The Tupelo journal., 1903-09-11

the water anu kept rllyln OF IL up. Ihen
Cyrus pulled up and give him another
| shot.
The bear bumped hisself ag'in and
squealed and snorted, but didn't move on.
Then Cyrus did get mad! And he plunked
| into him every one O them shots he
had left
/ "The bear headed for him them and
seemed as if he was goin' to show Cyrus
that he didn't approve O. bein peppered
in the way that Cyrus had been pepperin'
of him. Then Cyrus was moved to say,
sort O. positive-like:
"If Providence or somethin' don't take
a hand in this here, he says, somebody
else will have to finish them weddin'
boots for Ellis SAM! he says.
Whatever changed the bears mind
Cyrus says he won't swear to. Provi-
dence maybe, he says. Anyhow the bears
mind was changed, and he turned around
short. clum the bank. and trotted away
into the woods.
while Cyrus stood staring after him
the water the bear had made rily cleared
up and Cyrus got his bit. He didn't only
get his bite. He ketched the trout that
done It, and slammer it was. Three
pounds. Cyrus says they told him after
ward that it weighed.
But he couldn't get over being made
SO mad--so mad. and unlawful like.
THAT bear says Cyrus, done some
thin that mowt a-sp'iled by gettin'
that bite he says. And mebbe he mowt
do it again. That bear must be settled,
he says, and over he goes to Joe's lum-
Der camp, berries Jaes rifle, and comes
back to the creek.
ut was his belief lot KNOWN much
about bear, that this agSravatin' old fell
Ter had headed for the swamp up the
creek mile or SO, and so Cyrus took a
short cut through the Gown timber for
the swamp. When he got there he didn't
see no sign o bear, but pretty soon he
heerd snort and grunt, and lOokin'
toward where they came from, he see
bears head stickin' up out of a muck
hole at the edge of an old log road.
When the bear see that Cyrus see him
too he stuck his head little further out
OF the hole, and snorted louder snort.
Rily up the creek on me when I'm
fishin' will your says Cyrus, n he
whanged away.
The bear sunk back in the muck hole,
and Cyrus had a sweatin' time gittin'
him out on hard ground. He was looa-
in the dead bear over when he heerd a
noise in the bushes Oh t'other side o the
road.
Cyrus looked that way, and if Els
Sam could a-see him then he'd a-been
sorry, | bet'you, that he hadn't put his
weddin' off till Cyrus got back from the
pond a-fishin', for Cyrus's eyes was bulg-
in at the great big head of another bear
that was stickin' out O. the bushes with
a look on its face that said as plain as
could be that it was lookin' for somethin'
to clutch and claw, and didn't calc'l late to
look no further than Cyrus. But there
was another load in Joe's rifle. and hav-
in gone as fur as he had in burnin' pow
der and scatterin' lead, Cyrus throwed
conscience to the winds and banged
away. T'other bear come tumplin'
down, and Cyrus says:
I'm sorry for you. he say, but you're
jest as dead as the unmannerly bear
yender that made the creek rily on me,
he says. ST..
But the bear wasn't Not Jest then.
1t riz on it's hind feet and started fer
Cyrus and Cyrus didn't have no more
lead to scatter.
Providence says he, 1T looks to me
now that if you don't take care O. them
boots of Ellis Sam he'll have to go bare
foot to his weddin"' he says.
But Cyrus was wrong. The bear only
come few steps, Then he fell over back
ward and was deader than June shad
1.-Two BEARS says Cyrus. land only
started out to git sole leather to finish
them weddin' boots, and mebbe some
trout for supper he says.
"And then what do you think? Cyrus
discovered that the first bear he killed,
and the one that ought to had six pistol
bullets in it for rilying' up the creek,
didn't have nothin but a rife bullet
right betwixt the eyes, and the bear that
stuck his head out O. the bushes. and that
Cyrus wasn't expectin' had six pistol
bullets right scattered around in him,
besides rifle bullet betwixt the eyes!
Ding it, says Cyrus, lookin at the
first bear. 4 didn't have nothin' ag'in
you! What did you go and raise your
conk up out O that muckhole for, and
snort?'
But it was too late then. And, Provi-
dence or not. Ellis Sam got his weddin'
boots; but if they don't give him corns
then Cyrus is the fergivin'e est feller-cit-
fzen that ever disappointed his ownself
to 'commodate neighbor. IN. Y Sun.