The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-11-28
HANK DURKIN'S
 THANKSGIVING.
RY srANLEY WATERLOO.

 < < sa: < x i edge of the wood and checked itself upon the summit of the slope. The Win | chester cracked. the deer leaped straight | upward, fell helplessiy and rolled down Durkin rushed toward his quarry. but he did not reach 1t. There was another claimant for the deer! From lair some | where in the bushes, numbered forth ance, who placed both fore feet on the body of the deer and growled menacingly | at the hunter. who stopped, stin as a snow man.
 | esting. From depression In the early | morning, his feelings had reached elation | with the shooting of the turkeys. and to | get a deer, as well, was a height of tri- | claimed the deer! Durkin was ordinarily | cautious man, but there came upon | him a sudden minimizing rage. He threw | the. rife to his shoulder, aimed swiftly As revealed by subsequent examina- ton, the bullet struck the bears shoul- | der-blade and glanced, and-the angle of incidents being equal to the angle of the open air after tearing through an ex- tent of flesh.
 The effect of the shot was instantane. trsnsf0rmsd the grizzly into ,.n
 
 | a roar which had awful meaning in 1t. | Durkin was not wanting in pluck. Twice, as the bear, came on, he fired, the second shot tearing the beasts nose. and full roar and a rush. Durkin dropped | his gun and ran.
 Ali this. tho1gh an eighth of a mile intervened was visible from the camp. The report of the shot attracted in- ftant attention. the men could see Dur kin and the grizzly. There was rush | for guns.
 The track upon which Mir. Durkin and the grizzly were about to test their speed was an excellent one. It was slightly | down hill all the way 1t was nearly pare | of snow; the way was well worn. | The man had only fifteen yards the start of the bear, and grizzly can run. | The brute came on in a long rolling gall | lop and the manner In which he covered | the ground was marvel. Durkin grasp | ed, or rather gulped in, the entire situa- | tion, as his movements demonstrated. He l cast one backward glance and then just skinned the earth. He had run In many speed, but he felt that this was no time ! for such S. per-civilized performance. He | increased the pace to what seemed his | limit. As one of the armed group rushing UP to meet the procession remarked later, But the bear gained! That fierce, .un- tiring gallop was bringing Its result. Dur kin could hear more and more plainly the
 
 upon the path behind him. He thought | soon to hear even the breathing of the monster. He wondered how 1t would feel to be torn by grizzly? Then came a | sort of dizziness. He had left that be- fore in less dangerous races and 1t did not alarm him. He made an uncertain but resolute spurt, and 1t seemed to clear his head; he gained a little on the bear. l The path now took slightly deeper pitch, extending later with the average slope. At the bottom of this pitch, Dur kin all at once remembered the canyon was traversed by depression like and narrow stream, fifteen feet at least in width and eight or nine feet deep. | lie had got around 1t with some difficulty on his way up. The depression was | snow.
 Very close was the bear now! The | heart of the man was humping, he felt his legs weakening but he saw a chance
 cle strained. and. as he reached the | edge of the hollow, gathered closer every force and launched himself upward and | forward It was a great leap. He | cleared the hollow and sped onward. With a rush. the bear encountered the | hollow, too, but he had not calculated upon it. Out of sight he vent in the deep snow yet onl'' for moment or two He fioundered out roaring savage Iy. and the persistent gallop was resum- ed: But now his seeming prey had gaineo nunoreQ yaruS ana was running | swiftly still
 Suddenly, on either side, the rocks spat fire! The bear reeled, came to a halt and stood swaying. The rocks kept 1 splitting fire, and the bear fell. Then came out noisuy the rescuing miners to gaze upon what one of them very prop | erly designated as "the biggest and dead est bar in this part of the country | A little way down the trail Durkin | sat on a rock, panting. The relieving party gathered about him in boisterous 1 compliment of his running, which in- creased to an uproar when he managed | finally to gasp out:
 | Boys, there's two turkeys and a deeS and a rife to be got up there. if you'll | go for them.'
 It is hardly worth while to say that the Thanksgiving dinner in the camp was a success. its most notable incident be- ing, perhaps. the address of the guest of the occasion.
 Boys" said MT. Durkin. "I kind O want to retract what I said last night
 about Thanksgiving Day. Each one of us has got something to be thankful for. I'm mighty thankfkul for my legs"
 Then he added collectively, And I guess the One who gave me them legs gives us a good many other things we don't always consider"