The evening times., 1900-09-18
BRUIN AN UGLY CREATURE.
Amateur Hunters VIII Do Well 10
Avoid His Haauts-
(From the Portland Oregcnian.


(From the Portland Oregonian.)
Speaking Of bear" said the mining ex-
pert as he lit a cigar and leaned back
comfortably in the corner of the smoker,
there's nothing nastier TO meet out than
old, dirty-faced silver tip Hes
cross between a grizzly and a brown. and
like crosses generally he inherits all the
meanness of both sides of the family.
Old dirty face is always ugly about some
thing and he goes around fairly spelling
for a fight.
Anyone ever meet him. Well. I had a
scrap with one out in the Buffalo Hump
country last year and ] shan't forget it
in a hurry. / was out there looking for
some mines and one day I took q little
stroll all alone to see what l could find.
We were right in the midst of the big
mountains, 100 miles from anywhere, and
the finest game country OF the continent
Bear and deer and goats-you took your
choice without any trouble at all. I had
my Springfield with me, although I wasn't
caring for game just then But some
times game hunts you, and then you We
got to fight. climb, or run
Along toward evening, as l was start
ing back for camp, / heard something
following on my trail, and, looking back,
7 saw Mr. Dirty Face ambIing along a
couple of hundred yards behind me and
taking more interest in me than | liked.
| didn't need any bear particularly, as
there were no good trees handy. only a
few dead ones that didn't count.
In the canyon below me was a good
sized stream and ! made for that, think
ing l could throw the bear off down by
the water When I came. to the bank
l found mountain torrent thirty or for
ty yards wide and deep and ugly looking
l skirted up the bank pretty fast for
some time and then l saw a rock well out
from shore that l thought [ could reach
/ rounded big bowlder. struck in above
and by hard work reached the rock all
right l didn't believe Mr. Bear would
tackle me there, but there was where
l didn't know him. Right up my trail he
went. rounded the bowIder, shifted once
or twice, sighted me on the rock and
promptly struck in.
He had to swim and. the current was
so swift that he missed the rock a few
yards and SO gave NE a good shot. I let
him have the best I had and l made him
kick, but he reached the shore all right
and now his dandeF was up in earnest.
| plugged at him again, bit it didn't seem
to count. On he came. higher up this
time, and sighted better for the rock.
waited for him and when he heaved his
big, ugly paws on my rock let him have
1t in the throat and that fixed him. He
swept by, fairly making the water foam
It's the last time. gentlemen. that I want
to be treed a rock by a boid-faeed
bear
It's funny" said the doctor a cleanr
cut, wei-knit specimen Of the fine phySi-
cal manhood, whose clear grey eyes and
square jaw betokened Plenty of grit its
funny how your first grizzly takes the
GerAe out of you Two or three years ago
l W%ht hunting with a friend in Colorado
I had killed some big game myself and
knew that he had killed plenty of it. But
neither of US had killed a grizzly. and We
were each eager for the first chance.
'One day, when I happened TO be out
alone, as l came through clUmp OF quak-
ing-asp, what should I run plump up
against but big grizzly busiIy employed
IN roofing around in the dirt after food
He hadn't winded me, and there I stood.
just screened by the quaking-asp, almost
near enough to touch him with my g,in
while he went on roofing, utterly uneon-
scious of my presence.
q Now OF never thought, as I brought
my gun to lay shoulder and carefully sight
ed for his head. Then the sights began TO
wabble, and an ague seemed TO seize the
gun l steadied myself, looked around for
q convenient tree. and tried again, this
time for the shoulder Again the gun wap-
bled. and l ground my teeth in rage.
The bear lifted his head, seemed TO
smell something up the wind and started
off at a good gait away from me. Well,
old boy | thought, If l can't hit you
standing, I can't running so l let him GO
4 felt pretty glum when l came into
camp that night, but l didn't say any
thing. My friend was cooking supper, and
he seemed pretty quiet too. After supper
We lighted our pipes and sat by the fire
thinking
What's the matter, old man? What
are you SO still about?' finally he asked.
. oh, nothing / said, trying to seem
cheerful
Did you see a bear?' he persisted.
" Yes, hang it. I did, I answered
doggedly.
q Well. so did l. he said, and the in
eident was closed.
We each got our bear afterward, how
ever, so the disease didn't prove fatal
Well gentlemen" said the commercial
traveller, II never hunted bear myself,
but I heard a story the other day of some
fellows who found one up in Montana
If it's chestnut call me down.
They were pCspecting right up in the
big bear country, but they let the bear
alone, and the bear let them alone. One
night they camped in a deep canyon. and
while one was cooking supper the other
started cut with his shotgun to get some
birds. Lot of birds up there; so tame
you can almost kill them with a stick
Pretty soon the man with the shotgun
ran up against a grizzly, and Mr.. Grizzly
was mad about something and started for
him. The man hit the trail hard for camp,
the bear right after him When the fell
low who was cooking supper heard the
landslide coming down the mountain he
saw what was up and grabbed his gun to
shoot. But he was afraid to shoot for
fear of hitting his partner, so he couldn't
do anything but yell.
Run, r-u-u-nn he yelled, and the man
and the bear both let out a couple of
links, and the gravel few faster than
ever
RUNE painted the other fellow; run?
He'll, do you think I'm THROWN this
racer