The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1900-03-18
JUST FUN FOR THE BEAR.
UNCLE JIBEZ AND the DESPOILEH
OF HIS BEEHITEs.


larger ''s"N'er '"''o"'"k III" -"
" "'''''"'" ''"~'" "'"' """'
speaking VI bees, said lhacon Rodgers rem
ihlscen'ly To the crowd at the corner grotery
store, did any OF you ever hear OF | ncls Jatrx
ana ms adventure with the bear or rather WIN
tne drunken bees ana The old 'rar'
None OF the BOYS mad so the deacon hegan'
Inc'e Jaoea came over 10 my house a sieh aga
ana planned !" ne WASH more KINDS oil a oungen'
up man than any l had ever seen before ihs
neck was scratched, his arm was IN sling ana
all over his lace ana hahds were marks IKE ne
OF horhe' snhss' "ha' particular iorln " ~
'snptei suicide nave you taken up 'or your iae@s
'adr l inquired
I've been trying 70 caich near grows ncS
Jape'' hke a man OUT OF huni'r WIN 'he "orIo'
ANA dd you uap q nest o' norhet3 ihN""n'
or nave you oeeh IN a "res"'hs ma"h WIN a DUE
saw
"It alnt any laughing matter. snarled Uncle
| .Jabez Wildcat, hears and drunken lees are
ao~ "ua y" "
sponsioie Tor THIS wreck
Well. | WAS mighty curious 10 know how one
B,,,s old ma, oonld get mI,sd nm with ,ha, com.
s'"o m' NO .,.. rtn" Nv ~ ~, his ,o.r,
unhuon' ana aIer \ "hlie ne opehru up MS U'are
"Don't tell me that a bear, especially an old
p;ks county bsar can, reason on, things and
.. - u., a., -, s.ro', .ara I.ncla Lab,
plan now 10 get OUT OF a s'rap"' says hcie 'au~A
sorrowfully You know that old bear which
h.s ,.on ,r,,,ii,,, neorlo horeonon,s ,r r,or,hs,
,hs 'e" uounn"; peop'e "'''"'o''> ~ WIN"
Well, that particular animal Is cut uh' Tor a DahN
,h., . mistake was made when he was born q
bear. This fall, after had lost three valued
pigs and some honey, | started out to make .
business o' hunung tha' pea i'a"sn' Ms "a'
one morning and started IN all We Innocence
Of my heart, thinking | would come back a, nigh,
"'-i WIZ 'h'' " '" Wv 'N'' '"'' w
lifted a pig. Ny dog followed the trail oil right
until we came % on. Of those little oil runs and
'n'r' we LOST" Inc '"s n">'n np'" W " ""s
time, but II was no good. ! was cleaned puzzled.
The ground was hard. and there wasn't a hole
and scor,.I, . b,.h nesr and how nm ola h.,r
anu n'""Hs d "u," "'"' NV wv" II" WV We"
dog like mine could lose a plain trail was more than
I could understand Atlnst We gave up and cams
ho,o .sodd,,oJ ,r1 .i.,r i,, and mar Tb.,
nome a Saddehrn ana wiser dog ana man iha'
evening, while | was ponderinc over The problem.
'"ai, ami ,he dow fault saws to myself
That dogs been trained 10 chase bears, not
I'll barrels That Old bear Just ,raiIcd along
smell like a refinery, not HE The sly, marauding'
old pig.stealng bear he really is lie may b.
a mighty cunning hear hut after he has pXperi
men,ej n couple II times With Nnur Uncle ,Jabeg',
Intellect he Ii rer~nt Of stealing them pigs
So the mex, day / started out with two Of my
Ilrt take up the mail Ia the oil nun Then started
dor number two on the trail after il left the nun.
After the dog got on 10 the fact hat il was a
willy old bear. and not an oil barrel he was ex-
pected TO nun down. he went along al a fast clip
I was actually sorry for the bear
Petroleum bears may fool the ordinary run
hear will soon realize Uncle iebe5 is ON his Track
An easy death Is the best that poor Old bear can
hope for
1But I didn', need 10 be wasting svmno,hv
on thai bear / needed i, al for myself Tina,
bear understood vildca, nature as well as he
reali aed those dogs had caught his trail again
he made tracks right for a hole where a mother
wildcat and a couple Of her kittens lived. Tho
then sweryed 10 one side This routed out The
mother wildcat and when my dogs reached he
in big punches A wildca, with a litter of younS
ones ain't the sweetest tempered pei in the world
My dogs were after bear, but Mrs. Wildcat thought
il was her precious kittens the dogs were Looking
Tor and the second the dogs got near OUT she rushed.
A mother uildca, ~ the lighting limit for any
thing near her weight i didn't want 10 see my
two valued bear dogs all torn up, and not daring
10 shoot al the mixed-up bundle, | sailed In witH
a club That's why / am wearing the TOP OF
my head decorated with bandages and carving
my nghta arm in a sling The dogs and ! killed
The wildcat but when we got through IL was
a hospital and tender nursing, not a big black
bear that we were looking for.
when I got home / kept a-thinking 10 my
self about the way that old bear had played Il
on me 1t was by using his brAins when ! was
b%uneling ahead viz a dog and gun that enabled
into acton | ought to get ahead Of a bear, even
II he " as the SlyeSt old COdgpr that ever meandered
around the hills Of Pike county. Sol kept think
Ing over the weaknesses Of bears and men and
all Of a sudden it occurred to me how fond a bear
is Of honey, lust like some men with LIQUOR, and
that gave me an idea. Surprising I could gpt
that bear good and drunk, | thought 20 myself,
there wouldn't be- any difficulty in catching him
and a~venging my numerous injuries. SO / took
a big lump " honey and soaked IL In applejack.
When | got the job finished there WINS enough
bears drunk And the delicious taste Of il was
such that certainly hated 10 feed IL 10 the bear.
But the memory Of my wrongs. and the way
that big bear had fooled me and my faithful dogs
sort II reooncled me 10 the waste knew the
old bear had had his eye on my hives, 80 that
night ! left the door open in the shed where ! kept
them ] put my applejaCk honey on the floor
near the hives and went to bed n happy and con-
tented man, thinking that all | would have 10 do
in the morning would bc 10 20 out and corral uHs
large intoxicated bear. THAI, bear wont meddls
with the hives containing my bees Hes too
knowing an animal to do that Hell be attracted
by the delicious smell II the honey on the floor
| which combines the advantages Of honey, a Jag
and no stings But he'll get a temperance lesson
which will last him the remainder Of his life
Just about d~aybreak ! heard a noise like
something tumbling about in the shed where kept
my honey. "hr Bear has found that applejaCk
and is making merry over IL, ! says to my wife,
but there's no hurry. know the power IT that
spplelaCk. I'll Just wait Il couple Of hours until
il gets in its pnralyzing effects. That bear will
be dead 10. the world then And a little while
he dead for good"
$50 | waited a couple Of hours and then, hav-
| ing loaded my gun, went down to the hives con-
fdenty expecting 10 see one hg bear stretched
out there dead drunk. But instead II this II was
a pathetic sight thet met my eyes My hives