The daily morning journal and courier., 1904-09-10
JIMMY BEAR ANp HIs vIsrroRs.

There may be some one within a ra- dius of twenty miles from my home
 who does not know of Jimmy, the bear cub. but doubt it. And almost every lone who knows of him considers it a duty to call on him to pay their re- lspects, so they walk in and drive in
 from all points of the compass, and
 Jimmy receives them all with delight, lcondescension, indifference or un- feigned disgust, according to his mood
 at the time, or, in other words. accord
 ling to the length of time which has lelapsed since his last meal
 Last Sunday over thirty carriage
 leads of people unloaded themselves on my premises during the day and as Imany more came on foot. None of
 them were friends of mine, and not one of them even asked for me They were tall Jimmy's visitors, and, as Jimmy lwas to entertain them himself, all I had to do was to sit at an upper win ldow and watch the fun. Among the first to arrive was a lady with a little child about two years old Jimmy was Lying quietly on the lawn, chewing clover, and did not rise to greet them.
 l See, darling! See the pretty baby ibear!" said the lady, advancing confi- 3dently, and letting go of the young Ister's hand Baby, pat the pretty bear" and without hesitation, the little lone advanced, and patted the bear on the head. Jimmy took this familiarly las an invitation to wrestle. and promptly but gravely arose on his hind Elegs and clasped the baby in his sturdy
 arms. The frightened youngster
 screamed and fell over backwards, and
 Jimmy, letting go his hold, stood quite lerect, and eyed his supposed antago- mist as though greatly surprised at the sudden termination of the contest. Tn the meantime, the mother, thoroughly Escared, snatched the child up in her farms, and drove off with remark not altogether complimentary to owners of bear cubs. She was learning the folly Iof taking liberties with animals while
 knowing nothing whatever of their
 habits, strength and disposition. She |would be more careful next time, per- haps. a f
 She had scarcely gone when a man . Idrove up, and Jimmy went out to meet lhim. Under the wagon was a we'll Ebred collie, who in some respects
 showed better sense than the lady had Idone, He knew nothing of bears, and,
 while not cowardly, edged away from
 Jimmy, until he had had chance to
 "size him up." Jimmy followed him
 with an assurance born of inexperienee, until the man, who wanted a nearer Iview of the cub, stepped out of the lwagon. Whether the sheep dog had
 completed his investigation or whether
 the close proximity of his master in- Ecreased his confidence in himself I tcan't tell, but the mans foot had
 barely touched the ground before the collie sprang forward and caught the young bear by the nose. Jimmy, hay ling received the same lesson he had
 just administered to the lady, acted in practically the same way. That is, he
 moved with all haste away from the lobject of danger, with series of un- complimentary remarks, in his own language of course. He ran under
 heath the piazza to rub his sore nose with his fore paws, and, although he Isoon came out again, nothing could in- Iduce him to approach the dog again. ! In the course of the morning, another 1 dog arrived, a big, good-natured fellow,
 of no particular breed, black and tan in
 color, and with a pair of eyes and tail
 which seemed to vie with one another in appearing pleased and happy. He
 and Jimmy looked at one another for a
 moment, and, as though mutual confi-
 dence was established on the instant, they strolled slowly up to each other.
 Then began a friendly contest which | lasted for fully half an hour and which
 amused a score of people who gathered
 about to witness it. Jimmy was the heavier, but the dog was the more &C., tive, so, take it altogether, they were livery evenly matched. At times they
 would stand up on their hind legs and
 wrestle like men, but soon they would Ifall over on the grass and roll about,