The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-11-12

line a couple of months ago, when I
ran across a grizzly bear with two fat
cubs. The old bear was lying on
ledge in the shade, while the cubs were
playing and tumbling about in the
gully of a little dried up stream just
below her. A grizzly with cubs is a
mighty good thing to let alone, unless
man is one of a well armed party,
and, as the bear hadn't seen ine, 1
was content to let it go at that and
keep out of her way. So l turned and
went up the side Of the valley.
hadn't gone but a crt distance when,
looking back, l saw a drove of about
100 peccaries coming down the
valley. Now, every hunter knows
what it means to disturb peccaries.
He must kill off the last one or he IS
dead man. And the drove will keep
up the chase until they have. run down
or starved out the man or animal they
are after.
THE course that the drove were
taking would bring them less than 100
yards below me and right past the old
bear and her cubs, but the wind was
blowing from the opposite direction and
from the ledge on which she was lying
the old bear couldn't see the peccar-
les coming. Pretty soon the drove
reached the top of little decline, in
plain sight of the cubs, and came
swinging down with that fast little
trot which eats up the miles amazingly,
and which they can keep up for hours
and days. as many a reckless hunter
has found out to his grief.
THE fiercest, strongest grizzly in
America would have hurried to get out
of the path of those pigs, but the cubs
didn't know enough to appreciate their
danger. Perhaps they thought the
fierce, hard-fighting peccaries were
only lot of swine, and that it would
be good fun to stampede them. What
ever may have been the idea in their
furry heads. the instant they sighted
the enemy both cubs started for them
on the run.
1T was all over in less than a min
ute. The cubs each picked out pee
cary and bounced on it. but instead of
stampeding, the peccaries simply piled
over each other in their eagernesS to
two foolish cubs. There wasn't
trace left of the fat cubs. except
scattered pieces of fur and flesh and
bones. Then came the real fight.
When the cubs attacked the drove
the noise aroused the old grizzly. 1
was near enough to see the whole show,
and it was plain that her first inn
pulse was to hurry to the assistance
of her cubs. Then she hesitated just
for a second. for, old huntress that she
was, she knew what it meant to tackle
those peccaries. 1t wasn't taking a
long chance for her life: it was going
against the real thing, as IL was sure
death for any animal to NEEDLE with
that drove of sharp-tusked little pigs.
Then one of the cubs made a last dy-
ing effort to crawl from under the
drove, who were rending it 70 pieces.
towards the protection of its fierce, old
mother. The old bear saw her cubs
last struggle and started forward.
But it wasn't as if she was going
against something that wouldn't
fight. The pigs saw her coming and
they didn't lose any time on their
part, but went for the old bear on the
run. The grizzly was an unusually
large one and, frenzied at the fate of
her cubs, she looked the incarnation
Of hate. Her big jaws were open, her
eyes glaring, the bristling hair on her
head and body was standing on end;
she was the personification
IF demoniac fighting ability as she
rushed at the peccaries. The terrible
odds against her had been forgotten
n the thought of her dead cubs, and
With the glory of a last great fight |
before her she was ready to join them /
n death.
The Fight
"Ahead of the main body of the pee |
aries were two or three that had not |
been in at the killing of the cubs and 1
20 were first in the charge. The bear
net the first one, gave it a swinging /
blow with her huge paw which sent /
| disemboweied pig flying through the |
lir, crushed another under her front |
paw, and then the whole drove were |
N her in one vicious. swapping wave.
For the first few seconds all / could |
Zee was dark, swaying mass of angry
)eccaries. all trying to get at the bear,
hose nearest tearing at her with their
usks and springing on her back in
heir eagerness, and those farther
way scrambling over the others so as
o get into the fight. A drove of pee
aries after they have sme1t blood is
lot a pretty sight.
But these particular wild pigs were !,
lot up against an animal that was
,oing to quietly let herself be torn to
'ieces. IL it was fighting the peccaries
we're looking for there wasn't anything