The Brandon news. (Brandon, Miss.) 1892-1961, 1904-10-27

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grizzly:
In the morning. and just before sun
rise, rs usual, Bogard (who was a Yam
kee, and ''wide-awake fellow" Just
retiring from ten years siege OF hunt
ing and trapping in the Rocky Noun
tains,, thrust his head out from under
the robe. rubbing his eyes open, and
cxclaiming as he grasped for his gun
by Joye! Look at old Gale, will you!"
Ba 'tiste, who was more fond of his
dreams, snored away, muttering some
thing that L could not understand,
when Bogert seized him with a grip
that Instantly shook off his iron slum-
bers. / rose at the same time. and all
eyes were turned at once upon Caleb
(as the grizzly bear is familiarly called
by tire trappers in the Rocky Noun
tains-or more often "Cale," for breyi-
tvs snke), who was sitting up in the
dignity and fury Of her sex, within a
few rods. and gazing npon us, with her
two little cubs at her side. Here was
a fix and subject for the painter; but
IL.
my eyes to the canoe which had been
fastened to the shore a few PAGES from
us, and saw that everything had been
paved out of it, and all eatables had
been with out ceremony devoured.
My package of dresses and Indian Gu
riosities had been drawn out upon the
bank and deliberately opened and in
spected. Everything had been scraped
and paved out to the bottom Of the
boat; and even the rawhide throng
with which it was tied to stake had
been chewed, and no doubt swallowed,
as there was no trace Of it remaining.
Nor was this peep into the secrets Of
our luggage enough for Unsuitable Gu
riosity; we saw by the prints of her
huge paws that were left in the ground
that She had been perambulating our
humble mattresses, smelling at our
toes and our noses without choosing
to modest us; verifying y tritc saying
Of the country, THAT man lying down
Is medicine to the grizzly BEAR
though 1t is 4 wel-known fact that
man and beast upon their feet are sure
to be attacked when they cross the
track OF this grizzly and grim mon
Ster, which IS the terror OF all this
country. often growing to the enor-
nous size Of eight hundred or one
thousand pounds.
Well, While we sat in the dilemma
which I have just described, each one
was hastily preparing kis weapons for
defense, when l proposed the mode Of
attack, by which means I was in hopes
to destroy her, capture her young ones.
and bring her skin home as trophy.
My plans, however entirely failed,
though we were we'll armed, for b.
gard and Ba'tiste both demonstrated
with a vehemence that was irresist-
able, saying that the standing rule in
the mountains was never to fight Ca
heb except in self-defense." I was al
most induced, however, to attack her
alone. with my rifle in hand and
pair of heavy pistols, with a toma-
hawk and scalping-knife in my belt
when Ba'iste suddenly thrust his arm
over my shoulder, and pointing in
another direction, exclaimed in an en-
phatic tone: viola! viola un corps de
reserve-AIonsr. Catalinc-viola sa ma
ri! Allons. allons! Descendons la
rivfera, toute de suite! toute de suite!
Monsr.," to which Bogard added.
These blame animals are too much for
as, and we had better be off, at which
my courage cooled, and we packed up
and re-embarked as fast as possible,
giving each one of them the contents
Of our rifles as we drifted off in the
current, which brought the she mon
ster, In all her rage and fr"y, to the
spot where we few minutes before
had passed our most prudent resolve.