Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1899-05-22
FIGHT WITH A WOUNDED REAR
washington Farmer is Badly Injured
Before Dispatching the Brutn


lAl7ncoS were ever carried in the pock-
ct OF man than those in the Dossas-
SION OF Ambrose Larsen of Sehoma
aSh' now on his way to San Francis
co 10 secure surgical treatment for
1earIulIy mangled arm. The meman
LOS are four tushes taken from tba
mead OF a brown bear, the animal
wnlcn ln11lcted the injury to the arm.
Larsens narrative of the incidents
Ieaulng up to his wounding by the
oear thrilling in the awful agony
endured by the man and his cool intro-
putty under the sufferings. He was
met yesterday afternoon at the Grand
central hotel and said.
have preempted on a ouartar soo
tlon OF land lying about eight miles
Dack OF Sehome. There I have hoon
living with my family for the last six
years. improving the place. RAISING
ooAne STOCK and cutting shingle bolts :
III the latter part of last Septembar
Two OF my pigs were killed nv hears
hunted and waited up of nights for
me pears, but could not meet them
Ihen l built deadfall, placing if d.
lecCIy ID the only trail the marauders
coulo reach the pigpen by. September
1o' on visiting the trap, found an inn
mehse Drown bear in it, the largest
nave ever seen during a lifetimo
spent IN the woods. The log of tbo
Trap nao fallen across its launches and
broken it's back. The animal was alive.
however, nd full of fight. [ put two
bullets from my Winchester into its
mead and the bear turned over as If
dead.
then climbed down into the mir
10 see the best means of getting tn
work at skinning the animal. Tn d.
ing this it was necessary for me to
pass my right arm under the bears
nead. No sooner had my hand
touched his head than. with a snap
there was no avoiding, he raised and
caught me by the right rm just above
the elbow, sinking his tushes deem to
the bone. At the same time he sent
ms claws into the leg of my right boot.
fortunately I had brought nv Win
chester into the pit with me and had
leaned 1t against the side, as it hap
pehed, within reach of my left hand.
Inc pear mad me securely pinioned and
L could feel his tushes crunching on
the bone of my arm; I cnanot describe
it. Getting the rifle stock between NV
kheeS' managed to work the loading
lever with my left hand, and, placing
the muzzle of the gun fairly in the
bears right eye, fired. The shot sent
the big brute into it's dying throes.
Like wise its jaws settled down on
my already crushed arm, until it
seemed that flesh and bone must sun
der, and the weight of the bears head
and shoulders would tear the arm
away
however, UnuuT 1IICe could not
stand up under a strain long. Getting
another cartridge into the rifle by the
same tactics as before, I rammed the
barrel of the gun alongside this, where
a space showed between my shirt
sleeve and the bears tongue. (Lar-
sen here showed the tusk with the
mark of the rifle barrel upon IT'D
And, showing my weapon as far down
the brute's throat as my failing
strength would lalow of, fired.
cine bear was undoubtedly already
dead, but only a slight relaxation Of
it's jaws followde the second shot. I
could not free my arm. The hold Of
the claw on my boot, however, re-
laxed. With this advantage gained I
dropped to my knees, and, using the
rifle barrel as a pry, forced the ami
mails jaws open. God only knows the
awful agony endured during that pry-
ing operation, but at last I managed
to fire. myself. With my rleief my grit
gave out and I tainted. The next
knew my wife and a neighboring
rancher were beside me in the pit, en-
deavOring to staunch the Bleeding from
my arm. Myw ife had become alarmed
at my long absence, nd, knowing my
errand when I left in the morning,
had made her way to the bera deadfall.
Unable, on account of her feeble
strength to raise me from the pit, she
had walked three miles to the next
cabin adjoining ours to procure the
neighbours assistance.
81 was taken to Fairhaven and
thence to Victoria. Everything has
been done that the surgeons of the
northwest are capable of, and that is
probably all that medical science can
attain, for [ have had good doctors.
The crunched bone of my arm will not
knit or form again. 1t continues to
work out in small pieces. Every time
one of these fragments of bone comes
to the skin it forms an ulcer or boil
in it's efforts to free itself. The re-
suit is my arm is mass of useless
flesh. The pain comes from it con-
stantly. had decided to undergo an
amputation when a friend told me Of
a surgeon in San Francisco who had
performed several difficult operations
in cutting away and piecing out of dis
eased bone matter, and I am going to
him as last hope. If he cannot