Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1900-11-27


no Matilda''-Hank higgins would never
compromise on anything less than a
bear-an' l made up my mind the first
time | heard Of a bear bein' seen any
where in the neighborhood I'd start out
on the War-path an capture the critter
an a bride along with it or perish nobly
in the attempt as the hero in the con
tinued story says along toward the close
of the installment each week.
Well, time is no respecter of persons
an don't seem to give a ding whether
a Teller is enjoyin' life or not, an it kept
rollin' right along at the usual gait of
tWenty-fOur hours a day an seven days
q week fer a hull year an a half, an
nary a bear, nor even a bear track, had
I seen or heard Of anywhere around the
hull township, an l don't mind sayin'
I was gittin' jest a little mite dis
couraged.
Time kept moggin' along, as I before
remarked, an one frosty March day
when the snow was packed down hard
and had a crust on it that would hold
UP a man I tramped up into my wood
lot on the hill back of higgins place,
with an TX on my shoulder, an begun
slashin' down trees an chopin 'em UP
into cordwood. AS I worked away I
keep glancin' ever an anon down
to'ards the cottage where Matilda lived,
which was right in plain sight below
me, an wonderin if Fate would ever
send a bear along. At noon I sot down
on a log an was busy eatin' the lunch
l had brought along, when I heard the
twigs %snappin' behind me, an jumpin'
to my feet I looked around an there
was the very critter I'd been wishin'
fer so Tonga big black bear, eyein'
me from behind a clump of bushes!
My u was hangin' over the door at
home, an the bear was between me an
the AK, which I had left stickin in a
stump when I quit workin' to eat, so I
was caught nappin' all round, an We
kin bet I felt purity cheap fer about a
minute. But I didn't run. I was bound
to stand my ground, no matter what
happened. The bear came on toward
me, a his head an growlin,' an l
stood there with no Weppin' 'cept my
dinner pail, waitin' fer him. A sudden
idee had come into my head, an if I
could carry it out I was safe. The tin
pail I had in my hands was an unus-
ually deep one, holding probably eight
quarts or more, an as soon as the bear
was close enough 1 jumped forward an
clapped the pail over his nose, same
as a dogs muzzle or a ball-catcher's
Lidoh, aH lHeH l. Jdillflleu the pdll over
back of his ears so he couldn't shake it
off an I had him jest where I wanted
him.
The top of the pail come up far enough
to cover his eyes, SO altogether the bear
was about as harmless jest then as if he
had been born without eyes or mouth.
Procurin' my ak fer use in case of
emergency, l took a half-hitch on that
critters nigh ear with my right hand,
an fifteen minutes later l was standin
with him in higgins front door yard. 1t
was down hill and a hard crust on the
snow all the way, an it didn't do him
any good to act balky or hold back.
There's yer bear I said, when old
man Migins come to the door, IAN now
jest trot out Matilda an We'll make a
trade
"Where'd We git 'im?" asked Mig
gins, with eyes like two peeled onions
"Up in my wood lot seq I. Thought
it would be too much trouble to drae
the carcass way down here, so 1 cap
tured him alive an made him walk"
The dickens We did," seq he.
Bet yer boots.' seq I, AN here's
him to prove it. An now the question
is, do I. get Matilda?"
Reckon We do" SEE he. ut takes
as much pluck to capture a bear alive
as it does to kill one, SO 1 guess I'll
halter give in. Wait till l. put a bal
through that bear, an then we kin come
in an talk over the matter with Ma.
tilda."
Three days later Matilda an I com.
menced housekeepin' on our own ac.
count-thought we might as well hurry
things along while her father wal
Wlllin-an' about a week after that he
dropped in on us fer a c all one day an
said:
I thought I was gittin' a purity wiry
an son-in-law, but I've
changed my mind"
Whats the trouble now. dad?" seq 7
"Why. about that bear We captured. ;
What about it?"
why, I've been told the plaguey bea,
was at least forty years old, an crippled
an half blind. An Eyetalian was ex.
hibitin' it down at The Corners only the
day before We made out We captured
it, an they say he was braggin' after.
ward how he swindled someone by
sellin' 'em the bear fer ten dollars
Thought We were mighty smart when w
bought that bear didn't We? Nice trick
to play on yer prospective father-in.
law, I must say"
But he didn't do it, father" spoke
up Matilda with a becomin' blush. 'Joe
didn't know a thing about it till this
very minute I bought the bear of thu