The Savannah morning news., 1900-06-19
CHARGED ON A PACK TRAIN.
GRIZZLY BEAR CAUSES CoNsTER-
NATION AMONG PRoSPECToRs.

Sort of COver-Treed All Night in
snOwstorm while the Terrible
Beast Lay Dead.
From the Los Angeles Times.
"Yoi don't know anything about fun
If you never saw a grizzly charge a pack
train" said Bill Ellis one night as he lit
his pipe at the camp fire. we were goin
over a little fiat in the mountains one day
toward dark, with about fifty animals, all
heavily packed. There were about TWEEN
ty of US goin' to the mines. each man
with a rife or pistol and most of us with
BOTH All at once two mules that were
in the lead wheeled and come a-saiiin' back
with coffee pots and fryln' pans a-clatter-
in to knock the hind sights OF Chin
csc concert. Everything in the line wheel
ed as they came on and in a minute jacks.
mules and horses were waltzin' through
the manzanita with sacks and beddin' a
rippin' at every jump, and $50 -four and -
bacon ornamentin the bushes as IL they
cost nothin', while most every pack that
held was under the horses belly and the
horse a-buckin' downhill among the
rocks like kangaroo runnin for first
money.
THE boys that had common brides on
their horses couldn't hold EN- a second
They came a-fyin' past me and Tonnes
see was wiped off his horse by the limb
of big oak alongside of me. Jersey bust
ed the bride tryin to hold to his plug and
threw himself off to save himself, whilo
Grizzle Jake, who was always braSgin
that he want afraid of nobody's bear
landed square in the track behind his
horse, that flew out from under when the
cinch busted.
At the Bears Mercy.
Just then my horses reared because
was holdin him so tight with a big Span
ish bit, and l slid off Just as he went over
backward and smashed the stock of my
rifle that was hung on the horn of the
bridle.' Just as l gathered myself saw
the dogs of the outfit radiatin' like so
many spokes in a wheel, and close behind
EN-, with blood-red mouth wide open, ears
laid back and froth awhirlin' around her
head from her big, white teeth, came tho
durndest old bag of grizzly / ever see
brace of cubs come tumblin along away
behind her, stoppin once in a while to take
a look at the circus but she didn't stop
for nothin', and was strictly business in
every move
1T suddenly struck me that a tree would
come handy, but there was nothin' near
me less than four feet through and fifty
feet to the first limb. You might as well
CLIMB the bear as tackle such a tree. It's
bad enough when the tree fits your legs
Shinnin up tree with a bear after your
legs is quite different from shinnin' after
perslmmons. 1 lodged around behind II
ana saw Grizzie Jake making about foot
a minute up another tree about a foot in
diameter and twenty odd feet to the first
ilmb, with mules, jackasses and dogs
shooun past him at the rate of near
mile minute, with the bear gainin' on
most of EN-. He was a-workin' arms and
shins and rakin' down bark enough to run
tannery. His pants was worked IN
above his knees, his pistol belt was under
MS shoulder, the pistol had tumbled out
on the ground and the seat OF his pants
were just feet inches above the pistol
when the bear 5 feet high when stretched
out in full run, came tearing past, hug
slns the ground like a racer on the home
stretch.
Diverted by n Donkey.
She was SO blind with rage and so
close to one of the donkeys that she
oldht see Jake. Somehow I've always
telt mad at that donkey ever since for
DRAWN her fire. There's as little mean
ness In me as In any man in the weird
ana hadn't a thing agin' Jake but 7
nave somehow always felt that the fun
niest thing in the world was spoiled ty
Inc donkey takiR the bears attention He
got we'll paid for 1t, though, for ina min
ute she overhauled him and the two went
rollin over in a whirlwind of rattlin' pan,
and kettles, flynn beans and s.atterin'
crackers and when the bear got up the
donkey didn't
THE clatter of hoofs and the rattle OF
coffee pots was dyn' away in all difec-
lions and not a man of the OUTFIT was IN
sight except Jake, and he had his legs ali
bare up to his knees, with the pint of his
oritches, where they was baggei in the
seat nearer the ground than before. But
the bear didn't see him, for she was look-
in ahead all the time for more game, ana
when she didn't see anythin' she turned
| to and bit the jackass again.
Just then came the crack of a rHe
from the top of a big rock about fifty
yards away. The bear gave a jump and
a tremendous kowl. bit herself in The
side, flew at the jackass again and bit
1t, when bang went the rife again and she
gave another jump and started for the
smoke that showed plain through the
| leaves. She went past Jake so fast she
didn't see him and a minute after he
struck the ground with a bump that must
have made a dent in 1t and rolled around
the other side of the tree as fast as he
could, while a man without rife or hat
come a-fyin away from the rock holer-
in, Shoot. shoot-somebody shoot For
Gods sake, shoot! / amt got no time TO
load
Chased Up n Tree.
You bet somebody shot 1 shot for a
live oak up the hillside about 100 yards
the only one in sight that anyone could
climb. while the man she was after
whipped through an opening in a pile of
rocks and lodged her for a minute This
minute was just enough TO let her catch
sight of me and up she came a-pa in
after me faster than you ever saw a horse
pace in harness.
LAS l reached the edge of the tree I
heard her close behind and couldn't hep
turnin my head bit around was
green on bear then, but such an educa-
ton as 1 got in that one glance you can't
imagine. 1t was like a storm at sea seen
by q flash of lghtnin'. The lowest big
limb was about seven feet from the
ground. l grabbed 1t with jump, swung
myself up and had both feet ON the limb
and was just gon' to swing over it, when
there was a sudden jerk In the slack Of
my buckskins that felt as II a ton OF lead
had suddenly dropped into 'em.
But l was mighty strong in those DAYS
and my hand-hold stayed. But my feet
gave way just as the top button OF the
britches broke, and the rest followed like
a row OF bricks. AS my legs swung down
l did some lively kickin'. and off came
the pants By the way, you never want
90 wear suspenders when bear Is after
you. II I'd a-been putin on city style
I'd a-been called In sure. Before the
old hellion could get her claws free from
the buckskins l had whirled over on the
] Itr,I nd In