The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-06-28
BEARS LIKE FUN
And Never Have 80 Much ~ When Tney
Can Lie Low and Scare Horses.

Bears like fun" said Pike county man.
"For instance, there is nothing that a horse
is more afraid Of than bear. The bear
knows this, and nothing gives him more
pleasure than to brighten horse.
40 enjoy this fun properly the bear
will bury himself, all but his eyes and nose,
in a swamp mud hole. Lying thus con-
cealed he will wait the coming Of team.
When the horses are passing his hiding
place the bear will give one Of the resound-
ing shorts peculiar to him when he is out
for fun and at the same time rise from the
hole dripping with the black ooze.
There is certain to be a runaway then.
Farmers or Transfers who have sue
ceeded in getting control Of their horses
In time and have cared to look have seen
jocular bruin on occasions like this dane
ing about in the road in unnfistakable
enjoyment of the effect of his humor.
IOne tim 9 backwoods farmer on hisway
home from trading at his market village
among the Pike county hills had his team
stampeded by an act of bear comedy such
as this. The horses ran away 30 fast over
the rough road that sack of -four was jolted
out of the wagon
THE farmer got his team stopped after
it had run half mile or so, Missing the
sack of -four he picked up new corn cutter
which happened to be among his purchases
and started back firmly resolved to recover
that -four.
IN git that -four he declared if
have to cut that bear into hash
In rounding a sharp bend in the road
the farmer came suddenly upon sight so
comical that re- forgot all about his loss and
the threat he had made against the bear
and almost split his sides with laughter
as he looked at it. The bear had over
hauled the sack of -four, paved it open,
and emptied its contents into the road.
He had evidently rolled himself over and
over in the -four, covered with sticky mud
as he was, and when the farmer came in
sight of him he was about the most gro
tesque-ooking object in black and white
that anybody had ever gazed upon.
THE bear was standing on his hind feet,
his paws raised above his head. while he
pranced about in the most ludicrous manner,
to the intense enjoyment of two other bears,
one on each side of the road for whose de-
location he was plainly playing clown,
went back to his team and drove home
more than satisfied, and he declared that
he would have lost dozen sacks of -four
rather than have missed the show.
remember couple Of young bears that
friend of mine in Pike county raised by
comedy resulted in tragedy for one of
them.
4One day they were skylarking about
the yard, bent on fun. At one corner Of
the house stood a barrel half full OF
rain water. One Of the bears, think
in the barrel, got up with his forepaws on
the chine and locke in.
HE gazed into the barrel moment, and
his plans We're made. Dropping quickly
to the ground, he picked up a stone, got
back to the. top Of the barrel and threw
Then he dropped to the ground again.
took another stone and lost no time in
casting that one into the barrel His mate,
jumblng about in the grass some distance
away was by and by attracted by the
movements Of the cub at the barrel, and
ever fun was going on. He rose and put
his paws on the top Of the barrel and stuck
his head over the edge to see what had eX-
cited his mate.
THAT was just what the cub first at the
barrel was playing for, He grabbed the
head first into the barrel Then the young
bear humorist danced about, his mouth
wide open, as if he were laughing fit to
kill himself at the way his mate, hind
feet in the air and head and shoulders
submerged in the water. kicked and strug-
gleQ III VdlI eUOTtS 10 eNJT1Cdte himself
The more he kicked and struggled the
more the other cub danced and enjoyed
the joke.
"All this had been seen by the owner Of
the cubs, who was on a hillside a hundred
yards or so distant-on the other side of
road. He made all the haste he could to
rescue the cub from his perilous situation,
but he was too late.
sThe cub had succumbed to the POPULARITY
of his mate.
But so little was the comic element in
bear nature affected by this catastrophe
that the cub whose idea of humor had
CAUSED il was discovered less than half an
hour afterward clutchinS the hind legs
Of pig that had the freedom Of the premises
and running 1t about the yard on its fore feet
as one might trundle a wheelbarrow, the
shrill squeaking of the pig setting the
fun-loving bear almost wild with JOY the
LII y