The sun., 1903-10-18
THE SHE BEAR
/ i. AND HER YOUNG.
A Guides Story Of = Hunt IN
Which His Heart Failed Him
at the Finish.

NORTH TWIN, Me-, Oct little toughest
thing I ever tried to kill and didn't" said
Ben York. the veteran guide Of the West
Branch region, was a bear, measly
lean bear, with the hair all gone on hel
fore shoulders and her bones sticking
through her skin in places, like lot OF
axe-handles in meal bag.
aMore than half day followed heI
around 10 Mary Mountain, seeing where
she had dug open the ants nests for lunch
as she went by and where she had stretched
herself up against sapling frs and left
her claw marks on tho bark to frighter
me with her size and the length Of hel
reach
that's the way a bear always does
when he's hard pressed. Instead OF put
ting all Of his cunning into trying to get
away. he will spend time, which means life
to him, In fool tricks to show of how power
ful he is and how hard he will be to lich
when he comes to close quarters.
Il drove that bear 40 hard that she tool
to q tree along In the afternoon. AZ neal
as l could make out she was just about
discouraged in trying to live before l took
up her trail, and by the time l had chased
her twenty miles she was 40 hungry and
weary with it all that she went up the tree
expecting to die. but hoping to make the
killing as difficult as possible for mo-
-She was sitting on one limb, with heE
front paws hooked to another higher up
when fired the first shot, and when the
bullet went In behind her foreshoulder
~ hAr ho
side. she gave loud groanine grunt. which II
satisfaction she felt In dying.
her drop. Instead OF falling she moved
about to the further side OF the tree and
began to gnaw of some lumps OF spruce
gum, which hung out from a broken bough
when she had made the gum all soft and
plastic she pulled half Of 1t from her mouth
wound in her side where the bullet had gone
in. Then she treated the wound in her
neck In the same way.
II you had seen the look she gave me
after she had performed this operation you
never would try to shoot bear IN your
life. You couldn't do It.
Her eyes as much as told me she didn't
give a rap for her life. She was thinking OF
two hungry cubs which she had hidden away
in a ledge near Ripogenus Lake, and she was
trying to stop the blood long enough to get
home and inform the youngsters that she
had striven to do her duty by them, though
luck had been running against her ever
since dropped onto her trait.
"As it was, sent another shot through
her body in front of her hips, and saw her
reaching for more gum Then the sinful
ness and folly OF what | WAS trying to do
came to me 80 strong that you could not
have hired me to shoot again-no, sir. not
for thousand dolnrs.
"A week later when landed on the shore
OF Ripogenus Lake to build fire for dinner
saw . lean bear lying dead close under the
rocky bluff. Though she had been cold and
stff for days, her cubs were still nosing her
over in the hope of finding nourishment
and crying 40 loud that took pity on them
and shot one for dinner.
"When I went to pick him up and skin
him, looked at the dead mother and saw
the Jumps Of spruce gum sticking to her
sides. then knew that she had gone home
to die with her children.
"On the whole. l think she was the tough
est and most resolute animal I ever had
anything to do with