The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-07-28
THE BEAR WHO
1 HELD UP TRAINS.
He Was Merely Seeking to Yank His
Recreant Master Back
Into Duty's, Path.

pik bTOWn DehT WHICH, JDby tOiu tuo Oh my
last trip was then at large in the Ararst
country. having In his possession the nag
staf OF u locomotive. with the red signal
flag attached TO IL, with which ina VIA
causing no little annoyance tn railroad
men by suddenly appearing on the track
ahead of approaching trains, the danger
signal olutchsd in his forepawS, and COM
pelling the engineers either to come to a
stop or take the chances Of throwing their
trains in the ditch by attempting to run
the bear down. When they told me his
all | could find il in me TO say was:
"'Mercyp
"'Oh. weIl,' they said, 1t ia only a tame
bear. At least, it was only a tame bear
Then they told me how this bear came
into the enjoyment Of tho pastime II seemed
to find in the manipulation OF the Flagstaff
with the red nag on It,
Seems TO me they said that il was then
about a month since the bear had come
into the coal region thsreabouts, in com
pany with a son OF Italy, who was showing
of the tricks IL could do, and while show
ing them on in the streets Of one OF the
big towns one day he was joined In the
task by a collection Of hoodlums who had
made up their minds to put the bear through
some performances that we're not or the
programme. Against this the bears master
had protested with such a fine Italian hand,
welding as It did a long and heavy staff,
that several OF the amateur local bear
trainers were put out Of business. although
a pistol had gone Of in the hands OF one
Of them. lodging a bullet in the Italians
shoulder. This dropped the curtain on
the show, and the son OF Italy, hustling
his bear along. shook the dust Of the town
from his feet, not waiting to even have
his shot up shoulder attended to.
He travelled northward. 30 they told
me. and he must have done so or he
wouldn't rave landed at the little settle
ment along one OF the railroads where they
said he had, and where his bear began to
enjoy life. When he arrived there he made
up his mind to have the bullet removed
from his shoulder. inc the doing Of this
necessitated his going to another o
some miles away. where there was a doctor.
He made a decker with a sympathetic
farmer, whose name they told me was
Ebenezer Woolcott, who for a considera-
tion agreed to keep the bear until the
Italian could get out OF the hands OF the
doctor and come back. Al the time l was
up there he bad not vet come back. nor
had he been heard OF. And things had
happened.
charge three weeks. having comfortable
quarters in the woodshed. which sdioined
the family kitchen, they said, and just
an hour before daylight one morning. the
week before ] made this trip up there. the
Woolcott family were awakened by q tre-
mendous hubbub in the kitchen, and, &C.
cording to the way was informed, the
farmer and his hired man. together with
nthar Tnnrnbora IF tho family hQafirrQd
themselves for an investigation. Proceed
ing to the kitchen they were amazed to find
their bear boarder doing what might have
been called a hilarious cakewalk around
the room with a kitchen chair FOR . partner.
He was giving voice to frequent snorts and
yeIps of u~nmistaGable enjoyment, and sur
prised as the farmer was, he sized up the
situation NJ once.
THE Ing Eyetalian bruin is as drunk
as a inker''
And they assured me that such was
indeed the lamentable fact. The bear had
broken out Of the woodhouse into the
kitchen through the connecting door. The
cellar door opened on the kitchen and the
door leading to il had been left open the
night before. They did not go so far as to
tell me that the bear knew there was a
barrel Of hard cider in the cellar. blu there
was no hesitancy or faltering in their assur-
ances that the bear had gone down into the
cellar, pulled the spigtt out OF the barrel
Oh UHIu ClItT I'LL WIFI tDo IhfllVlk tIuct
had made pools in depressions in the cellar
floor had Tapped il up with such gusto
and in such volume that whsn ne returned
to he kitchen he toted with him q jag
which would have made trouble at a
mixed ale party.
st was under the exhilarating influence
OF this jag that the bear had opened the
programme of entertain ment the ak ecution
OF which had called the Wooloott family to
the kitchen at that uDseemly hour. When
" ~ A. 49,
and he had got a focus on II he dropped
the chair he was waltzing with, made a
lurch for the hired man, got him and went
whirling around the room with him. Now
as any man hired or unhired, might reason
ably be expected TO yell Justify for help
under such conditions, II they had told me
that Farmer Woolcott's man hadn't done 30
on this occasion I would scarcely rave
believed them. But they told me that he
had, and 50 Of course l ouldn I doabt. |
would have given almost anything to have
had just q look at this hired man and the
rest Of 'em, but they told me he was three
miles up the creek fishing; that Farmer
Woolcott was over in b next township
attending a stone frolic and that the rest
OF the family were up on the mountain
uckleberrying.
The hired man yelled Justify for help,
they said. and tried the best he knew how
to get away from the embrace Of the rollick-
ing bear, all OF which added to the bears
sense OF the fun ne was having, and he
snorted and howled the louder. and STUN
bled and staggered around with his new
partner tight in his hug.
Seems TO me they told ms that IL must
nave been all OF three minutes that Farmer
Woolcott stood looking on at this perform
ance, the rest Of the family having retreated
hastily to other parts Of the house. before
he recovered sufficiently fror. his surprise
TO pitch in and give the hired nan a hand.
But he pitched in at last. and after a wres-
Ting match which seemed to enhance the
Joy OF Bruin. and there being two against
one, the hilarious intruder was at last bound
with a clothesliDe and rolled out OF
doors 10 sleep OF his drunk in the yard.
Then Farmer Woolcott and the hired man
went back to bed. only to find when they
got up in the course Of a couple of hours or
40 that Mr.. Bear had somehow rid himself
Of his bonds and was not TO be found.
The bear was gone, ow ing for three weeks
board, leaving a bill for darpa ges "a big as
$40, and his Italian sponsor was evidently an
abscopder AZ we'll. So Farmer Woolcott
was all het up over IL. they said. and talked
loud. Even when his hired man came in,
toward noon, and said he had seen, and
would declare il to his dying day, that bear
peeking over the stone wall and looking all
tore up with remorse, Farmer Wooloott,
they told me, cussed all the louder.