The Savannah morning news., 1902-02-23

when telling the story, land him's fur
YER good"
Ar amateur sportsman during the
spring season, spent a few weeks with
Tremblay and met with an adventure
which, while ending happily, and fur
nishing a hearty laugh, he has no wiol
to repeat. The sportsman borrowed
one of the trapper's dugout canoes and
started off on one of the small lakes
of the Parry sound district in search of
game, his weapons being an old but
hitherto reliable musket and a toma-
hawk. Fortune was against him, and
after unsuccessful explorations of sew
eral points at which he landed he COM
menced his return journey in the late
afternoon. Within a mile of the home
shore he saw what he at first thought
to be a piece of clothing floating in the
water He padded toward it, and his
heart beat fast with anticipation when
he discovered it to be a good-sized
black bear. Bringing the canoe along
side Bruin he reached out, placed the
muzzle of the musket against the ami
mails head. and pulled the trigger.
But, alas, for visions of glory, bear
steak, and a good hide. the weapon
missed fire. Again he tried, and again
the musket refused to act up to Its
reputation. Meanwhile the bear, tried
of swimming had apparently arrived
at the conclusion that he would go to
shore as assistant crew of the dugout.
Placing his paws on the dugout he
proceeded to climb aboard.
dugout is apt to play queer tricks
unless properly handled, and the
young sportsman, having no desire to
take a bath at that time, and realiz-
ing too late the bears intention, con-
fined himself to preserving the equi-
librium of his craft. If necessity de-
manded it he determined to fight with
his tomahawk and take the chances Of
a ducking. Bruin, however, had no
thought of war. He simply desired to
get to land with as little eXertiOn as
possible, and squatted down at one end
of the dugout, while the sportsman,
sitting as far away as possible, pad
died toward the shore. The man was
frightened, and kept a close watch on
the animal. The bear sat perfectly
quiet, however, and seemed to be filled
with the melancholy thoughts which
brilliant sunset followed by the fall
ing shadows of night are apt to pro-
duce in even the healthiest of minds.
At last the dugout with its strangely
varied living freight. struck land. The
man jumped out quickly, the bears
movements were more leisurely. On
reaching terra frma it nodded its head
as though to convey a THANK you, old
chap, and walked slowly away.
Tremblay, who had been looking for
his young friend, was a spectator OF
the close of the episode. At the younger
mans request, he made no attempt to
Stay the animal, but the former, whose
nervous system was yet unstrung by
the strange encounter, could not give
a connected story of the incident until
he had rested and partaken of the
evening meal.
The sportsman referred to himself
tells the following story of which he
was an eye witness as illustrating one
of the many fine traits in Tremblays
character. One year ago last spring
the old hunter set a trap on the main
trail. near to his shanty, at a point
where he believed bears were in the
habit of crossing ION the following
morning" says the young man, I'VE
found a she bear in the trap, quite
dead. Lying on her body was cub
with claw wounds on it's back. An
other sat near her head, and its own
head was badly clawed. Both cubs
were alive and seemed to be about
two weeks old. They had evidently
been injured by the mother in her wild
struggles while attempting to escape
They took no notice of us until we
began to unloosen the trap, when both
squeaked pitifully and caressingly pat
ted the dead body. After removing
the trap and before skinning the dead
animal Tremblay took off his thick
hunters shirt, wrapped it carefully ana
tenderly around the cubs and carried
them to his shanty. He washed their
wounds. fed them some bread, all the
time remarking, Pore leetle felix's
pore leetle fel'rs.' Then he made
bed for them near the fireplace. NO
one would have given kinder care TO
a sick friend than he did to those cubs,
and from his conversation and conduct
/ am convinced that he was actuated
solely by kind heartedness and not by
any thought of bringing them up for
future gain. They died within two
days. however, and Tremblay's sorrow
was genuinely deep"