Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1902-12-06
31iseellameols &fading.
HAD TOO MUCH FIGHT.

HAD TOO MUCH FIGHT.
Having Heard That Black Bears
Wouldn't Scrap, an Old Hunter
Got Badly Fooled.
"Eh- What's that?" exclaimed old
Bill Ellis, sitting straight up in bed one
night in camp and staring around with
eyes that showed he had been almost
aroused from sleep.
The displacement Of his metacenter
was caused by an innocent remark I
had made to a companion, still awake,
that there was mo fight in black
bear"
mo fight in black bear, eh? Well,
that gives you away for tenderfoot
all right. You get one well walked up
and in a tight place and he Is about
as warm a pile Of stuff as you are
likely to rake together in a day. The
nearest I ever came to permanent dis
construction was in calling on bear
not a quarter the size Of the grizzly
we're after now. 'Taint often you can
run a bear into hole, for he knows
enough to stay outside where there Is
and other fixins handy for botherin'
dogs. He seems to know, too. that
you can smoke him out Of a hole and
play several little tricks on him. But
one day we had the dogs after a black
bear and they crowded him SO fine that
he kind O. forgot himself and slipped
into a cave that was right handy while
trees were mighty scarce. The mouth
Of it was on a little shelf by the steep
edge of lake and when we came up
the dogs were barkin' so savage that
they only needed a two-legged leader
to go In after him."
"And you went, of course?"
"Say, now young fellow, there's moth
ing smart about them kind . compli-
ments, even If they was true. But they
amt I amt that kind Of a leader.
I might make good leader at my own
funeral If I ever get a chance. I like
to lead where I know the paH-bearers
are safe. But the tenderfoot that was
with me was the other way. He was
a born leader. He had come about
thousand miles to have bear, and he
was goin' to have him. For me bear
was such common game that I wasn't
goin' to risk a maulin' to please any
body's husband, specially as there
wasn't any need Of 1t. The tenderfoot
wasn't one of the kind that are al
ways a-lookin' around for swan's-down
to drop into, and as soon as he saw
the dogs didn't banker for the gloom
Of that cave he twitched his raiment,
cooked his rifle and said: Come on
boys
"And in he went.
lone of the boys thought he could
serve the interests Of humanity as well
as of bear on the outside. And most
Of the dogs had similar light shine
through their noodles. They were ca
ger enough and were old glue itself
with anything that wore hair; but
somehow they didn't affiliate with that
aperture any more than did. But one
Of 'em followed the tenderfoot, a-smell-
in Of his heels as he crawled in while
another KEEP well under cover Of the
first dogs tail and looked around at me
with the biggest kind Of contempt for
bein' q coward.
About the time the appendix Of the
second dog faded in the twilight Of that
cave there was a muffled crack Of a
rifle and out come both dogs all doubled
up in a heap like waddin' shot out Of
& gun, with the beor representing the
powder, close behind 'em. The rest Of
the dogs was a-standin' around the
mouth Of the cave a-snuff1n' at the
tracks Of the dogs that went In. No
matter how much sand dog carries IN
his craw, he's got to keep clear Of a
bears paws and teeth and levy on his
postscripts. He must be lightnin' on
the wheel, and that was the way my
pack was. But I never before knew
what a fine pack I had. For as the
cave fired its charge right into the CEN
ter Of the pack they swung around
against my legs like so many croco-
dile's tails. Over went and k-swash
into the water with the darndest lot OF
of dogs landin' on my belly before
could get turned over, and the bear
comm down alongside with swash
that almost drowned me again as
was a-gittin' my head out Of the water.
When I came up again the bear was
a-makin' a wake like a muskrat for
the other side Of the pond and dogs
a-thumpin' water in all directions.
But they didn't lose minute In find
in the bank too steep for landin
place, and they struck for the other
side Of the pond in the rear Of the bear.
I had to swim, too, for the bank was
so steep there was no landin' there,
and there was no tenderfoot on the
top Of it with a rope ready to loss.
The water was so cold I could hardly
swim, and I had to float awhile and
pull my heavy boots off and got pretty
near drowned in doin' 1t. For l had
to cross the pond. because it was
longer swim down to where the bank
was low enough to get out on the
side the cave was on.
with teeth chartered half out.
landed in the biggest whirl Of dogs and
bear you ever saw. The bear was shot
In tho leg and couldn't break away