The Dupuyer acantha. [volume] (Dupuyer, Mont.) 1894-1904, 1901-03-21

SpOSo yea knucKIe unQer Ter a WOOu-
chuck or a raccoon, mebbe, but 1t takes
a man to face a bear"
San when I've bagged one / get
Matilda, do II" SEE 1.
Eyes, stree, young man; / think I'm
purity t~olerably safe in promisin' we
that. But we've got to kill the bear in
a fair rough-an' tumble fght-no
shootin' at it from behind a tree or
stump. When We do hat an deliver
the carcass at my house, in good order
an condition, as the bills of ladin'
say, I'll WI up that yer a man, an be
ready to talk bizness to ye."
"All right; it's a bargain" SEE I, as
clipper as we please. But l didn't feel
half as clipper as I talked. In fact, ]
felt darned blue over the prospect
ahead of me, cause in the first place
knew bears were sighted around them
diggin's only about once every five
years, an five years is a long time to
wait fer a gal if We love her right
smart; an in the second place, even if
met up with a bear, 1t wasn't a dead
certainty exactly which would git
chawed up.
Bears were a little out Of my line
anyway. But I knew it was mo bear,
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 anywhere 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.
Well, time is no respecter Of per-
sons 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 t~wenty-four hours a day
an seven days a week fer q hull year
an a half, an nary a bear, nor even a
bear track, had / seer or heard of any
where around the hull township, an
don't mind sayin' / was gittin' Jest a
little mite discouraged.
Time kept moggin' along, as l before
remarked, al n frosty March day
when the now 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 a ak on my shoulder, an begun
slashin' down trees an chopin 'em up
into cordwood. AS 1 worked away
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 l sot down
on a log an was busy eatin' the lunch
| had brought along, when / heard the
twigs snappin' behind me an jumpin
to my feet l looked around an there
was the very critter I'd been wishln
fer SO Tonga big black bear, eyein'
me from behind a clump of bushes!
My gun was hangin' over the door at
home, an the bear was betweenNme an
the ak. which 1 had left stickin' in a
stump when / quit workin' to eat, so L
was caught nappin' all round, an we
kin bet l felt purity cheap fer about a
minute. But l didn't run. l was bound
to stand my ground, no matter what
happened. The bear came on toward
me, shakin' his head an growlin,' an |
stood there with no weppin' 'cept my
dinner pail, waitin' fer him. A sudden
idee had come into my head, an If l
could carry it out I was safe. The tin
pail l had in my hands was an unus-
ually deep one, holding probably elgnt
quarts or more, an as o as the
bear was close enough I jumped for
ward an clapped the pail over his
nose, same as a. dogs muzzle or a
ball-catcher's mask, an then | jammed
the bail over back of his ears so be
couldn't shake it off an l 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 jest
then as if he had been born without
any eyes or mouth. Procurin' my ak
fer use in case of emergency, l o a
half-hitch on that critters nigh cal
with my right hand, an fifteen minutes
later l was standin' with him in Mig
gins front door yard. 1t was down
hill and a hard crust on b 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 higgins 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" SEE I. Thought
it would be too much trouble to drag
the carcass way down here, so l cap
/ tured him alive an made him walk"
1.-THE dickens We did," SEE he.