The Marble times and Crystal silver lance., 1901-01-04

years, an five years is a long time to
wait fer a gal If ye love her right
smart; an in the second place, even II
l met up with bear, it wasn't dead
certainty exactly which would git
chawed up.
Bears were a little out of my line
anyway. But l knew it was mo bear,
no Matilda higgins would
never compromise on anything less
than bear-an' l made up my mind
the first time | heard of a bear bein'
seen anywhere in the neighborhood Id
start out on the war-path an capture
the critter an bride along with it or
perish nobly in the attempt.
Well, time is no respecter of per-
sons an don't seem to give ding
whether a feller is enjoyin' life or not,
an it kept rollin' right along at the
usual gait of twenty-four hours day
an seven days a week fer hull year
an half an nary bear, nor even
bear track had | seen or heard OF any
where around the hull township, an l
don't mind sayin' | was gittin' jest
little mite discouraged.
Time kept moggin' along, as l before
remarked, an one frosty March day
when the snow was packed down hard
and had crust on it that would hold
up man | tramped up into my wood
lot on the hill back of higgins place,
with a ak on my shoulder, an begun
slashin' down trees an chopin 'em up
n tn Ac I unIl-pi |
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 bear along. At noon | sot down
on log an was busy eatin' the lunch
l had brought along, when | heard the
twigs snappin behind me, an jurpin
to my feet l looked around an there
was the very critter I'd been wishin
fer so long-a big black bear, eyein
me from behind clump of bushes.
My gun was hangin' over the door at
home, an the bear was between me an
the ak. which | had left sticktn in a
stump when | quit workin' to eat, so l
was caught nappn' all round, an ye
kin het | felt purity cheap fer about
minute. But didn't run. | was bound
to stand my ground, no matter what
happened The bear came on toward
me, shakn' his head an growlin, an l
stood there with no weppin 'oept my
dinner pail watn' fer him. A sudden
idee had come into my head, an If
could carry it out | was safe. The tin
pail | had in my hands was an urus-
ually deep one. holding probably eight
quarts or more, an as soon as the
bear was close enough | jumped for
ward an clapped the pail over his
nose same as a dogs muzzle or
ball-catcher's mask, an then | jammed
the bail over back of his ears SO he
couldn't shake it off an had him jest
where l wanted him.
The top of the pail come up far
enough to cover his eyes, so altogether
the bear was about as harmless lest
then as if he had been born without
any eyes or mouth. Procurin' my ak
fer use in case of emergency, | took
half-hitch on that critters nigh ear
with my right hand, an fifteen minutes
later | was standin' with him in Mig
gins 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 ! said, when old
man higgins come to the door, "an'
now jest trot out Matilda an we'll
make trade
'Where'd ye git 'im?" asked Mig
gins, with eyes like two peeled onions.
Up in my wood lot" sez |. Thought
it would be too much trouble to drag
the carcass way down here, SO l cap
tured him alive an made him walk"
The dickens ye did sez he.
Bet yer boots,' sez |, AN here's
him to prove it. An now the question
is do | get Matlda?"
Reckon ye do" sez he. at takes
as much pluck to capture bear alive
as it does to kill one, SO | guess I'll
halter give in. Wait till | put ball
through that bear, an then ye kin
come in an talk over the matter with
Matilda"
Three days later Matilda an | COM
menced housekeepin' on our own ac-
count-thought we might as well
hurry things along while her father
was willin'-an about a week after
that he dropped in on us fer call one
day an said:
Il thought l was gittin purity wiry
an courageous son-in-law, but I've
changed my mind"
whats the trouble now, dad?" sez l.
Why, about that bear ye captured"
What about it?"
why, I've been told the plaguey
bear was at least forty years old, an
crippled an half blind. An Eyetalian
was exhibitin' it down at The Corners
only the day before ye made out We
captured it, an they say he was brag-
gin afterwards how he swindled some