The Irish standard., 1904-06-25

to a limb, was catamount-an all-slam.
min tremendous big and ugly one-with
a little bear cub in each claw, glarin'
down at me and the bear.
1.-The catamount had stole the bears
cubs and skited up the tree with 'em. The
tree was too small for the bear to climb,
and the catamount didn't dast come
down, KNOWN that the bear d make
short work of it-and the poor mother
uns O. her'n.
THAT was the hull sitiwation, as l
figgered it out in jiffy. Ifergot all about
the ham, was so fetched by the longin'
O the poor mother bear, and so all'per-
vadin mad at the kidnappin' catamount
81 throwed off my coat, and up that
saplin l Skinned. | wasn't long gettin'
to where the catamount was crouchin' {,
glarin at me as come, and spittin and
grOwlin' enoush to skeer a req lnjin, but
holdin' ON to the whinin' bear cubs like
grim death.
The varnlint couldn't climb any
higher, an Se@iu' she couldn't Skeer NE
back, she thought sheu 90 better to take
the chances Tor a jump than to git into
my clutch, anG she aimed Ter branch
Oh tree OF to one SIDE o the one we was
i'll, and away she went. The Jump was
more than she could land, and down she
went, still clutcnin' the cubs, kerpluuN
on the ground.
Before | could git down out o the
tree the ola Dea- had shattered the cattt-
mount into shoestrings, and was jest
more than uicNleu over gittin' her cubs
pack
She didn't have to have the gift Of
CAB to thank me. She looked it more
than words could tell it.
When | got to the ground l thunll
about that ham | was neeGin', and kin
see the sorrowin look on that OLD bears
face now When 4 cussed the luck and
hollered.
'''l never kin ketch that wagon now!
Never! And won't have nothin to eat
Ter week."
81 stealied it for the turnpike, any
how, hopn' | mowt ketch the wagon,
but when got there | heered it rumblin'
DOWN the road, half mile beyond any
kind o hearin.' come back here mad
and tired and hungry and cussed bears
and catahlOuutS all night
~ was tooin' round in here this fore
noon, when heerG Il scratchin' sort of a
knock come to the door. opened it, and
l most fell in a faint when | see that old
she bear standin' there with that zoe
over her shoulder.
AS soon as she seen me she laid the
doe down, give me look that there
want no mistakin' and trotted off into
the woods. was fetched to the heart.
"Gratitude!" says l, "Sorrowin' be-
cause she had knocked me out o gittin
my meat and swellin' with gratitude
cause | saved her cubs fer her, she has
gone and run down nice fat doe and
bruns it to me h birthstone" l says.
And drug the doe in and was mus
in OH the tetchin' circumstance as
skinned it out, and now to think she stole
it. Me supposin' she had run it down
herself and brung it to me, and now tc
think she stole it!
This is heart breakin'! Where dc
YOU s'pose she stole it, Sam"
"'Where do you spose she could "a
Dick? says Sam.
The unblushin' critter! says Dick
She knows.' says he.
Yes says Sam. And jerry says he
] the thing fer you to do is to whisper IL
! her ear that unless she Tugs that doe
back and hangs it on the peg where she
snaked it from, there'll be more thar
kidnappin' catamounts prowlin rount
and pouncin' in these woods!' says he.
Then Sam and Dick went in the wood
to see how the signs fer game was keepln
up, and when they got back to their cabll
along in the afternoon. 10 and behold
We! there the doe hung!
"'Dick,' says Sam, what amazin
things bears does dol says he.
"Amazin'est kind! says Dick.
"And poor Jerry was weighted dow
SO under the heft O woe that disapplnt
in she bear had give him that he throWe'
up his peelin' contract and went to raft
in up on the headwaters. IN. Y. Sun