Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1902-01-04

swing and stared up 1t her. Tie was
certainly puzzled; but after ten min,
ties of quiet thought, he proceeded to
climb one of the trees which support.
ed the pole from which the swing
dangred. Halfway mp he stopped. and
reached a paw far out to try to catch
the swing, but he fell short nearly
foot.
The bear tried again, and then, dis.
satisfied but not discouraged, renewed
his climb to the top. Then out on the
cross-piece he proceeded. Fear once
more seized the brave woman. Would
the brute dare climb down the ,opes ?
They certainly would not hold his
heavy weight, and the two would be
thrown to the earth and killed.
Bears are not stupid, however, and
this one soon found that the ropes
were too slender for his weight. He
toyed at them, a little angrily, pulling
them back and forth until the swing
was moving at giddy rate. 1t would
twist and swing around in the most
uncomfortable manner.
Suddenly the bear began to enjoy
this work, and he proceeded to shove
and pull the rope nearest him With
all the pleasure of a romping boy.
About this time the first bear stalked
out of the kitchen, gorged with molas-
ses and sWeet-cake. Seeing his mate
playing with the mid-air swing the
cOmical side Of it appealed to him, for
he Immediately proceeded to climb the
opposite tree. Hugging the pole, he
leaned down and caught the other
rope.
At first they pulled and hauled SO
uneyenily and systematically at the
the ropes that the motion of the swing
was peculiarly giddy to the unfortu-
nate woman, but either by design or
accident they caught the right motion,
and pulled and pushed the rope in
unison. The result was that Mrs.
Prescott found herself unEillingly
swinging higher and higher into the
air
Poor Mrs. Prescott was not in
condition to enjoy this sport, for she
had difficulty in holding herself secure
1y in her seat. Sometimes in the
midst Of the highest swing the bears
would strike the ropes on the opposite
side with such violence that the swing
would twist around dizzily.
In time they grew tired of this play,
and Their quietly rested on the cross
piece, while they cautiously and wick
eddy eyed their victim. Mrs. Prescott
returned their gaze with fear and
trembling. What new plan they had
in view she could not even guess. For
full hour they lay on their perch
watching her. Then once more they
renewed their play, swinging her
higher and higher, if anything, than
before. Her feet touched the
branches of the neighboring trees, and
once they caught in her skirt and near
ly dfslodged her. Weak from fear and
exertion, she was becoming nearly ex-
hausted and ready to swoon when she
heard noise in the distance.
Looking toward the fields in one of
her highest swings, she caught sight
of the men returning from their work.
Then, with voice suddenly raised to it's
highest pitch, she screamed for help.
The bears were SO engaged in their
playing that they did not hear foot
steps until Mr.. Prescott and the two
boys were within few hundred yards
of the house. Then they looked cheap
and crestfallen, ike boys caught in
some naughty trick They tried to
retreat down the tree, but were too
late.
There were few sharp reports of
rifles, and the bears tumbled from the
ed. With them out of the way the
task of rescuing Mrs. Prescott was
begun. The ropes had been tied in
such hard knots that she could not I'M
tie them, and she was so exhausted
that it was impossible for her to make
much effort to release herself.
By means Of the kitchen table and
a sugar barrel, placed under the swing,
Mr.. Prescott succeeded in lifting her
from the high perch and landing her
on the ground in safety. When she
looked up at her former high seat she
shuddered and said with wan smile:
II don't think l shall ever want to
swing again"
Even to this day-ten years after
this occurrence-Mrs. Prescott never
sees a swing without recalling with a
little shudder her experience with
the bears which insisted upon swing
ing her against her will.-The House
hold.
Adro;ee;on Eaae in Heryoanv