El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1900-07-24

foot, and 1 tell you it's teeth was sharp,
and keen, and bit clear down through
the boot to my foot.
"The minute the coon got q holt ct
me the dogs was on him, and ono IF
'em, the great big dog it was, that
could have fought bear, grabbed the
coon right back OF the head and started
to pull him off of me. That dog knew
| just as we'll t1at the coon was hurtin'
me as did, aud he wanted to help me.
But he didn't. On the other hand he
like to almost did for me then and
there. The briars was so thick that in
trying to shake the coon off l fell On
my back and then the coon and tie
dog had it all their own way.
"They dragged me all over that briar
patch. The coon wouldn't let GO of me
to have killed an ordinary man. Or an
ordinary anything, but 1t never seemed
to affect that coon in the lesst
"Pretty soon my shirt got tore off,
and then my breeches; but that durn
boot somehow wouldn't It stuck
tighter than a cowboy on q buckin'
horse. 1 kicked at the coon with the
free foot, and 1 give him blows enough
and the dog wouldn't let go OF the coon
and there we we're. l couldn't no way
get up. They dragged me through
the briars, and tore my face and hands
and 1 could feel the blood comm down
my neck. 1 shouted to the dog to let
co. but instead of that the rest of 'em
joined in the fight. and all of 'em piled
on that coon, and lot of 'em missed
the brute and fell all over me.
Shy this time was bleedin' all
over, and 1 tell you it was the worst
sort of pain. Those briars cut like
knife, and I realized that was in q
right bad predicament.
"All this time the dogs was barkin
and snarlin', knew they WAS dom the
best for me that they knew how. 1t
wasn't the dogs fault. 1t was the
coon's. That brute wouldn't let go,
and L couldn't knock him off. 1 tried
to get up, but every time l got half
way on my feet brisr would catch me
around the neck or across the face, and
IL hurt so bad that just had to let 60
and fall back.
81 grabbed my hands out for some
thin to take holt of, but q man
can't hold on to a green briar when
he's bein' dragged along as fast as 1
was. Pretty soon though 1 got my
hands On the root 20 a stump, and l
held 1T Ii ke il was gold nugget. By
that time the dogs was played out, and
To stnn p1a r
enough, 1 tell you. 1 couldn't get up
for good while, was 80 played out.
By the time 1 did the coon was stone
dead. But be hadn't let go my boot.
1t was tight in his jaws, and his whole |
hind quarters Was torn Off by the dogs,
too.
at must have been q good coon; q |
pretty game coon. Anyhow, he was
the grittiest coon I ever saw.
when I got up and tried to go back |
to the shanty, I was so weak aud tired |
L couldn't hardly move. 1 was blood |
all over, and q sight. let me tell you.
1t wasn't long after that when I gave
up the hog ranch. Hog ranches is all
right. but don't like 'em.
"Bein' dragged like that reminds me
of time when rode out of cave on
bear. No, of course be wasn't alive.
He was dead. 1 rode out on him just
the same though. 1t happened like
this:
I'VE had got bear up here in the
acramento mountains, and after
followin' of it the dogs got it In q cave
1t looked like the bear was goin' to
stay there, much as we wanted some
meat off his rumps, cause there wasn't
no way to get him out, and the cave
was too big and deep to shoot him.
There was a crowd of US there, but it
didn't seem like none of 'em was very
anxious for bear that day. L ssen
there wasn't no way to get that bear
but to 60 in after him, 80 did it.
~ took my knife and held 1t in my
teeth, and crawled into the cave with
my gun ready to shoot the minute 1
saw the bear.
st was quiet and still in there, and
dark; tell you it was as dark as it
ever gets of night. 1 kept gettin'
i1rbuer anu Iurtuer III aQQ WASN'T IG0l-
in very easy, when all Of sudden l
seen his eyes shinin' like this here ell
yer stuff in the stand land 1 throwed my
gun and pulled the trigger. L give
him two shots, and then started back
as hard as 1 could go. When l come
out into day light 1 was mighty glad to
be there.