Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1899-07-20
THE REPORTER
AND THE BEAR.

the old hunter, as he poked fresh bowl
fun OF tobacco down into his pipe with
his finger, and resumed his smoking and
his story telling. 'In them days these
| mountains an valleys were covered with
a heavy growth OF timber an full of bears
an wolves an wildcats, an such like
critters with long claws an sharp
teeth I lived over on Dog mountain,
Just across Sass'fras Valley from here,
| in as snug little log cabin as you would
want to see, an used to earn more
enough to keep me in tobacco an powder
an balls guiding the hunters who came
up from New York an Boston TO XIII
bear an deer. But they weren't no real
hunters. leastwise not many Of them; am
if they got a bear or deer it was usually
my old rife what killed it. But | suspect
they didn't tell IL that way when
they got back to the city; an as they
| always paid me well j kept mum. But
| that amt my story.
zone day, as 1 sat on a log in front of
the door of my house, shaving the fat OH
n bear skin, l heard some one yellin'
down in the woods.
Hello, there the yell said
"'Hello, yourselfv / shouted back.
"'Come down to the road. I've got a
| guest for your hotel an then / knowed
1t was old Dave Utter, who sometimes
drove the hunters up TO my place from
| Cats Eye Mills, nine miles down the val
! ley. He couldn't come no nearer 10 the
| house because OF the trees an the rocks
| SO he yelled.
Il went down to the road to see WHAT
Dave had brought me.
"Here's a feller that's after bear |ah
| Won take him?' Dave shouted, the mo-
| .-1... caught sight of me.
81 reckon. Let him jump out WIN
his valuables.
"Tbe man was a tall, thin specimen OF
CITY chap. with an uncommon large
mouth an long, thin nose, a-loomiH up
between two high cheekbones. lie warn
oId-not more'n p at the most.
Are YOU Luke Jones, the bear-hunt-
err? he asked, lookin' at me.
THAT my name, 1 answered, an
hunt bears ,,u,..
- reckon
"'Au right. Help me with my traps
up to your place
"He had a great handbag, that weigh
ed about a ton, containing am'niuon
! enough TO kill all the bears in the state
of Pennsylvania. an the first magazine
rifle 7 ever saw. a big horse pistol an a
long knife were stuck in broad belt
around his middle. Sure, an he was load
ed for bear.
"Vithin ten minutes he had told me,
confdentially, that he was reporter Oh
a big New York daily, an had run up
lust to kill bear, so as TO tell MS reau-
ers exactly how II was done. soon us
covered that be knowed more about pears
i'm one mint than l had learned IN an
nv trampin' up an down the woods.
ha did an | didn't
care for il gave him a whole lot OF sat
isfaction. an / knowed that tomorrow
was ,a-comin' an / had in mind the ldeh-
| f,cal old she bear / would turn him loose
| on. ,
! "Tbat night. after turnin' in he clean
! ed his rifle at least a dozen times, an
every time he told me just how he was
o-ooin' 70 kill the bear, an cautioned me,
under no circumstances to do any shoot-
| In myself Find the bear, an III 90 the
rest he said. ,,
"The next mornin' the dog-goned IDIOT
| woke me up at o'clock an told me 10
get a move on me, as bears were uncom-
| mon early risers an would be nosih
| 'round for their breakfast long before
! sunrise an he wanted to kill his bear an
| he hack I'm New York in time 10 get his
story in the paper that night. ! never
saw a Teller so ALFRED hot for bear as
| he was.
"Wen. we had our eat an were ready
| to start by 4 O'Clock.
You might leave your gun here he
said. as he saw me pick up my rife. I'm
! to do all the shoOtin, you know.
! "'Weu. 1 won't / replied, shortly.
Where / goes in these woods my gun
goes
"'Oh.' he said, you needn't be afraid.
| I could pump a bear as full of holes as a
/ -. Of min a
he could touch you. The magazine holds
| sixteen shots an he smiled.
'Goldarn your old pump | says back.
| when | shoots bear / shoots them with
! balls. l don't pump holes into them
was considerable riled; but i didn't say
more. because l had in mind that old she
bear. an l knowed enough about bear
nature an man nature to know thereu
be trouble when them two collded.
eft was q beautiful mornin The air
smelled sweet an fresh, with just touch
of pine I'm it, an the sky was as clear as
a whistle / felt sure l could walk right
onto the old bear, nestlin' down under
the roots of a great tree, which the WIND
had blown down, an where she had been
keepin house for the last month. AS we
went deeper into the woods, an the
rocks an the trees an all began to look
more wild like, l could see Mr.. Reporter
was beginnin' to get nervous, an the way
he kept fngerin' the trigger of his gun
made me mighty careful how l walked
i'm front of him.
"Wcu after about an hours hard |
tramp we came to the spot where the Dear |
ought TO be. 1t was a Withholding place, |
down in a deep gully, all overgrown with |
great trees an thick with underbrush. / |
told Mr.. Reporter that / reckoned we |
were near bear. lie cooked his rifle an |
began TO look scarf but, with desperate |
show of courage. he again cautioned me |
not 10 do any shootin'. When we were |
within about two rods Of the fallen tree, |
an where ] could look into the hole I'M
der the roots, l stopped an picked up
great stone.
Get ready says j.
"'Where! Where! an he looked wildly |
around.
There an ] hurled the great stone
with all my strength right into the hole
Chimney! You oughter see that bear
come hyin' out Of that hole an make |
straight for the reporter. She was growl-
in like a thunderstorm an her hair
stood on end all over her body, so That
she looked as big as an OK
"Mr. Reporter threw his rifle wildly 10
his shoulder an fired. As luck would
have it, the ball struck the bear some
where i'm the side an made her madder
than ever For one desperate momen MI
Reporter tried 10 pump her fun OF holes
but he was so clustered an scarf that ne
couldn't make the blamed old pump work
The bear reared up on her hind legs right
I'm front of him. / could see his face
grow white as milk, and then. with mad
Id l.. A