasi-
ness. The bears quickly climbed to the
top of the tree stump to which they
were chained, and the lion squatted and
showed its teeth.
Betting was about even. Broncos. sad
dies, Winchesters and cowboy possession
of all sorts went up on the result, until
the ground was covered with piles Of
traps. The peccaries didn't wait, but with
a general squeak of rage charged their
adversaries Squads of something like
equal number attacked each bear and
lion, and then followed a fight to the
death. The bears stood with all four feet
on the stump, and as the peccaries sprang
at them they struck right and left knock
6g the pugnacious brutes yard away.
Half a dozen peccaries had received Sc
we're injuries from the claws and blows,
and it began to look like a Win-Out for
the bears, when suddenly two of the wild
hogs sprang up behind one Of the bears
while his attention was attracted in front,
and in a second they had severely nipped
him in the rear. Turning too quickly the
bear slipped and fell from his pedestal
In second there was a mass Of reddish
brown bristles and bear fur mixed mex
tricably at the foot of the stump. rolling.
tumbling, grunting, and squeaking with
rage and pain. Bruin managed TO regain
| his feet once and endeavored to get back
on the stump, but the peccaries would
have none of 1t. They charged him In
front ripped him in the sides and rear,
and he fell back into the writing mass
A minute more and one bear was life
less. shapeless mass, with the yellow
brown fends ripping his hide into rib
| bons and cracking his bones like pieces
of glass.
While this was going on the remain
| ing bears and the lion had their paws and
| jaws full of business The bears stu
! safely perched on their respective stumps,
| but We're kept busy knocking off the
| peccaries, which were doing their level
| best to dis1odge them. Half a dozen were
| lying on their backs dead, while others
| were jumping about wounded, yet mad
| and uncomfortable as ever, while the
bears themselves had not escaped scot
| free. A number Of scarlet spots on their
| black hair showed where the peccaries
had left imprints of their scimeter-lfke
! tusks. One of the peccaries caught n
! grip on the headquarters of one of the
! bears. and hung on like grim death. The
| bears foot-hold was lost, and he fell
| equarely into the Jaws OF the swapping
| mob below. Then followed another battle
on the ground, with the bear underneath
and the wild hogs in a yellow bank above
! swapping and struggling to get al their
| enemy. The bear began TO work his hind
| feet and bodies of wild hogs began 70
| fly upward and outward ripped from end
to end by the claws OF the bear. The bear
at last got on his feet and backed up
! against the stump. He sat there and
beat the peccaries away, knocking fully
| a dozen into kingdom come before the
| hogs succeeded IN overcoming him.
! Meanwhile thirty or more OF the pee
/ carries not mixed UP in the fight with the
] bears were either strung out over the
| field trying 10 get at the cowboys on the
! fence or alta cking the Mexican lion. The
/ long, 1.-THE body of the lion had thus far
| escaped serious injury. having received
| only few gashes from the tusks OF his
| enemies. while four or five Of the wild
| hogs were lying at the foot OF the stump
on which the panther very early in the
fight found K necessary 20 take refuge
( But as the raging peccaries drew of from
/ the dead bears they turned fheir atten-
/ ton 70 the Hon, swarrning about the
| stump four or FIVE deep The lion son
! saw that with enemies jumping at him
from al sides he could not much longer
retain his position. Suddenly. with az
/ ear-piercing scream, he spTsng cut and
| into the midst OF the swarm Of hogs.
| where. slashing right and left n cut q
swath. ripping open ard killing number
/ before they recovered from their surprise
/ In a second the lion was ont OF the mass