Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1903-01-14


three snap shots in quick succession, or
at least as quickly as she could roll
the cameras film into position.
Then, as the grizzly refused to retire
and still showed no disposition to at
tack, Florence began leisurely to back
away. She had made but a careful
step or two when she heard q racket
in the bushes almost above her head,
and an instant later, just behind her,
another bear descended the precipitous
bank OF the channel. He slid down
backward, and alighted with a splash
in the brook!
This bear or big cub was not more
than half as large as the other, but it
was very near Florence, and very
much startled at the apparition of
girl in blue dress. 1t crowded against
the creek bank and showed its teeth,
evidently expecting immediate attack,
and growled and whimpered, as much
in alarm as in anger.
This stirred the old bear to wrath,
and poor Florence, standing in mar
row channel between the angry mother
and the formidable cub, dared not
move a foot in either direction. She
might have dared to try passing the
small bear, but she knew the old one
would leap at her instantly.
She stood upon two big boulders,
slightly elevated above the bears, and
astride a little channel of the brook.
She kept her position, and although
her heart beat so loudly that it sound
ed in her ears like the tattoo of a
drum, she controlled her agitation, and
turned her camera first upon one and
then the other Of the threatening griZ-
zlies, until she had exhausted all the
exposures upon the film.
While she was doing this she noted
that the grizzlies We're growing more
and more angry, and that the smaller
one, hugging an earth bank within
five or six steps Of her, had its nose
and jaws stained red with the juice of
berries, which seemed to heighten the
ferocity of its expression.
The photographing, which occupied
but few moments, seemed to clear
her brain, and she looked swiftly
about, seeking in vain for some line
Of ascent up the steep banks. The
bears increased their threats and yag-
gerings until the little canyon roared
with the horrid noise
Florence felt sure the old dam was
about to pounce upon her, and as a
last resort, she stopped, laid her cam
prp Of
which she stood, and then suddenly
dropped at full length into the narrow
crevice between them.
The water in this small runway was
foot or more in depth, and Florence
sank upon the bottom with only her
face and floating skirt at the surface.
She was completely hidden from the
bears, and TO her great relief their
threatenings quickly ceased, and pres
entity the cub leaped fairly over her
body on its way'to join its dam.
Two or three minutes later Florence
dared to peep over the rocks. and find
ing the coast clear, crawled out and
made her way to camp, where, after
telling her story she became a heroine
indeed.
Six photographs enlarged to real pic
ture size and handsomely framed now
hang in the dlning-room at Black Rock
Ranch. Three OF these pictures show
4 great grizzly standing at gaze upon
some rocks, and two others show the
same bear in different attitudes Of
fierce threat. The remaining one dis
plays, in shadow, bear crowding
against an earth bank and showing its
teeth like an animal at bay. 1t is cer-
tainly notable collection Of photo
graphs.
Recently, at a social gathering, my
mother related the story of 'Thc Lady
or the Tiger and some one proposed
the conundrum, "What would Florence
Crissman do in such case?" With
one voice all the company shouted,
Photograph the tigerw I think such
things are enough to spoil any GIRL
Youths Companion.