The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1903-01-02
UNCLE SANS BEAR.
BY EDITH ". CORSE.

/ state famed Tor It's beautiful lakes lies the
most beautiful of them all, so hidden IN the
forests that it stretches out, 400 miles of
wild and lovely shore-line, unsupported by
most of the white mans world and the
Indians still hunt in tie wilderness about
it and move over its waters in their birch
bark canoes still, too, indulge sometimes
in their old pastime of killing off their white
neighbors; and tnat is way, as the train
brings you up to tie tiny village which
marks the reservation agency, you catch
glimpse of Uncle Sans little white tents
among the trees by the lakeside, and meet
his boys in blue along the street as you go
up to the hotel.
W has not been a military post very
long, and is but a small one, so the bar
racks are just nothing but big wooden
| house, standing like a huge yellow bonnet
| box on the edge of the lake. 1t is APP
! preached by sandy road through the low
scrub of young oak and blackened stumps,
and along this we were proceeding-Jack,
| Hester and l, with mother following at less
| enthusiastic but equally cheerful pace-when
i, we saw on the grassy open before the bar
| racks what seemed to our startled eyes
| to be. soldier in mortal combat with
| large black bear. The grinning faces OF the
sentry and the men about the door OF the
| guard-tent, however, soon treasured us, and
with mixed feelings of delight and awe we
| drew nearer.
| 1t was soldier, and it was bear; but
as We approached he-the man, not the bear
-disentangled himself sufficiently to make
us a friendly signal to come on, and you
may be sure we were soon-at respecttE
| distance-inaking their acquaintance.
"He's the company's mascot, miss, eS-
| planned the private, with a smile that was
as broad and good-natured as everything
else about him. eve trapped him when ne
was a little Teller. He amt very old now,
but he's big. Oh, no; ne wouldn't never
| hurt anyone"-as the bear, who did not
care for the interruption to his scuft1ing-
match, rose on his hind legs and with teeth
| and claws set about devouring an arm in
friendly fashion. "He most bit the cooks
finger off the other day" The soldier
chuckled as if he enjoyed the recollection.
"You see, he amt used to havin' no one
manage him but me, an l was up IN the
town, an when l come back, there he'd
got loose, an they had him cornered in the
cellar with pitchforks an brooms an every
thing, awaitin' fer me to get back n chain
him up"
Tricks? Oh, yes, he knows few stunts
-nothin' much. Where's yer bottle, Bug!
| Here"-he picked up an old beer-bottle from
the ground and handed it to "Bug" Tor
| Bugamegeshig, to give him his full dignity
and the Indian leader his full indignity).
The bear gravely raised it to his mouth
and tipped back his head as though en-
| joying long draught. eff it was tull he
would be better pleased" said the soldier.
"He likes his beer along with the rest of
u.s." said his guardian, Laughing.
Bug here threw down his bottle, and the
| soldier startled us by calling out: Ten
toni"
The bear at once Strengthened up to his
full height, and turned his sharp nose to
the right with comical solemnity as his
commanding officer shouted:
Fright dress!"
'FRONT.'"
Bug obeyed, standing quite steady and
looking very military as he did his best to
| follow the manuel as well as any other of
| Uncle Sans well-drilled subjects could.
| The bear went through few more ma
neuyers, much to our delight, and then the
soldier said:
want to see him take his bath? He has
his bath in the lake every day. Now III
jes' show you another funny thing he does,
| too. This amt no trick, neither, cept Jes'
his own-the little cuss" He dropped the
chain from his hand, and instantly, before
| we bad time to be horriefed, the bear made
dash for the barracks and disappeared
| round the corner of the building, lumber
ing at full speed. Away went the soldier
too, and in at a door like flash, and short
ly reappeared at the corner round which
Bug had so precipitately vanished, leading
him again by the chain. and laughing.
''The sly little fellow! He always makes
Decline upstairs to get into the BEDS,
he said, fondly; can if we don't get there
he has 'em all tore up in no time
| He now led the bear down to the waters
edge, and flung the caain over stump, and
| then for some time we watched our friends
enjoyment of the cool water, where he sat,
with his usual gravity, fishing up from the
bottom, one by one, some unspeakable old
| playing cards, and eating them adroitly from
the back of his paw.
| At last we babe him lingering adieu, and
| took our way back through the sunshine to
the town, where the noble savage was to be
SEEM in all his dirt and dignity-for he has
| dignity still, if you look at him with the
right eyes to see it. We were soon lost in
| admiration OF an ola lnQlan VINO ndu SO
many wrinkles in his face that you would
not have been able to tell which of them
was really his mouth except for the fact that
a pipe was protruding from it; and we had
almost forgotten Bugamegeshig's existence,
when wild chorus of yelling voices burst
| upon our ears, to the accompaniment of
a jingling sound. Of course we hardly need
| ed to look round to know that our new
acquaintance had broken loose. But hope
you don't imagine that on this account We
didn't look round, for we did, and exc
cuted several other very hasty moves at
| the same time. The brute : one always calls
them brutes when they are indulging their
native instinct for freedom-rounded the
| corner close to us, and came pounding, full
trot, down the plank sidewalk, his big red
mouth wide open, while behind him came
the full hue and cry of the barracks; and
before him stood-we four and the old In
| dian. The latter, as I remembered after
ward, did not rise from his seat nor alter
the arrangement of one wrinkle during this
encounter. 1 thought of the cooks finger.
What the thoughts of mother, Jack and
the Indian were 1 won't pretend to say.
| But Hester, can assert, thought of some
thing more to the purpose than did any of