Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1905-09-30

again. did not move this time.
sat as mOtlonless as a wooden indian
until she had her nose in the water.
Then / fairly dropped out OF that tree,
going down from branch to branch like
flying squirrel.
~ landed among the needles with a
flying leap from the lower branches.
and alIghted running. A glance over
my shoulder showed me that the bear
was after me and already halfway mp
the bank. But this gave me a good
hundred-foot start. She was stiff from
her wounds, ana rush of hope told
me that could win
"But 200 yards of terrific running
left me distressed for breath, and the
bear was coming on at full tilt. She
was something more than 200 feet be-
hind, to be sure, but getting limbered
up at every jump, and beginning TO
gain rapidly.
"For a half-mlle we raced through
the woods, l gaining in the open, and
the grizzly gaining in the brush. Then,
thoroughly winded and with the bear
close behind, Skinned up young
pine as fast as l could go.
81 was freed again, and with a fierce
old she grizzly below me and a iercer
forest fire sucking up the canon. The
wind was hot now and heavy with
smoke. Down below 1 heard the
flames roaring through the brush and
timber like furnace blast. Inside of
fifteen minutes, l knew, the pines
round me would be licked up like
matches.
even now there was no hope Of
running away from the flames Would
l have to choose between Jumping into
the arms of the bear and burning up,
or would she flee from the fire In time
to give me n chance Of escape by n
dash for the creek? There wasn't
much hope Of weatherlng the flames
in the creek, but l was most anxious
for chance to try it.
"But the grizzly didn't seem to have
a thought about the fire. Through the
smoke 1 could see her reared OIL her
launches, struggling in vain to climb
into the lower branches of my pine.
Down the canon the flames were run
ming as only wlld-fire can, but the en-
ragged brute still fought to get up that
tree. She seemed to hold against me
all that had happened and was hap
pening.
II prepared to die right there. There
was still plenty of time for run to
the creek, but from the way the grizzly
acted took it that she would hang on
till the flames were upon us. AS
faced my death l had no hard feeling
against the bear. knew something of
how the beast, harassed and wounded
by men, felt. But confess that was
rs bitter as gall toward the men for
whose amusement | seemed about to
suffer death.
Destruction was full upon us; we
were in the face of the forest fire.
There is no describing that scene. 1t
was like confused nightmare of
scorching heat, suffocating smoke and
the cracking roar of flames. The
grizzly seemed as regardless of the fire
as was the horse 1 once tried to drive
from burning stable.
"There was something more terrify,
ing than the mere fear of death about
the mighty destructiveness of it all,
and it was this, presume, that gave
me my chance. In despair was about
to close my eyes to the awful sight
| uyh I co hn
heart gave wild throb Of hope. For
moment she faced the leaping mass
of advancing flames, and then whlrled
and fed
"The next instant 1 was scuttling
| through the smoking woods for the
aal-- ----' 49, --------J
find one of the water-washed caverns
where the creek bed was deep. Trust
| ing to chance alone, rushed straight
forward, taking a flying leap into the
water from the overhanglng bank.
"As 1t happened, and it was the
luckiest happening in the world for
me- found there q water-washed niche
| back of a ten-foot waterfall.
The whole creek bed could not have
offered better hiding place, and with
q thankful heart / wedged myself into
the Granny back of the curtain of
water, wrapped my wet coat about my
| head and waited for the furnace blast
| to pass over.
I'm spite of the advantage Of my
retreat, for n few minutes l feared
that l should be roasted and smoked
alive in that hole
But after a couple of hours things
cooled off enough to enable me to pick
my way out through the smoking logs
to place of safety. My enemy, the
grizzly, did not fare nearly so well.
afIerward found her charred body
barely hundred yards above the place
from which she turned to rum
Youths Companion.
Three Boys and a Clock.