The Virginia enterprise., 1905-01-13


must have come from bee-trees in the
woods. Against these we could do
nothing but wait for nightfall.
now demanded explanations of tho
mishap, but to my surprise found
that Lancaster could tell me but little.
All he knew that on rising that morn
ing he had found the hives wrecked,
and had rushed on his bicycle to tele-
graph for help. He suspected that it
was the work of thieves. probably OF
some camping party of roughs from
town, for we had no neighbors within
four miles.
We examined the wrecked hives
carefully. A great deal of the honey
and comb was missing. The boards Of
the hives seemed to have been
wrenched or split apart, and the thin
section-boxes looked as il they had
been chewed. I already suspected the
identity Of the robber. and when I
found long claw-marks across the
boards felt sure I was right. There
was only one animal, wild or tame,
that was capable of such a feat-the
honey-lcVing bear.
Bears, as we'll as deer, were not un-
common thereabouts, but we had never
triad TO find either. But now that
Bruin had found us, it was quite cer-
tain that he would return to renew so
sweet an acquaintance.
Lancaster had double -barrelled
shotgun in his tent, which I think he
had never fired. I took the bicycle,
rode four miles to the nearest settlers
cabin and borrowed his rifle, with a
magazine full of cartridges. We de-
cided 70 lay an ambush that night.
Daylight lasts late in that latitude
and season, and at nine o'clock it was
hardly twilight. Some of the bees were
still flying about, not yet recovered
from III cir excitement. We selected a
screened nook on the hillside, where
we could overlook the whole establish
ment, lay down in the middle of a
clump of weeds and waited for night.
Darkness seemed never coming.
Long before dusk had fallen a big
white moon rolled up over the burned
woods. flooding the wilderness with
clear light.
This illumination kept the agitated
bees restless, and we could see them
lowering thickly about their en-
frances, while the homeless ones
craWled and buzzed wretchedly over
their ruined hives.
! did not expect the bear to return,
IL he came at all, before midnight.
Lancaster and were both tired, and
the night was warm. Soon l found
my eyelids dropping. Again and again
l reused myself and punched Lancas-
ter with my elbow, but I must have
dozed, after all, although never
seemed to lose consciousness Of the
dark trees and vines and the white
hives in the moonlight.
But suddenly, with a shock of ex-
element, became aware of dark OBJ
ject moving among the hives. At
the first glimpse l took it for a large
hog, but as my vision and my brain
cleared, recognized the shutting gait
and the dark fur Of our honey thief.
Lancaster was breathing heavily.
| put my hand over his mouth and
punched him, smothering his startled
ejaculation. The bear had made
leisurely inspection, shifting at hive af-
ter hive, till he seemed to find one that
pleased him, when he reared up and
clawed off the three supers with an
easy GESTURE.
This sight must have wrung Lam
casters heart, for he jumped up and
let fly one~barrel of his shotgun. Tho
range was about SO yards, and it is
not likely that he did much damage;
but the bear made a leap aside and
stood glancing about uncertainty.
Fearing that he would get away, l
sighted at his neck and fired.
The bear reared up and fell over
backward with snort, upsetting an
other hive. We both ran toward him;
and my companion, supposing him to
he done for, ran up almost to arms
length and discharged his other bar
rel. He was so near that he missed
completely, and blew out the side of
the next hive, whereuron he began to
belabor the struggling animal With
his gun-butt.
l shrieked a warning. The bear,
with an aggrieved yelp, clutched the
gun-stocl1 in his teeth, and I heard
it crunch like a shaving, Lancaster
recoiled, astonished, and the bear man
aged to regain his feet, and made a
lunge which my partner barely es-
capped. I fired again and missed, and
Lancaster took to flight, with the ene-
my in close pursuit.
l ran after them. The bear limped.
holding up one fore foot, but still dis
played such agility that my fellow
spairist had all he could do to MAIN
tain his head.
Our cleared space was only about
SO yards square. Lancaster apparent
ly had his heart set on a large black
ened pine, standing among the bushes.
He did not seem to know that a black
bear climbs trees with about the same
facility as a cat. He plunged into
the tangled weeds, tripped Immediate
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