The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1908-01-24
dtP' ';;,,;;;;';,,.E{$; q; !
MAJOR sTONER's BEAR.

While Major Stoner was living in
Johnstown, and not long after he
commenced housekeeping, large
bear came into his wheat field, doing
no little mischief. To destroy this
grain destroyer he erected a staging,
and watched repeatedly for him, but
his vigilance was all in vain, and the
wheat, when ripe, was harvested. AS
the corn began to fill in the ear, bruin
again thrust himself upon the hos
pitality of the major. His bearship
soon found, however, as have some
more worthy though less courageous,
that the charities of the world are
granted grudgingly to strangers. For
several evenings after his first en-
trance the husbandman vainly sought
an interview with his unwelcome
guest, with malice aforethought
ranking in his breast, death intent
absorbing all his thoughts, and a
rife loaded with two balls resting on
his arm.
At length, in one of his nightly
watchings, he heard his dusky Wis
itant testing the quality of the tender
ears, and although the night was
dark, he approached sufficiently near
to gain an indistinct view of him,
and instantly levelled and fired. At
the report of his rifle, agreeably to
concert, a large watch dog, confined
in the house, was let out by Mrs.
Stoner, and as the interloper re-
treated from the corn, was soon yelp-
ing at his heels. He leaped fence
into a field where a lot of fax had
been spread, and after pursuing for
some distance the dog returned home
In the morning blood was observed
on the fence where the animal had
crossed, and it was conjectured that
II wounded he would not return. I'M
agine Stoner's surprise, therefore, the
very next day, when neighboring
woman came running to his house,
near which he chanced to be at work,
to tell him that the bear had come
back, and was then in her orchard,
but short distance off.
Leaving the dog confined in his
dwelling, to be let out If he fired,
armed with his rife he ran to the
orchard. He was not long in getting
a shot, and soon the dog was at his
side. The bear, badly wounded, was
overtaken by Growler at the roots of
a dry tree, and several times, as the
former tried to ascend, tho latter
pulled him back. Without leaving
his tracks after he fired, the sports
man, as was the custom, lodged an
other charge in his rife. To his
chagrin he found that the .stopple to
his powder horn was broken off, and
he was obliged to cut hole in the
horn to obtain charge of powder,
This occasioned some delay in load
ing, and by the time he had finished
his dog was crying most piteously.
Not pleased with being so uncere-
moniously drawn back, the bear
turned upon his adversary, and sue
ceeded in getting paw of the latter
in his mouth.
A dog in distress never fails to
bring down the vengeance of it's own
er upon the object causing it; and
hurrying to the tree where was en-
acting the tug of war, he thrust the
muzzle of the piece into bruins
mouth to pry open his jaws and lib
crate his canine friend. Not alto
gether pleased with the interference,
the grain and apple eater struck
blow at the intruder with one of his
monstrous paws, tearing off one leg
Of his pantaloons, and leaving the
prints of his nails on the flesh. The
end of the gun being still in the ami
mails mouth, he discharged it and
blew out his brains. The yell OF the
dog attracted the attention of several
neighbors, and just as Stoner fired
second time, Lieutenant Wallace and
his hired man Hulster, arrived at the
scene of action, armed with pitch
forks.
The bear proved to be very large,
and had one white paw. On exam
lining, to learn the cause, it was found
that one of the bullets fired at him
in the cornfield had passed through
the centre of a forefoot while in an
erect position, and the animal had
sucked it until the inner part was as
white as snow.-The Trappers of New
York