The Spokane press. [volume] (Spokane, Wash.) 1902-1939, 1905-08-09
With o Grizzly Coming One way and
Indians the Other, Brown Had to
Thi,ks Some.

Ihey mad been talking about bears.
THAT reminds me-" spoke up East
man Brown, an old gentleman, as he
fixed his personality more comfort
ably in his chair, that 1 know a
little about Montana myself and have
had an encounter or two with B'rer
Bar. You see, I was a mail con-
tractor at the time l refer to and,
to be a mail contractor out there in
that new, wild country of Montana
at the time l speak of, was a vastly
different thing from what it is now.
Il had taken the contract from the
government to carry the mails be-
tween Durgin and Camp Brown, both
new mining towns. the latter on the
Bross river, a distance of $50 miles.
1T was about a week before my
usual time for paying the ranchmen,
etc, but there was no time to waste.
so / put my os1'n as customary, into
my leather bag around my waist and
started out alone. On the third day
of my solitary ride. toward night,
I struck the head of Yellow Water
creek. Following this stream
would at length leave the mountains.
after which ride of SO miles would
bring me to Camp Brown.
''One more night in the mountains
and the risks of my adventure would
be over missing as my horse picked
his way along the obscure trail, yet
watchful, I had ridden four miles
when, suddenly. my steed slipped, fell
and broke his right forefoot, entirely
disabling him.
II at once, of course, shot the ami
NAL, and. after debating for a mo-
ment, | concluded to ascend a rocky
ridge some distance away, to take a
better observation of my situation.
I did SO, and was standing on the
most elevated portion of the same,
with a very fine view before me,
which view l would like to have
gaZed at more infinitely, when, sud-
denly, I was startled by the discharge
of two rifles. and, looking hastily
around, saw two Indians making all
haste toward me. My first inspira-
ton was to take shot at them,
which would have been one of the
easiest things. and reload before they
came up, but l thought there might
be others close at hand, and, thinking
thus, the wisest course for me to pur-
sue was to beat a hasty retreat. This
1 did and had hardly got half way
down when. to my horror, l saw a
gigantic grizzly bear coming toward
incoming up the ridge directly to-
ward me!
"Under the inspiration of this new
fear, I retreated until near the top
of the ridge before l recollected the
savages who were coming from the
other side. And I may now be said
to have been between two fires. and
for moment 1 was completely be-
wildered by my fearful situation-a
situation in which there was little
chance between two impending perils;
one seemed as certain of death as
the other, but the bear being the
closer, l was necessarily compelled
to encounter him. 1t was plain that
the brute had discovered me, and was
after me alone.
My resolve was made in an in
stant-I determined to shoot the bear
in the head. not in the hope of kill
ing him, for 1t generally takes more
than one shot to. do that, except when
hit in the most vulnerable part of
the head, but l trusted that l might
bewilder him for a moment. during
which | would make an attempt to
escape both him and the Indians,
who, by this time, were close at hand
Quickly bringing my rifle to my
shoulder l sighted at the head of the
big brute and fired. 1t struck him