Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1903-01-02

W h,h L W. u youhScl man thdh
am to-day" Mr.. Weldon said recently,
| "my chief delight was in hunting, and
by this 1 do not mean the so-called
hunting in which some people indulge,
such as lying in runway and shoot
Ing down an inoffensive small deer.
Several years ago it was my annual
custom to go to the Rockies to hunt
the grizzly bear, and many time /
have been in quarters SO close that l
never expected to escape with my life.
Some people think it takes nerve for
a man to enter cage filled with ami
mails that have possibly for some time
! been subjected to the more or less
refining influence of association with
human beings, but this is mere child's
play compared to the attacking of a
grizzly who knows nothing of refine
ment and who will not pause to dis
cuss the subject or who has no re-
gard for the ordinary rules and usages
Of polite society.
81 have on my arm the scars left by
an animal of this description, and had
his life and strength lasted one second
longer than it did 1 probably would
not be here now to tell the tale. 1t
is the old story of hunter who is over
confident and who grows careless. l
was with a party Of friends in the
White River country Of Colorado,
which every hunter knows is veri-
table paradise for one who seeks big
game. l had been out during all the
day with but little luck, and was re-
turning to the camp tired and foot
sore. When l arrived within hun
dred yards of the place 1 was making
my temporary home l suddenly almost
ran into large grizzly who was nosing
around that neighborhood, probably
attracted by the odor of the cooking
in the camp.
perhaps I was overconfident and
careless, or perhaps the reason was
that 1 came across the brute SO sud-
denly that was bit flurried. How
and the bullet went wide OF the mark
had intended. Instead of striking the
animal in the heart, the bullet sue
ceeded only in lodging i'll one Of his
foreshoulders, breaking the bone and
infuriating the monster beyond human
comprehension. Furious and almost
blinded with rage and pain, the animal
rose and charged toward me. l was
prepared for this, however and threw
down the lever of my rife IN order to
throw in a fresh cartridge. To my
horror. the magazine failed to work.
For a second it looked as though 1
would be an easy victim Of the on
rushing beast. There was but one
thing to do under the circumstances,
and that was to dodge the brute and
run for my life, as, aside from my
which would have been of absolutely
no effect against grizzly bear.
81 do not think it took more than
three or four seconds at the outside
for me to reach the clearing where we
had our camp. There was one man in
the camp. He, however, was not
huntsman, but young artist who had
come with us for the purpose of sketch
ing scenery in that vicinity. Several
times we had attempted to induce him
to join us, but In vain. He always
said that he preferred to stay in the
camp and sketch, that he had no de-
sire to kill anything, and did not know
how to use a gun, anyhow.
at Glanced this young man was in
the camp and started toward me when
he heard the shot fired. He picked up
the gun at the time, although he after
ward told me he did not know what
prompted him to do so. Then he saw
me and the bear. 1 saw him simul-
taneously old yelled to him to shoot,
not to mind me, but to take chance,
as l saw it would be impossible for me
to reach a weapon and turn with it
before the hear would be upon me.
The fact that the young man followed
my advice is all that saved the day
for me.
"The animal was almost upon me
before the young man fired. / did
not have time then to notice what
e pretty shot it was, as l was too busy
rolling over and over down the hill
In an effort to regain my feet, or ut
least keep out of the reach of those
awful claws. The bullet struck the
SIiHHiN SludEt Ill Ile DcuFI ana uOWn
the hill he came, rolling and tumbling
behind me; his huge body lurched
against me and knocked me over as I
was attempting to scramble to my
feet | thought l was gone, but the
animal was dead before he reached
me.
"Of course was grateful to the
artist-any man would be to another
who did him such n favor. but at the
same time it was little blow to my
pride as hunter to have he only man
in the camp who refused to hunt come
to my rescue in this manner, and at
the same time have him secure the
credit of killing the largest grizzly we
bagged during the trip and one of the
largest | have ever seen in all of my
experience" York Times.
Struck by a waterspout,
An accurate description of q water
spout at close range, given in the
Monthly Weather Review. If was the