The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1900-10-20
INDIAN AND GRIZZLY FIGHT

IneT, Oy EAlWyn Baton.
INDIAN AND GRIZZLY FIGHT
LF'rom the san Francisco Examiner.l
Two weeks ago Saturday there oc-
CURED in the Hetch- Hetchy Valley in
this state, a fight to the death between
a full-grown grizzly bear and a Cali
fOrnfa Indian.
The Indian fought with a knife. the
pear with the terrible weapons given him
by nature. The Indian was still living
at last accounts; the bear died in the
encounter
The grizzly is almost extinct in Cali
1ornla. The California grizzly has been
one of the most powerful and uncon-
querable beasts ever known to the west
ern pioneer. A meeting with him has
usually brought death to the hardy ad-
venturer who dared enter the encounter
or even stand in his way when bruin
came crashing through the under'bruSh.
Other bears are met with confidence and
despatched with a steady aim; but when
a grizzly comes laundering down the
bOulderS, tearing off trees in his superb
" undertaking course, shaking the noun
ta1nS1de with his half ton of savage bulk,
the nerves of man have to be strong in
deed to Withstand the spectacle. There
is death in the red jaws, ripping and
tearing in the powerful claws, strength
TO dash a. mans head from his body at
a blow from one of the huge, -arn-like
foIelegs. Coming head-on he is like all
savage creation turned loose He is
the preternaturally brave and reckless
court death and defy the fates by dar-
ing to stand and fight when he comes.
The Indian who the other day fought
out a face-to-face battle with one of
these shaggy terrors and actually con-
Quered- the enormous brute with nothing
better than a knife to fight with, had
either to fight or be hurried to his death
in short order. The bear was upon him;
there was no escape to be had in flight.
He had possessed a gun on entering the
canon, but after taking one shot at the
bear he mad been unable to make use or
the hreaI1n. on account of the swiftness
of the beasts attack. He had barely had
time to throw up one arm when the ami
NAL struck him, sending the gun flying
away among the rocks; and it was while
in the act of falling himself that he
thought of his knife and wrenched it
from his belt.
Mustang was the Indians name. He
went into the Hetch-Hetchy Valley as
guide to a party of twelve Piute hunters
from Walker Lake On the morning OF
the fight Mustang and one other Indian
rose before daybreak and started on a
deer hunt. Each was armed with a. re-
peating rife and a hunting knife.
They had been abroad about an hour
when they met the grizzly. He was
down in a particularly rocky canon into
which the hunters had clambered after
consid erably perilous climbing. It was
tremendously wild region, feeling per
haps for the first time since the world
began the, presence of human beings
when these two children of nature
pushed their way cautiously into its soil
tude.
Descending to the bed Of the gorge the
intrepid hunters ran almost into the
very jaws of one of the largest grizzlies
Mustang had ever seen. There are bears
and bears, but there is never any mis-
take about the grizzly. An old Califor-
mia hunter would know one if he met
him in band of a thousand assorted
hears on the plains Of Sahara. Mustang
let fall a sharp, quick word which meant
Grizzly and the next moment he had
fl ed his rifle point-blank at the animals
head, his companion simultaneously do
ing the same.
The two shots produced no more effect
in arresting the bears charge than
" ould the throwing of a pebble against
the wind stop cyclone. Mustang was
a step in advance Of his companion and
bruin reached him first, knocking his
gun one way and him the other. The
companion climbed a tree.
Mustang plunged his knife to the
handle into the shaggy monster, slashed
it again and again across his rough hide,
ripped and cut until blood poured from a
dozen gashes in the herculean carcass;
then he fell under a crushing blow from
one of the spiked paws and lay quiv-
ering on the rocks with the bear tear
ing strips of hide from his back and
chewing his arms and shoulders to
pulp.
tree well out of reach and strained at
his rifle 1t was broken There was an
empty shell in the barrel and plenty OF
full cartridges in the magazine; but the
shell wouldn't come out and a cartridge
couldn't be forced in until the barrel
was cleared. The extractors had got
caught in a fatal moment-the moment
of all moments when it shouldn't have
done sO-and. though the Indian worked
at it frantically, the matter could not
be remedied. The gun was worthless
rnockery.
From morning till late at night this
horrible condition lasted. The bear was
unwilling to let one of the enemy es-
cane He soon left the mangled form of
Mustang lying on the rocks and lum-
bered in red vengeance over TO me tree
containing the other Indian. He tried
his best to climb up after this second
prey. but the tree must have dfscourag-
ed him by its frailty, or he had not
enough strength left for climbing. be-
cause presently he limped drunkeniy
back to poor Mustang and renewed the
combat with him.
Mustang was nearly dead by this time,
but could still strike as Bruin suddenly
found when the long keen knife again
flew into his vitals and was given a des-
perate twist which tore the very heart
strings loose and sent the blood gushing
into his mouth Convulsed with agony,
frenzied by the pertinacity of his pros
trate foe in striking back despite his
half-dead condition. the bear staggered
off a few feet and swayed to and fro in
his onslaught or retire into the noun
tains He finally decided to give the
man up the tree another turn, and reeled
toward him with all the savagery he had
left, butting against the tree with what
force he could muster in the hope OF
breaking it to the earth and bringing
the Indian down within reach Of his still
powerful jaws.
But at last he grew discouraged by
constant loss of blood and strength and
was seized with that sudden fear of
death which comes instinctively to all
animals alike when the life blood is