Custer County Republican. (Broken Bow, Neb.) 1882-1921, 1906-12-27
MAINE BEARS ARE
WISE SURE ENOUGH

where black bears once owned the
land and all upon 1t, and whore to this
day their fondness for mutton and
honey is sadly realized, there sat upon
the bench in front Of the post office
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
of 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
that beasts of the forest had no real
eourage-that they fought against
desperate odds merely through ig-
norance. Sim Belts, the historian,
pondered deeply to rake up some in,
stance that would contradict this the
DRY. 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
stalked the earth bears had, on the
average, more brains than men. And
ne proceeded to prove it.
Now" said Jones, you don't never
hear of bar bucking injines on the
railroad. do ye? Sartinly not. Moose
does. an alters gifts tn wust of 1t.
/. Naturally mines is iron, an can
make hash outen any critter that
walks. Moose amt got brains enuff to
know it: bars has.
"S'pose all you fellers recollect that
mess of old junk that I helped haul
up to the station here last summer?
Well. that was what was left of one
of them autyNobiles after a good,
bright bar had whack at it. Hap
pened down here couple of miles be-
low Passadunky Twas an old she
bar that had two cubs, and one day
when the family of them was a
crossin' the road to get into better
berry patch, what should come whiz-
Yin along but some sports in a big
steam Vaughn an run over one of the
cubs an laid it 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 enuff to drop the two Of
them. but I'd no gun with me, so
Just sot there an watched.
Pretty soon the old bar come out
an shifted at the carcass of the dead
cub, rollin' 1t over with her paw and
grunting around as though she eX-
pected to wake it up. Seeing that the
cub laid there stiff an still, the old
one hustled off into the bushes with
tsother CUB taggin' on behind. I
s'posed that was the last of it, but
that's where had something new to
harm bout bars.
"Jest a few rods up from where the
old Bar went into the bushes. an
standin' cIost to the road, was a big
spruce, with an old stub dead
trunk, lodged ag'in it. That stub was
two feet through, if it was an inch, an
1t was jest barely caught on the
spruce. SOS the least jolt would bring
It down, Well, sir, you can. believe
me or not. but it's gospel truth-that
old bar she fioundered up to that
shere stub an, putin her shoulder
ag'in 1t, brought it down, slam bang
right across the road.
We'll, sir, never see the like, an
for some time l 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-5lockin' Of the road ag'in the time
they'd come back
Well, says to myself, says l.
There's NO tellin' when the fellers'll
come back: 1t may be a week. An SC
havin' other fish to fry, and 1t bein
none of my mess, anyway, kept on
was gone couple of hours, an
when I come back along, cuss me ii
that old bar an her cub wasn't asset
tin there in the edge of the bushes as
though they expected comp'ny. When
went past they never budged an
havin' no gun. / come right along an
left them to tend to their own bis'ness
II hadn't got more'n ten rods
further long toward the village when
heard the great tootin' an, looking
ahead | see the steam Vaughn a
streskin it down the road. Now,
says l to myself; now, that there
nasheen must a-cost thousand dol
lars, an with all respec' to the bars
feelings, 'twould be a cussed shame
to see it go to smash ag'in an old stub
not with ten cents so I hollered fel
the sports to hold up but guess they
didn't hear me, for they flew past In
a cloud OF dust
Here says I, is where the old
bar gets square, an | hustled back
after them down the road. It's q
thick growth along there, an hard tc
see anythin' 'cept in broad daylight
so fore the sports knew it they were
right onto that big stub. ! was jest
near enuff to see what happened with
out gettin' hit with any of the wreck
First l heard yell then a bump, an
then come a smashin' an crashin' like
breakin jam OH the West Branch
That macheen jest riz up like a bat
Iteau on rock, an in minute the all
was f1l1 Of il The two Snorts theN