Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1899-08-09
THE BEAR AND X
X THE REPORTER.
By Everett McNeill.

HE funniest bear hunt ever had
took place nigh 20 years ago."
said the old hunter, as he poked fresh
bowlful of tobacco down into his pipe
with his finger, and resumed his smok-
ing and his story telling. I'm them
days these mountains an valleys were
covered with heavy growth of timber
an full of bears an wolves an wild cats,
an such like critters with long claws
an sharp teeth. I lived over on Dog
mountain, just across Saas'fras valley
from here, in as snug a little log cabin
as you would want to see, an used to
earn more'n enough to keep me in to-
bacco an powder an balls guiding the
hunters, who came up from New York
an Bostin to kill bear an deer. But
they weren't no real hunters, leastwise
not many of them; an if they got a
bear or deer it was usually my old rifle
what killed it. But l suspect they
didn't tell it that way when they got
back to the city, an as they always paid
me well kept num- But that amt
my story.
Zone day, as sat on log in front
of the door of my house, shaving the fat
off bear skin, I heard some one yellin'
down in the woods
Hello, there!' the yell said.
Hello, yourself!' shouted back.
Come down to the road. I've got a
guest for your hotel an then knowed
it was old Dave Utter, who sometimes
drove the hunters up to my place from
Cats Eye Mills, nine miles down the
valley. He couldn't come no nearer to
the house because of the trees an the
rocks, so he yelled.
Dave had brought me-
"'Here's Teller that's after bear.
Can you take him. Dave shouted, the
moment he caught sight of me.
81 reckon. Let him jump out with
his valuables.'
{; 1.-The man was a tall, thin specimen
of city chap, with an uncommon large
mouth an long, thin nose, a-lookin'
up between two high cheek bones. He
warn't old, not more'n % at the most.
"'Are you Luke Jones, the bear
hunter?' he asked, lookin' at me.
That's my name,' answered, AN
I hunt BEARS
"'Can you find bear for me to kill?'
81 reckon
"'All right. Help me with my traps
up to your place.
HE had great hand bag weighing
about a ton, containing am'nition
enough to- kill all the bears in the state
of Pennsylvania, an the first magazine
rifle lever saw. A big horse pistol an
a long knife were stuck in long belt
around his middle. Sure, an he was
loaded for bear.
''Within ten minutes he had told me,
confdentially, that he was a reporter on
a big New York daily, an had run up
just to kill bear, so as to tell his
readers exactly how it was done. soon
discovered that he knew more about
bears in one mint than 1 had learned
in all my trampin' up an down the
woods. Leastwise he thought he did,
an don't care, for it gave him whole
lot of satisfaction, an I knowed that
tomorrow was a-comin' an I had in
mind the Identical old She bear 1 would
turn him loose on.
''That night, after turnin' in, he
cleaned his rifle at least dozen times,
2 and every time he told me just how he
was a-goin', to kill the bear, an eau
toned me, under no circumstances, to
do any shootin' myself. Find the bear,
an I'll do the rest,' he said.
+" ''The next morning the dog-goned
idiot woke me up at three o'clock and
told me to get move on me, as bears
were uncommon early risers an would
be a-nOsin' around for their breakfast
long before sunrise, an he wanted to
kill his bear and be back in New York
in time to get his story in the paper
that night. + never saw; q Teller SO all
4 fired hot. for bear as he was. s,|ss<
We'll, VIC had our eat an were ready
to start by four o'clock. 81 FL ~ Il.