The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1900-07-31

# almost broke the ministers
heart when he found ms pei - -
hear that he had pointed to with non
81 nriIe as the only praying bear IN
p;Le county. was leading a douhie
IT. said Deacon Todgers
IL ..Praying and prize-tightlng o
70 TOGETHER. even in black bears, the
GOOD man told ne. The Dear that
Tnratends he can combine them Is a
hynocrite and a furry decelNer. !
,;n., that I've cherished in my bo+
~ only to have him hand me out a
bunch of uppercuts, as the worldly
say.
never heard of even a worldly
yiDer who was strong on uppercutS'
but | didn't want TO intrude on the
good minister's grief, 50 l let II go
at that
The ministers had caught his PET
when it was a cub and had brought
him up as one of the family. When
the cub began TO arrive at years OF
bear discretion. the good man always
had him in to family prayers. IRAN
up a cub in the way he should go ana
he may be q missionary bear, the
ministers used TO say. VINO KNOWS
but that cub Of mine has a call TO snow
he beauties Of holiness to benlghteu
bears sitting in damp caves ana Ozark
nesso The piOuS expression on NY
furry pets face. when | am eNpounu-
ing religion, shows that he under
stands what | am saying a good deal
better than some t~WO-legSed sinners
who fall asleep under my elOquence.
at NAV have Deen only his faculty
for imitation. but the actions OF that
deceitful Dear would nave misled
lo,.,o, , than tho GOOD minister.
At family prayers the bear would
waddle over to q chair and kneel down
the same as the rest Of the family.
When the minister came to the end or
his PRAYER. the bear would let out q
solemn little grunt, which the minis
ter described as a heartfelt. Dear
amen. when they sang from the hymn
book. the bear would wave his black
body from side to side. keeping exact
time to the music, and granting a sort
Of low, deep-toned bear accompanl-
ment. That bear was the pride and
admiration Of religious people all
around these parts. But in the end
he showed himself in his true colors
as a black ~reprobate, who cared more
for worldly excitement and the CLAM
Gun Of the prize ring, than he did for
grace.
N1loII tllc minister > i6t was va
" full grown the good man noticed
that he used to get restless in the
night and want to wander up and
down the valley. But the minister
wasn't worried at this.
"'That's a good bear, and honest
bear he used to say, an animal that
| can trust to wander oven the hills
and dales of Pike county, and feel sure
he won't fall into temptation. Even
if he should meet other bears they
will be all the better for their ac-
quaintance with my spiritually minded
pet. | wouldn't wonder a bit if those
night excursions of his were really
missionary trips for the purpose of
ful black bears, who have never en-
ioyed the previous privilege of night
~ attending family prayers
zone evening the bear wandered
down to Tom Wilson's tavern. All the
boys knew the bear by sight, being
accustomed to seeing him follow the
minister to church, for, While the bear
didn't go inside, he never missed ac-
cOmpanying the minister as far as the
church door. 50 none of n boys
were afraid Of the bear and they start
| ed to have some fun with him. Some
of the crowd had been boxing and Tom
Wilson, needless of the fact tina he
| was starting a piOus bear on the down
ward path, put on the gloves and be
gan giving the bear a few soft
punches, more in III than in any
thing else. The good bean stood it for
Il minute, then he lei out suddenly
with his left Jaw, caught Tom on the
side of the head and the bear had scor-
ed the first Touchdown. When Tom
picked himself up he looked at the
bear with increased respect
"'Properly trained said Tom in
sort Of an admiring way that bear
would develop nor accomplishments
than grunting soulful amens to pray
ers, or the choruses to gospel hymns.
Any creature, bear or man, who can
cross-cOunter with the suddenness
the minister's pet did is too swift an
article to blush unseen in the capacity
Of a missionary to other Pike county
bears. With proper tuition and a few
lessons in the manly art OF Self-defcnSe
that animal could hold the black bear
middleweight championship against
all cOlners
tom fed the bear honey. and raw
meat. and petted him. 50 that the poor
dcludcd animal would come back the
next night. Sure enough, the follow
ing evening, about 0 o'clock the bear