Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1899-01-05
TALES OF PLUCK
AND ADVENTURE.
X eeaesHaxksaee<
Lively Fight with n Bear.


Clyde football team of 1896, has writ
ten to friends at Lyons, N. T., from
Dawson City, giving an account of
fight he had with q bear. Here is what
he says:
"You can talk about your Spanish
war, but have had worse than the
Spauiards to face. All summer have
been on Sulphur Creek and had q good
time, also lots OF fresh meat, for we
killed two bears and three moose. On
Jure IA two men named Kayanaugh
and Greenen came to the cabin of Mr..
Clark and myself and told us that the
bears had been in the cabin of claim
No. 42. and had taken sack OF -four
and fruit, and they wanted us to watch
for the beast that night.
'Clark said he would if Kavanaugh
and Greenen would stay all night, and
they did. We all went up near the
cabin, and lay behind n log to wait for
the bear to come, but later Barney.
Greenen and Invent up the trail TO No.
80 cabin to find out if they had seen
the bear. AS We approached 80 we
saw the owner on the roof, and he told
us that large bear was going on to
42, and wo must so back and tell the
boys. The bear was, he said, going
slowly along the ridge. When we re.
turned we found that Mr. Clark had
taken one of tho rifles and had gone
down to cabin Al for some tobacco. As
Barney was saying ho would go and
fetch Clark we heard the bear give two
loud roars. I looked over the log, and
there stood his bearshp about 100
yards away, as large as a small horse.
Presently the bear started toward
the cabin and walked around it three
times. Finally he stopped and put his
front feet on the top of the cabin to
SEQ if any one was there. Then he
walked up to the docl and tore the
door OF as if it were paper. Soon he
walked into the cabin, but in few
minutes came out again aud started
right toward us. When he was about
one-third Of the way, Kavaneugh
turned over and said to me: Shall We
run?' 1 replied: No, give mo your
revolver and we will fight him We
hadn't been waiting for him Just to
look at him and run.
Kavanaugh had his rife and I had
his revolver, and as we were about to
fire the bear went back into the cabin.
Occasionally the bear would stick his
head out of the door to see if all was
well. We lost sight of his bearship
after time, aud we thought he had
found something to eat Soon / heard
some one como running through the
bushes, and there were Clark and
Barney. just then the bear came out
OF the cabin, and Kavanaugh fired,
striking the bear in the shoulder.
"The animal turned q complete
somersault. Kavanaugh fred again,
then he and ran after the bear. BY
this time the other men came up. One
OF them nearly tainted. He said:
Take the rife; I am ont of breath. ;
1 took the rife and we started into
the woods after the bear. Suddenly
kavanaugh began to fire, and there
was the bear ON his hind legs coming
right at us. You would have thought
it was o Spanish American battle by
the sound of the shots we sent into
that bear. Wewere obliged to unload
two rifles and revolver into his bear
ship before he was dead,
81 have been with many football
players, and I never saw one so
anxious to get hold OF me as that bear
was. Aud for the first time in nv
life was afraid. The bear looked as
big as a church, but of different dis
position. After he was dead we
shrieked and howled, and all the
people on Sulphur Greek knew what
had happened, and there was jolly
time on old Sulphur that night. Later
we had q guessing contest as to the
bears weight, and we all guessed
about 700 pounds, but when tho bear
stood on his hind legs and came at us
we thought he would eaSilJ weigh 1000
pounds.
"On July %, about 4 o'clock in the
morning, we were awakened by the
yells of man who had been sleeping
on the ground not far away from our
cabin. A black bear had arrived
during the night and struck him on
tho leg. The frightened man grabbed
his axe and began yelling for dear life.
Barney killed the bear the first shot,
bat his bearship was small and lean
and did not show fight. The large
bear was bald face.