The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-06-17
CHARGED BY A GRIZZLY.
l FcrOcious Bear Scattcrs n Party
of PrOspecfOrs.

| (From the Los Angeles Times.)
you don't know anything about fun
if you never saw grizzly charge +, ack
! train" said Bill Ellis one night as he lit
his pipe at the camp fire. I've were goin'
over little fiat in the mountains one day
toward dark, with about fifty animals, all
heavily packed. There were about twenty
of US goin' to the mines, each man With
rife or pistol and most of us with both.
All at once two mules that were in the
lead wheeled and come a-sailin' back with
coffee post and fryin' pans a-clatterin'
to knock the hind sights of a Chinese con-
cert. Everything in the line wheeled as
they came on and in a minute jacks, mules,
and horses were waltzin' through the man
zanita with sacks and beddin' a-rippin' at
every jump. and $50 flour and 81 bacon
ornamentin's the bushes as If 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.
1.-The boys that had common brides on
| their horses couldn't hold 'em second.
They came a-fiyin' past me and Tennessee
was wiped off his horse by the limb of
the bride tryin' to hold his plug and
threw himself off to save himself, while
GrizZle Jake. who was always hraggin
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.
Just then my horse reared because l was
holdin' him SO tight with a big Spanish
bit. and / slid off Just as he went over
backward, and smashed the stock OF my
rife that was hung on the horn Of the
bride. Just as / gathered myself l saw
the dogs Of the outfit radiatin' like SO
many spokes in a Wheel and close behind
'em. with blood-red mouth wide open,
ears laid back and froth awhirlin around
her head from her big. white teeth came
the durndest old bag of grizzly / ever
see. brace of cubs come tumblin' along
away behind her, stOppin once in while
to take look at the circus, but she
didn't stop for nothin', and was strictly
business in every move.
1T suddenly struck me that 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 tree It's
bad enough when the tree fits your legs.
Shinnin up a tree with a bear after your
legs is quite different from shinnin' after
persimmons- l lodged around behind 1t
and saw Grizzie Jake making about foot
a minute up another tree about foot in
diameter and twenty odd feet to the first
limb, with mules, jackasses, and dogs
shootin' past him at the rate OF near a
mile a minute. with the bear ..ainin' on
most of EN-. He was a-workin' arms and
shins and rakin' down bark enough to run
a tannery. His pants was worked I'D
above his knees, his pistol belt was under
his shoulder. the pistol had tutnbled out
on the ground and the seat of his pants
were just four feet four inches above the
pistol when the bear. five feet high when
stretched out in full run. came tearing
past, hugging the ground like a racer on
the home stretch.
''She was so blind with rage and so close
to one of the donkeys that she didn't see
Jake. Somehow I've always felt mad at |
that donkey ever since for DRAWN her FIRE |
There's as little meanness In me as in any
man in the world and hadn't a thing agin .
Jake, but have somehow always felt that
the funniest thing in the world was spoiled !
by the donkey takin' the bears attention. |
He got well paid for it, though. for in ,
minute she overhauled him and the two /
went rollin' over in a whirlwind OF rattlin' ,
pans and kettles fiyin' beans and ssatterin'
crackers and when the bear go up the |
donkey didn't. !
THE clatter o. the hoofs and the rattle
Of coffee pots was dyin' away in al direc-
lions and not a man of the outfit was in
bare up to his knees, with the pint of his
britches, where they bagged in the seat.
nearer the ground than before. But the
bear didn't see him, for she was lcokin'
ahead all the time for more game. and
when she didn't see anythin she turned
TO and bit the jackass again.
Just then came the crack of rife from
he top of big rock about fifty yards
lway. The bear gave a jump and ire
nendous yowl. bit herself in the SIDE flew
1t the jackass again and bit it. when bang
vent the rifle again and she gave another
amp and started for the smoke that
howed plain through the leaves. She, went
,ast Jake SO fast she didn't see him. and
minute after he struck the ground with
bump that must have made dent in it
md rolled around the other side Of the
rec as fast as he could. while man with
tut rifle or hat come a-fyln' away from
he rock hOllerin. Shoot. shoot-somebody