The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-07-28
Another Bear Story.

From the New Orleans Times Democrat.
 The following is an incident which re- gently occurred in Michigan, where bear abducted little girl about three years old, not with any desire to harm the child, but through a strange kind of affection. MT. Henry Flynn, the fath- CT of the child, lives in a sparsely settled part of the country, about forty miles west of Ludington, Mich, and from him this account has been derived. It appears that he started one morning to take horse to pasture, about two miles distant from the house, and as his little girl seemed anxious to go he put her upon the horses back and let her ride a short distance perhaps forty rods, from the house, where he put her down and told her to run home He noticed that she continued standing when he left her. and on looking back a little further saw her playing In the sand. He soon passed out of sight, and was gone about an hour, ex- pecting, of course that the child would would return to the house after playing a few moments. On returning home he made inquiries about her of her mother, who said she had not seen her, and sup posed he had taken her along with him. On going to the spot where he left her he saw huge bear tracks in the sand, and at once came to the conclusion tht the child had been carried off by a bear.
 The family immediately made search through the forest which was almost jungle, rendering their search very slow. All day the anxious parents searched for some trace of their child; nor did they stop when darkness came on, but re- mained in the woods calling the lost one by her name. Morning came and their search was fruitless. Some gentlemen looking at land came to the house, and being informed of the circumstances im- mediately set out to help find her. The gentlemen wandered about, and as they were passing a swamp spot where the un- dergrowth w?s thick they either called the child or else they were talking loud. when one of them heard voice He then called her by name and told her to come out of the bushes. She replied that the bear would not let her. The men then crept through the brush and when near the spot where she and the bear were, they herd a splash in the water. which the child said was the bear. On going to her they found her standing up- on a log extending about half way across the river.
 The bear had undertaken to cross the river on the log, and being closely pur- sued left the child and swan away. She had received some scratches about her face, arms and legs. and her clothes were almost torn from her body; but the bear had not bitten her to hurt her, only the marks of his teeth being found on her back where, in taking hold of her clothes to carry her. he had taken her flesh also.
 The little one says the bear would put her down occasionally to rest and would put his nose up to her face, when she would slap him; and then the bear would hang his head by her side, and purr and rub against her like a cat The men asked if she was cold in the night. and she told them the old bear lay down be- side her, and put his arms around her and kept her warm though she did not like his long hair. She was taken home unhurt to her parents.