River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1906-05-17


explained that if everything went we'll
he would hire all the chiefs and young
braves for his show.
AFTER we got to bed pa said he was
almost sorry he told the chief that
he would take a grizzly bear by one
ear. and cuff the other ear with the
fiat of his hand, as he didn't know
but a wild grizzly would look upon
such conduct differently from our old
bear in the show used to. Any per-
son around the show could slap his
face. or cuff him, or kick him in the
Stats, and he would act as though they
were doing him a favor. The big
game hunter told pa that there was
no danger in hunting grizzly, as you
could scare him away, if you didn't
want to have any truck with him, by
waving your hat, and yelling: cit,
Ephraim'' He said no grizzly would
stand around a minute If you yelled
at MIN. Pa made up his mind
he would yell all right enough, if we
came up to a grizzly.
Well, we didn't sleep much that
night, cause pa kept practicing on his
yell to scare a grizzly. for fear he
would forget the words, and when they
called us in the morning pa was the
poorest imitation of a man going out
to test his bravery that / ever saw.
While the Indians were getting ready to
go out to a canyon and turn the dogs
loose to round up bear, pa got a big
knife, and was sharpening it. so he
could rip the bear from Genesis to
Revelations. After breakfast the chief
and the Carlisle Indian, and the big
game hunter, and the cOwman and /
mouth of the canyon, where it was
very narrow, and they stationed pa by
big rock, right where the bear would
have to pass; the rest of us got up on
a beach of the canyon, where we
could see pa be brave, and the young
Indians went up about a mile, and
started the dogs. Well, pa was a
sight, as he stood there waiting for
the bear, SO he could cuff it's ears, and
rip itSopen, right in sight of the chief,
and skin it; but he was nervous, and
we could see that his legs trembled
when he heard the dogs bark up the
canyon. | yelled to pa to think of
Teddy Roosevelt, and Daniel Boone,
and Buffalo Bill, and set his teeth SO
they would not chatter and scare the
bear, but pa yelled back: Never you
mind. l will kill my bear in my own
way, but you can make up your mind
to nave bear meat for supper"
Pretty soon the big game hunter
said: There he comes, sure's you are
BORN and we looked up the canyon,
and there was something coming, as
big as load of hay, with bristles
sticking up a foot high on it's back, and
its mouth was open, and it was Looping
right towards pa. Gee, but l was
proud of pa, to see him sharpening his
knife on his boot leg, but when the
great animal got within about a block
of pa, the great father seemed to
have a streak of yellow. for he dropped
his knife and yelled: "Git, Ephraim, y
in a loud voice, but Ephraim came
right along, and didn't git with any
great suddenness. When the bear got
within about four doors of pa, he saw
the great father, and stood up on his
hind legs, and looked as big as a
brewery horse, and he opened his
mouth and said: "Woof," just like
that. That was too much for my pa,
who began to shuck his clothes, and
then started on a run towards the
mouth of the canyon. The bear looked
around as much as to say: We'll,
what do you think Of that?" and we
watched pa sprinting toward the In
dian camp like a scared wolf.
The big game hunter put a few bull
lets in the bear where they would do
the most good, and killed it. and we
went down in the canyon and skinned
it, and took the meat and hide TO
camp. where we found pa under a bed
in a squaws tepee, making grand hail
ing signs OF distress, and trying to
tell them about his killing a bear by
letting it run after him, so it would
tire itself out and die of heart failure.
When we found pa he had come
out from under the bed, and was look
ing at the hide of the bear to find the
place where he hit it with the knife, as
he said he could see that the only
chance for him to kill the bear was
to throw the knife at it from dis
lance, cause the bear was four times
as big as any bear he had ever killed.
Pa took out handful of gold pieces
and distributed them among the In
dians, and told the Carlisle Indian to
explain to the tribe that the great ia
Their had killed the bear by hypnotism,
and they all believed it except the
chief, who seemed skeptical, for he
said: Great father heap brave man
like a sheep. Go play seven-up with
squaws" Poor pa wasn't allowed to
talk with the men all day, cause the
old chief said he was squaw man.
Pa says they don't seem to realize that
a man can be brave unless he allows
himself to be killed by bear, but he
COWS no will chow them that q great