News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1902-11-19

pICAGu UP SLGdL SIOIlC'
"'Get ready says /,
"'Where? Where? An he looked
wildly around.
"'There.' An l hurled the great
stone with all my strength right into
the hole.
"Jiminey! You oughter see that bear
come flynn out of that hole an make
straight for the reporter. She was
grOwlin' like a thunderstorm, an her
hair stood on end all over her body,
so that she looked as big as an OK.
"NIr. Reporter threw his rife wildly
to his shoulder an fired. AS luck
would have it, the ball struck the bear
somewhere in the side an made her
madden than ever. For one desperate
moment Mr.. Reporter tried to pump
her full of holes, but he was so fius-
tered an scarf that he couldn't make
the blamed old pump work. The bear
reared up on her hind legs right in
front of him. l could see his face
grow white as milk, an then, with
mad yell Of terror, he flung the rifle
at her head an bOlted for a tree. The
condemned idiot didn't know enough
to. climb a small tree, but scrambled
up the trunk of great oak what the
bear could climb as quick as he could
The bear wasn't more'n ten feet be-
hind him an grOwlin' an gnashin' her
long white teeth awful to hear. She
went up the tree so quick that the re-
porter didn't dare to climb up high,
but crawled out on a great limb, think
in that the bear would fear to follow.
When the bear come to the limb. she
paused an begun to growl more ter
rible than ever. Mr.. Reporter set
straddle of the limb, a-holdin' on with
both hands, an swOre at the bear. He
was that scarf he had plumb forgot
all about the big horse pistol an knife
he had in his belt. The bear begun
cautiously to creep out on the limb.
"'Shoot her! Shoot her! For Gods
sake, shoot her quick" yelled the re-
porter, hitchin' back further and fur
Their on the limb.
I'm not to Go any shootin'. you
know l says back You're to kill the
bear. You was agoin' to pump her full
of holes.
THE reporter did some more swear
in.
'The bear kept crawlin' nearer an
nearer, an the reporter kept hitchin'
bark further an further an swearin'
harder an harder The limb begun to
bend an to shake, an all of a sudden
the reporter lost his balance an went
down, but held on to the limb with
both hands. The jar tumbled the bear
Off but she, too, caught the limb with
her fore paws, an there they hung.
a-facin' each other an kickin', not
mOre'n six feet apart. Neither could
get back on the limb, because when
the bear would try to swing her body
up the man would kick her in the stom-
ach an knock her back, an when the
reporter tried to Go the same trick the
bear, with one vigorous kick of her
hind legs, ripped the pantaloons an
drawers clean off his legs an took q
lot of skin along with them. The limb
IF the tree had bent considerable with
the weight Of the man an the bear an
the reporters feet wasn't more'n six
feet above the ground, but he was too
scarf to know it an didn't dare to let
30, thinkin that every bone in his body
would be broke by the fall
"For a moment they hung there this
way, the reporter yellin' for me to
shoot an swearin'-gosh, how he could
swear!-an' the bear kickin' an Growl-
In an gnashin' her teeth fit to make
ones blood run cold. Then all Of a
sudden the limb broke, an bear an
man went to the ground together, the
limb falling on top Of both, with
crash like thunder.
Il don't know who was most scarf. !
the man or the bear, but l guess it |
was six of one an q half a dozen Of
the other The reporter jumped to his
feet an run yellin' through the woods.
the thick underbrush scratchin' his
bare legs at every jump, an the bear,
with a yelp of fright, bounded away
up the mountain side.
81 picked up the reporters rife an |
started out to track him up. l found |
him a-roostin' in the top branches of Il |
tall hick'ry tree an shiverin' so | |
could feel the ground tremble near the |
trunk.
"'Come down quick I yelled, or the
bear will get away from you"
"'Dash the bearp he remarked. !
Then, SEEM the monster wasn't in !
sight, he begun slowly an painfully
to crawl down the tree.
when he reached the ground, l |
offered him his rifle
"'Hang the gum he said shortly. |
You can have it. Take me to your |
home He was that glum all the long |
way back that not another word could |
get out of him, though l tried to |
put him in good humor by tellin' him |
how funny it all really was an what |
a good story it would make for his
paper.
when we come to my cabin, he |
grabbed his bag, took out a new pair
Of trousers an put them on.
"I'm agoin' home Goodby.' An |
he started down the path leadin' to
Catseye Mills.
BE you in such hurry to tell your
readers how to kill bears that you
can't wait no longerY l called out after
him.
No. he answered savagely, AN if
r