The commonwealth. (Scotland Neck, N.C.) 1896-1929, 1905-10-19

t@ EH) cause of his objection tt
killing game except fol
'meat." The mere sight of a party OF
sportsmen will set him stormine
against the practice of hunting 'jus1
to KILL One evening, as we sat watch
ing our cheerful fire in camp in the
high Sierras, he told the following
story:
Summer before last" he began, II
met OH the trail crowd of Frisco
sports who were hurrying one of their
crowd down the mountain. He had
hurt himself, they said, in getting
away from a big she grizzly that had
charged them in defense of her two
half-grown cubs that they were pump
ing lead into with their Krag-Jorgen-
sens.
"'She got away from us, after all,
they concluded, but she's wounded,
and she'll die, anyway
''The next morning l sighted a col
umn of smoke among the wild ridges.
where the head waters of the San
Joaquin rise. Late that evening, after
covering forty of the toughest miles Of
trail on record, rode up the meadow
on which the Frisco sportsmen had
camped. and found it circled with fire.
They had neglected to cover their bed
of live Goals.
Il was dead tired, but there was
nothing to do but get the crawling
flames under control before the wind
of the next morning should spread it
over the whole country. So, after a
hasty meal, took my shovel and be-
gan.
Fighting fire is hot, thirsty work,
and about midnight my throat became
low. From below me, in a dark, heav-
lily wooded canon. there came the en-
ticing sound of a mountain stream. I
dropped my shovel and started for it.
1T was pitch dark as soon as I
passed out of the light of the fire line.
Progress was. at the best, slow: but
with the usual risk of bad fails and of
landing upon rattlesnakes that one al
ways takes in travelling the mountains
at night, I Numbered on down the
rough. timbered slope, finally nearing
the water without calamity.
LAS l was feeling my way along
about 200 feet from the creek, I was
startled by low. fierce growl from
the darkness below. followed immedi-
ately by the terrific crashing of a
heavy beast thrashing its way toward
me- through the brush.
Scared out Of my wits. turned to
rum but tripped and fell, sprawling. be-
fore going a dozen steps. The sound
close behind of a huge body lumber
ing over the logs brought me with cat
like agility to my feet. Then I ran
squarely against tree, and without
| seconds pause. went up it like Il
squirrel. The beast was under the
tree before 1 was out Of reach, and /
heard the swish Of a huge paw as it
| made a desperate pass at my legs.
THE thing had come upon me SO
suddenly that perched for some time
| among the topmost branches before l
! collected my wits: then gathered my
self together and tried to get a line on
the situation.
ut was very plain that was freed
by bear. for the menacine srowls OF
the beast came up from below, and
| through the branches could see its
eyes cleaning like two balls of fire.
| 1T was evident that was in a bad
box. There wasn't thing to do but
| sit in the dark and think. Long before
the end Of that night had concluded
that had stumbled upon the ferocious
she bear that the city men had crippled
This made it look pretty bad. for
knew that she was still lively on her
feet, and yet feared that she would
be too sick to travel and ugly enough
to camp under the tree until 1 fell out
''Then there was the thought that
I might not have chance to stay In
the tree very long, for there was the
fire cracking away up on the ridge
The canon would probably burn out
when the day wind came up, and then
where should I be? Would the bear
| pull out when the fire approached, OF
would she hang on and growl until II
was too late for either of us to gel
| away?
'There was no way Of settling the
question, so sat in my treetop, look.
| ing down at the two glowing balls OF
fire at the base Of my refuge, and fig
ured on the proposition until my poor
| old brain ached.
AT last daylight came, finding me
stif with the night chill, very tired and
hungry. but desperate enough to dc
anything. descended the tree as fal
| as dared. and examined my enemy
1t proved to be the biggest, leanest
fercest-looking old she grizzly l had
ever seen. She had a couple Of bulle1
wounds; but she wasn't broken down
anywhere, and although somewha,
lame, showed signs when pelted he1
with pine-cones Of being pretty active
on her feet.
although, as said before, 1 wa.
desperate enough to do anything,
crawied back into the top boughs of tn,
| tree, where the sun was now shining
this was the only thing a sane maj
could do.
II sat there without a hope or tn,
sign OF hope, unless, indeed, it wa
that the fire, which had by this tim
crept down into the canon a mile O
so below, would drive away the old sh
grizzly. But with this hope came tn
terrible fear of the flames / hav
fought many a fire in these mountains
and have seen the flames sucke,
through canon like raging furnac