The Butte inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1901-1912, 1901-12-27

deep on the level, and that it was two
miles to the store.
Don't make no difference said SIM;
I'm going to have some more o TINS
stuff If halter travel all night for IT.!
well. l saw his mind was made up.
and as he outshared me on the contents
of the bottle and was a good deal the
worse for it. I determined to follow him.
in case he started, and try to see that
no harm came to him on the way to
Rriggs-Briggs was the man who ran
the store.
Strong Pull Up the Hill.
Great guns. but that was a heavy
pull! 1t was nearly all up hill and there
were little gullies and holes to fall into
up to your waist. But l had to laugh
many time in spite of my own diff
ficulties.
"Old. long-legged Sim was Noundering
along in the half moonshine a hundred
yards or so ahead. muttering to himself
and damning me for being too burned.
Internal lazy to be sociable when there
was fun in sight He had no idea that
/ was following
But hcw about the bear?" broke in
another listener
Adu you walt 1 WAS just COIlIuS
to the bear. but since you're in such an
ALFRED hurry I'll tell you-the bear was
standing UP straight right in the door
Of Briggs store. 1t was stuffed bear
that fellow had been fixing up for
Briggs, who had an order for it from
Denver. The man who had taXy-''
''TaXidermed it,"
Yes; he'd brought it over after Briggs
closed up and Briggs wouldn't get out
OF bed to let him in-told him to just
stand it up against the door and it would
be all right and he'd get it in the morn
ing.
Only Clear Spot.
We'll he stood it up on the little
plank platform at the door-the only
spot clear of snow within 10 mileS-and
went away and left it there.
Sim was blowing along up the hill
it was awful steep right on the last
stretch of 200 yards, and l don't think
he looked UP or saw the bear till he put
his foot on that little plank platform.
He struck the edge of it and as he threw
his weight on it. the platform teetered
a trife and the bear tumbed forward
The yell Sim let out when he saw the
big brown monster coming at him walked
all the panthers and wildcats for five
miles around.
Then came the durndest rasslin'
match l ever saw in my life. The bear
had the best of it, at the start, for it
was on top, and Sim, though he was
loaded for bear as the saying it, WASH t
expecting anything so sudden. but he
showed nerve.
Helpless But Dead Game.
Full of booze and comparatively
helpless as he was. he was dead game.
He gripped the bear with one arm. right
around the middle, and as he Went down
he used his free hand and pulled his
knife.
Over and over they came down the
HILL crumpetyb bump. They rolled right
toward me. I got out of the way to give
them room and let them pass. 1t didn't
take long for them to do it,
Sim was slashing the critter every
| chance he got and the sawdust and
| straw was squirting out of the bear at
| every bounce. AS they went by me
! heard Sim say: I'll do yer, durn yer. i
halter cut Yer clean in twO!'
."WeH, sir, l just dropped down Their
| in the snow and kicked up my heels anl
hollered! l couldn't help it, though
was uneasy about Sim, for l though
the bear was live one, too. After the,
got out of sight I pulled myself up GU
Of the snow and followed the wide trai
| they had rolled out
Carving the Bear.
Down al the bottom of deep gulcl
I found Sim, sitting with his back agains
the bank, still carving that bear II
had cut one foreleg clean off and wa
working on it's neck. in the midst of
| shower nf W6nSf T ma To mn
him off at last, but he had ruined tina
bear pelt and it took SIS to square it u
with Briggs.
Il laughed for three days straight an
Sim got clean down on me--always sal
that I knew all about it beforehand an
had put up the job on him.