The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1907-10-11

| quarter OF a mile wasn't going 10 last
long, for the bear was getting used
TO his harness, and was running bet
ter every minute.
Then | brought out trick had
learned of the Mexicans. The handle
end OF the RATA. il you could call it
that. tapered into a six-inch buckskin
pepper. l could throw my rope full
length and rap an animals nose with
that pepper nine times out OF ten.
And when it raped. the hair flew
and the animal turned back, if there
was any turn back 10 him.
II tried this on the bear. and IL
worked like a charm. Riding abreast
of him, raped him as fast as
could coil my RATA and throw 1t: and
each time he edged off good bit
| from his bee-line for timber.
Soon l had him running parallel
to the beach. There were rocks and
driftwood ahead, so l headed him
still farther round, till he was run
ming toward the ocean.
"'Bill.' yelled, can't you cut the
roper
''He was hacking away at the raw
hide like a good fellow, but his eyes
were full of sand and his progress
was fitful and jerky. The combina-
| ton worked against him and his aim
was pretty bad. Then again. as I
told you before, his knife lacked a
lot OF being razor. Anyway, l could
see that Bills buckskins would be
| frictioned to a wafer before he could
saw that rope in two.
Il began to wonder what would
happen when we reached the ocean.
At that moment the same idea came
| to the bear, and he doubled like
jack-rabbit. all but running over Bill
as he cut back for the forest.
"And this time he was surely head
ing for cover. r,othing that / could
do could swerve him an inch. | rode
alongside as before and raped his
nose as viciously as knew how; but
he only rooted his head down and
dug out for the brush harder than
before.
"A mouthful of sand had long
|
now l began to get scared for him
on account Of what might happen. IL
had had a steady horse things
wouldn't have looked so bad; but the
one l was riding, as | told Bill to
begin with, hadn't been broke to
hold, and besides, being young, was
| tender under the saddle. 1t was ten
to one he would buck If hitched to
that running brute. In fact, he had
bucked the day before, when hitched
to yearling calf.
But close on ahead was a line Of
low hills, piles of sand, really, that
the wind had drifted against the
timber. From the sight of them
| got an idea that gave me strong
hopes for the owners nephew.
BILL / shouted. Bill! Can
you hear me?'
''He spat out a lot of sand, and
finally said he could.
I'm going to rope him when we
get to those sand-slides. This horse
won't hold for a cent, but | can give
you a short minute to clear yourself
of that rope
while | shouted | was coiling my
lariat for a cast. IL was ready, with
no time to spare, when the beAr
struck the sandhills, luckily at the
bottom of a good loose slide. | rode
abreast Of him till we were halfway
to the top, then snapped my RATA
over his head.
"My horse didn't buck, as I had
expected; he couldn't to advantage,
being nearly winded and up to his
knees in sand. But he wouldn't
stand for the strain at all, and in
his fiinching and shirking, turned
side on in spite of me, and was pulled
over. l stayed with him and kept
the turns round the horn of the sad
die.
"A glance as | went down showed
me Bill doing his best to clear HIM
self, but IL he was succeeding at all,
he was mighty slow about 1t. 1t
looked as If the bear would roll down
on him at any moment, and ! did
some swift thinking for a couple OF
seconds. Then | knotted my RATA
fast to the saddle-horn, and as my
horse foundered to his knees, flung
myself clear Of him. That left the
bear anchored, but far from station
airy.
II had a knife in my pocket that
I could shave with, and Jerking 1t
out, I made for Bills lariat, and cut
il with one slash.
Now you get,' said I.
And he scooted, for the bear was
fighting the rope like a demon, and
rolling straight for US. left by way
of the horse, now fioundering and
sliding down the hill parallel to the
bear, and in passing. cut my RATA.
Then we scattered, Bill one way.
the other, my horse for the home
ranch. and the bear for the brush.
II promised Bill not to tell the
other boys, and he was a good, mod
| est side mariner ever after Youth a