The new South-news., 1908-11-14
Between Bears and Bees

by HERBERT COOLIDGE

smoke Into both Of those assures until
The wfaihful hum OF the occupants be-
came a low. drawuy murmur.
Then / wcl' 10 tho entrance Of the
cave. cleared my lungs OF burnt rag
fumes. and reconnoitercd tho bear fam
n.y. Fortunate 10 was that with me bee
siinga cause lltile or no swelling. or
should have had no eycsight for re-
connoiioring
There was no trouble In locating the
bears The old grizzly was pccring
over the edgc of the clin, about fifteen
feet from the Juniper tree TO which !
had tied my rope. Apparently she
was planning a descent upon me. but
did not like the looks OF the smoke
pouring out OF the mouth OF my re-
treat The cub was sitting near by,
staring solcmniy down into the chasm.
now noticed for the FIRST time
that just below Mother Bruin there
were some irregularities running along
the slanung face OF the elm. which
save evidence OF having been used by
bears as footholds In gaining access
10 the cavern. had a light crowbar
with me. and took the tool and
knocked on some knobs. which. by
their claw warn surfaces. gave eyi-
dcnce Of having aided generations OF
bears In entering the bees storehouse.
ny hanging on TO my rope with one
hand and using the bar as a club,
managed TO clear the I'm OF projcc-
tions for distance OF six feet from
the mouth of the cave
While was doing this, Mother Bruin
slalked back and forth just above me.
cycling my operations belligerently. The
little fellow interested himself with
IN. movements OF the rope A~ Il
twitch.d conyulsi,oll under the shift.
Ing strain Of my weight. whercupon his
wise mother removed him from posi-
BILE harm by rough clout over the
head that rolled him over and over,
and made him whimper mournfully.
The cub was comical mixture OF
gravity and mischief. and | took lik.
ing to him from the first.
As a finishing touch In making dan
gcrous the trail OF the bears, | i'm
proyiscd n swab by tying one of the
smudre rags TO the end of my crow
bar, and with this implement smearet
the approach with slippery coat OF
crushed honoycomb. thought this
quite stroke OF genius. ard was re
garding my work with a grin OF salts
faction, when the bear. obviousl,
drawn on by the sight and smell o
the sweets. hurried TO the end of thu
trail and began to descend
My face Strengthened out with
Jerk. Like many complacent theoris
before me. | found myself filled will
alarm at the prospect OF my. schem
being subjected to a practical test.
) suddenly remembered that ! knew IN
tie as to the clinging capacities OF tn
/ bear family, and was not at all sur
I tha, the grizzly could not reach me.
A moment later. when saw the min
! hlencss with which she advanced alon
| the face OF the cliff, ! became quit
sure that she could enter the cave o
a trot II was trying moment 10
G me. | noticed. MS | tore OF the stick
a swab rag from the end OF the crov
I bar. that my rngrs were all In fu
c ter This passed In "A few second
though. awaited the approach ,
; the bear bar in hand With a conside
4 able degree Of steadness. but with II
h tie stomach for n hand.tohand figl
I with grizzly on the face OF tha
r. preclpice.
q Apparently the bear did not appro,
| " the place as a site for battlefield
n either: for just at this time. 10 m
/. great relief. she halted. and SCENE
o In more than half mind to back on
n After a few moments she began mo
c ing forward AGAIN. although MOI
slowly and warily.
l. She was seemingly drawn ON qui
q as much by the sight and smell of Il
d honey as by the desire to extermina
IS me. Reaching the "rreased" approsc
d she stopped and began tapping gree
$ ily at the crushed honey comb. 81
\. enjoyed the honey. that was eyiden
IS but my presence al the feast annoys
her. and she showed her displeasu
ID by slinning her teeth and shooting Il
e. baleful glances. The slipperiuess
| the approach now appeared stiii mo
Ia like baitline. and although near
~ right with nervous tension. began
Il feel little foolish.
d But In few minutes II came o
| that. after all. the laugh was on Il
ld bear. She became very busy and ",
re ried In search for a knob on which
I'd rest her forefoot. and little later 4
"a cided that she dared advance no I:
he ther. After polishing the cliff as {
ssl rs tie end Of her tongue would reat
ed she stood shifting from one foot