Waterbury evening Democrat., 1906-12-21
MINE BEARS ARE
 WISE SURE ENOUGH

z Up In PaSsadumkoag, Maine, where black bears once owned the land and all upon 1t. and where to this day their fondness for mutton and honey is sadly realized, there sat upon the bench in front of the post of1ce a bunch of villagers. They were just from the grocery, the wise man. the historian and the boss hunter of the village. They had settled some points when the talk drifted to the question SOf courage in a man and beast, and they had to sit down on the post office bench and have 1t out.
 Uncle Penny, the wise man, said Chat beasts of the forest had no real scourage-that they fought against desperate odds merely through ig- norance. Sim Betts. the historian, bondered deeply to rake up some in gtance that would contradict this the ory. but before he could recall or in vent anything, Peletiah Jones, the boss hunter, declared that. while no bigger fool than the bull moose ever Atalked the earth, bears had. on the average, more brains than men. And lhe proceeded to prove 1t.
 Now" said Jones, you don't never hear of 5'ar bucking injines on the railroad. do ye? Sartinly not. Moose does. an alters gifts tn wust of it. iNat'rally. Injines is iron, an can make hash outen any critter that walks. Moose ain't got brains enun to know 1t; bars has.
 "Spose all you fellers recollect that mess of old junk that helped haul Mp to the station here last summer? Well. that was what was left of one of them autymobiles after good, bright bar had whack at it. Hap pened down here couple of miles be- How Passadunky. Twas an old she b'ar that had two cubs. and one day whom the fambly of them was a crossin' the road to get into a better berry patch. what should come whiz- zin' along but some sports in big steam waggin an, run over one of the cubs m laid 1t out cold.
 "The old bar an t'other cub got acrost all right an stood at the edge of the road a-lookin' kinder dazed. I was close enuf to drop the two of khem, but I'd no gun with me, so l dust got there an watched.
 Pretty soon the old bar come out m snilfed at the carcass of the dead cub, rollin' it over with her paw and igrunting around as though she ex- pected to wake 1t up. Seeing that the cub laid there stiff an still, the old iOne hustled oil into the bushes with k'other cub taggin' on behind. I e'posed that was the last of it, but that's where had something new to 3arn bout bars.
 "Jest . few rods up from where the old bar went into the bushes, an standin' clost to the road, was big spruce. with an old stub (dead Nrunk), lodged ag'in it. That stub was two feet through. if 1t was an inch, an it was jest barely caught on the spruce, sos the least jolt would bring 1t down. We'll, sir, you can believe me or not. but it's gospel truth-that old bar she floundered up to that there stub an. putin her shoulder ag'in 1t, brought it down, slam bang, right across the road.
 Well. sir, I never see the like. an for some time I sot there, wonderin' what the old bar was up to. Then, grajerly, it began to leak through me that she was after revenge on the sports that killed her cub. She was a-blockin' of the road ag'in the time &hey'd come back.
 Well. I says to myself. says I. There's no tellin' when the fellersll come back: 1t may be week. An so havin' other fish to fry, and it bein' none of my mess. anyway, kept on. I was gone a couple of hours, an when I come back along, cuss me if that old bar an her cub wasn't a-set- tin there in the edge of the bushes as though they expected comp'ny. When I went past they never budged an, hayin' no gun. I, come right along an