The Washington herald., 1913-04-27

innate friends Of his early life.
had been killing people in the native vii
lagos, did charge before being shot at.
My son Kermit and 1 stopped it at forty
yards.
Another bull elephant, also unwounded.
which charged, nearly got me, as l had
just fired both cartridges from my heavy
double-barreled rife in killing the bull 1
was after-the first wild elephant l had
ever seen. The second bull came throug n
the thick brush to my left, like a steam
pillow through a light snowdrift. every
thing swapping before his rush, and was
so near that he could have hit me with
his trunk l slipped past him behind a
tree. People have asked me how l felt
on this occasion. My answer has always
been that l suppose I felt as most men
Of like experience feel on such occasions.
At such a moment hunter Is so very
busy that he has no time to get fright
ened. He wants to get in his cartridges
and try another shot.
Rhinoceros are truculent, clustering
beasts much the most stupid of all
the dangerous game I know. Generally
their attitude is one of mere stupidity
and bluff But on occasions they do
charge wickedly, both when wounded and
when entirely unprovoked. The first l
ever shot I mortally wounded at a few
rods distance. and it charged with the
utmost determination, Whereat j and my
companion both fired. and more by good
luck than anything else brought it to
the ground pust thirteen PAGES from
where We stood.
Another rhnoceros may or may not
have been meaning to charge me; 1
have never been certain which. 1t heard
us and came at us through rather thick
brush, snorting and tossing its head. l
am by no means sure that 1t had fixedly
hostile intentions, and indeed with my
present experience 1 think it likely that
II l had not fired ii would have flinched
at the last moment and either retreat
ed or gone by me. But | am not a rhi-
noceros mind reader, and its actions
were such as to warrant my regarding
II as a suspicious character. I stopped
1t with couple of bullets. and then
followed it up and killed it. The skins
of all these animals which 1 thus killed
are in the National Museum at WASH
ington.
At Close Quarters with Grizzly.
But, as l said above, the only narrow
escape 1 met with was not from one
of these dangerous African animals, but
from a grizzly bear. 1t was about twen-
ty-four years ago. I had wounded the
bear just at sunset, in a wood of lodge
pole pines, and. following him.
wounded him again. as he stood on the
other side of thicket. He then charged
through the brush, coming with such
speed and with such an irregular gait
that. try as l would, l was not able to
get the sight of my rife on the brain
pan, though / hit him very hard with
both the remaining barrels of my maya
zine Winchester. 1t was in the days of
black powder, and the smoke hung. At
ter my last shot. the first thing / saw
was the bears left paw as he struck at
me, so close that 1 made a quick move |
ment to one side. He was however,
other jump. and while in the very act
Of trying to turn to come at me. he !
like a shot rabbit. |
, l. etaoin etaoin unun |
BY the way, 1 had a most exasperat- |
ing time trying to bring in his skin. |
was alone, travelling on foot with one
very docile little mountain mare for |
pack pony. The little mare cared moth
ing for bears or anything else, so there
was no difficulty in packing her But the /
man without experience can hardly real /
re the work it was to get that bear skin
off the carcass and then to pack it. wet,
slippery, and heavy, so that it would |
ride evenly on the pony. l was at the
time fairly well versed in packing with
diamond hitch" the standby of Rocky
Mountain packers in my day, but the
things / was accustomed to pack were
not wet and slippery.
With infinite labor l would get the skin
On the pony and run the ropes over it.
Inth to all seeming it was fastened prop
,rly. Then off we would start, and after
going about hundred yards I would
notice the hide beginning to bulge
through between two ropes. / would
shift one of them, and then the hide
would bulge somewhere else. / would
'hift the rope again, and still the hide
would flow slowly out as If 1t was lava.
rhe first thing 1 knew it would come
lown on one side, and the little mare,
With her feet planted resolutely, would
wait for me to perform my part by get
ing that bear skin back in its proper
,lace on the Mcclellan saddle which
was using as a makeshift pack saddle.
rhe feat of killing the bear the pre-
,ious day sank into nothing compared
With the feat of making the bear skin
ide properly as a pack on the following
hree days.
The Old Guides Scorn.
The reason why ] was alone i'm the
Mountains on this occasion was because,
or the only time in all my experience.