Free press., 1906-10-06
HANK S
GRIZZLY
BY HARRY IRVING GREENE.
(Copyright.)

| ice put dIlQ llCIl Sdl QOWIl OIl d 10y W
await the boiling
"The queerest reptyle ever 1 met" he
shid, was up in Utah Drifted into
feelin' pretty good, shot, few holes
through the ceilin, not meanin' no harm.
Bimeby down comes a little feler with
| spectickles and looks me over He was
body and short legs, like one of them
what do you cali them dogs, Clawed,
\ what they bring up under bureau so
their legs can't grow?"
'Dachshunds"
"Yes, | reckon ther's it. His legs
was SO short that when he stood up his
| feet just touched the floor and that's all.
| Pretty soon he says, I must insist that
you cease shootin' through my bedroom.
/ 1t is very annoyin' and if you do so
any more will be compelled to take
| the law into my ownNhands.'
| How So? l asks, curious enough.
Well, he goes down in his pocket and
| fishes around for a spell like he had lost
| somethin', and finally digs up a little
peewee, putty shootin' weppin about the
size Of a cigarette and holds it out in
| front of him like a woman h'ists up a
dead rat by the tail. I shall shoot back,
says he, frownin'.
"For minnut was knocked speech
| less, then l come to slowly. OF all the
sawed-of, hammered-down, nail-bitin'
death-breathin', roarin', tearin' bullies
ever l seen, you are the wust,' l says, and
turns away. But the next mornin', as
| was settin' speculatin' on the here
after, up comes this same little banty
and hires me to take him into the hills
Come to find out he was a buggist, one
of them fellers that is always stickin'
their noses into the private business of
toads and reptyles to- find out what
they are doin' when they are home and
in the buzzums of their families. Well,
we outfitted in a way that would make
a pals dinin'-car look like a lunch
counter and struck out, and immediate
that feller commenced to get busy
Every time he would see a damned bug
a-crawlin' along the trail he wanted to
get off his cayuse and foller him home
Durndest fool.
"About a week afterwards I seen that
we had jumped the claim of an old
grizzly. First | noticed where he had
wallered and then rubbed up against
rampike and slashed if with his claws
-settin' his trademark on it and stakia'
out his claim to that range. | didn't say
nothin', but at last the dude seen it him
self, and blape me if he didn't know
what it meant-never was SO surprised
in my life. He got interested at once,
buzzin' around here and there like fly
on a free lunch. Said he wanted to
take a pictur of him with the little box
he had packed on his back, wanted to
foller him up and take his fotygraf at
clus range. I told him nothin' would
make me more happier; that I dearly
loved to set down beside grizzly and
swap news with him-1ind of a fad of
mine-but that I always waited until
circus come along before gratifyin' my
hankerin'
"'Oh, sugar! They won't hurt you,'
he answered. Don't be afraid l have
read all about bears in books, and they
amt dangerous
That's all right, too, but suppose he
happens to be gum chune bearP /
asked.
ga what?' says he.
"'A gum chune bear. Never heard
of one? l am surprised that you didn't
read about them in your biography. A
gum chune bear is a grouchy old bach,
or maybe a dissipinted old maid, what
gifts down on sassiety and longs to wipe
it out He noses around until he gets
| a big wad of spruce gum and he chaws
on that day after day to strengthen his
Jaws When he gets so he can chaw a
crow-bar off first shot out of the box,
then he goes a-wooin' trouble Better
| goa little careful with this bear, pard
he might be gum chune.'
"Well, instead of scarin' the little
| skeeter, that only made him more anx-
ious to spy the brute. should dearly
| love ter see a gum chune that l might
inspect his maxillaries,' says he, what
ever them might be. / didn't say no
more, but l thought if a little, half
| growed son of a microbe like him dast
stay in the same country with a grizzly
a full-growed man like yer Uncle Hank
ought not to be afraid to walk up to
one and pull his .whisllers out. Well
we camped there, and, sure enough, a
couple of days after / run into the
tracks again, smokin' hot, so / hops
back right lively to camp.
THE buggist was backed up against a
tree with pair of binders on. Said he
was examinin' the hairs on the legs OF
a skeeter to see what tribe he belonged
/ to, but when l told him / had rounded
up his game he dropped the inseck, sud-
den. Where is hep asks the little man.
"'About half mile up the gully yon-
der. Better straddle along right peart,
because 1 didn't tie him none too fast,
says l.
"'Certain; to be sure Had I best
take my weppin? he says
~'As you please says I. But I
wouldn't advise you to peck at him over
much with it. If you ever hit a pore
bear with that piece of ordinance, there
wouldn't be enough left of him to pick
| up on the pint of a pin and examin'
through that maggifyin' machine of
yourn.' But he fetches it along, just
the same, and. purity soon We come to the
tracks, which same were about the size
OF wash-tub. The perfesser takes off
| his glasses and ooiishes them bit then