Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1902-10-22

man WIN tne cnlluren ne stopper
| short and yelled.
Get them up a tree, Bob! III try
to stop him, but | don't believe l can
do it,
With that he grabbed an old sled
stake that lay beside the trail and
started back around the bend, while
Bob Allen and Bud North began to
howl with laughter. The children
joined ecstatically, but Mrs. Allen
caught her breath, and then, turning
to Bob. said:
stop your fool laughing. Didn't
you see his coat was all ripped and
bloody?"
No, Bob hadn't seen that; neither
had Bud, and they were going on with
their howls when Chase came walking
back around the bend.
"All right" he shouted. "He fled
into the woods when he saw the club,
but that's more than the other would
have done"
This would have amused the boys as
much as his previous words but for
the fact that they could see now that
his coat was ripped and bloody, as
Mrs. Allen had said. Moreover, his
corduroy trousers were slashed and
bloody, too, his scarlet cap was gone,
and there was row Of deep cuts from
the top of his head down through his
right ear to his shoulder.
"Lordy. will you look at that?" said
Allen. why, man alive, what's hap
pened? Yere all chawed up"
"Why, yes" said Chase, as they
gathered around him, 81 believe l am
cut up bit. You see, the affair did
not function quite as I had premeditat-
ed; I didn't anticipate seeing flock
of bears, you know.
81 took my stand in the hollow tree,
as you instructed me to do, and | as
sure you | hadn't waited more than
two minutes when two small bears
came from the thick brush on the oppo-
site side of the trail, one right behind
the other. They crossed over toward
me and were almost in reach when the
one behind bit the other in the heel,
and the next instant they were, ah.
up against each other and slugging
away like prize fighters you know, If
l may use the vernacular.
"They were quite young, and 1t
seemed almost a pity to do 1t, but
supposed l should not have another
chance, so | attacked them. By ra-
pid movement | grasped the nearest
one by the neck and at the same time
plunged the knife into the other Then
| tried to knife the one | held, but its
struggles were most extraordinary, |
assure you, and had to give it three
distinct thrusts.
Meantime it had been screaming
| like baby, and while was striving
to control it there was a crash in the
brush and out came the mother bear
with her lips drawn back and teeth
protruding.
Il don't recollect, ah precisely all
that happened, then, for she was very
much more active, you know, than any
one would imagine. But the worst Of
/ 1t all was that as | gave her the last
thrust the knife became fastened in
some way so that | could not with
| draw 1t, and just then l saw another
bear with bushy tail coming down
the trail, and it's mouth was open,
too.
1T was quite embarrassing, | assure
you, but | remembered seeing a slend-
er tree down this way which thought
| might climb further than the bear
could, and was running for that wheI
| met you.
81 hope the lady will pardon my ap-
pearance," he continued, as he drew
the bow of his necktie from behind his
neck and wiped some of the blood from
his face with a handkerchief. ITS
unusual, l assure you, to find myself
in such predicament."
Finding that Chase was exhausted,
but not seriously hurt, the party hur-
ried up the trail to the old birch.
| There they found young Ben Gratrix
standing, with his eyes bulging, beside
dead mother bear with two dead
cubs close at hand. And the carving
knife in the last and fatal thrust had
pierced between two joints of the old
| bears backbone, where it was held
fast, as Chase had said.
"He didn't know bushy tailed dog
from bear" said North, as he tried
to withdraw the knife from the old
bear, but a tenderfoot who'll mix
into mill like that has got the max
ing of a-good sportsman"
That opinion has been adopted by
all who have heard the story, and
while they remember how this ten
derfoot faced mother bear in a fight
for her cubs the Wheelertown woods
men will give the tourist due consid-
Grafton until he has had chance to
show his metal-John S. Spears, In
| the New York Times.