South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1913-10-06
OLD JIM A MAN
WHO KNEW NATURE
Figured That Bears Were Not
Having Fun, So He Rugged
Up a Device to Enable Them
to Roll Hoops.
BY W III. ALBURN.
SID Correspondence

STAFF Correspondence.
YELLOWSTONE PARK. oct. s. ~
Old jim Pelton must have been a
great naturalist. "Curlie," the stage
driver. told me about him as we climb
ed the continental divide between the
Upper Geyser basin and the lake.
Jim had him a little cabin in these
parts" said Curlie. some years back.
he was a scine-tist. Jim was. You
tourists come from all over creation TO
see the nature an geology an animals
an such in this here park. but Jim
Understood 'em. Git-up-bOys, And
he cracekd his whip at the horses
Teaches Bears 60 Roll Hoops.
Jim lowed as how the bears
wasn't havin' enough fun So he
takes a hoop an goes out where
passed. O. bears was dozin' in the trees.
an hOllers an rolls the hoop around
TO show 'em how much fun it is.
Next evenin' jim wandeTs 10 that
bear dump back of Old Faithful inn,
an there's most "a dozen bears. old
an young. with hoops often the empty
barrels rollin' 'em around like mad,
whOOpin' and grutin with JOY an
the cubs tryin' to roll 'em up the trees.
The bears got no they'd stop pro-
vision wagons an pull out the barrels
an yank of the hoops an roll 'em
down the road. Finally they tackled
some kerosene barrels an that cured
'em. Git-up- boys
Jim's Pelican AaerOplane.
Jim was the first man 10 see the
possibilities in pelicans. 1t was just
after the Wright brothers started
fin Jim set on the shore o. the
lake, estimatin' the carryin' power Of
pelicans. Then he started in TO ketch
and train some.
The way to ketch pelicans is with
flyin' fish. Jim had trained some
Yellowstone trout to fly, fittin' cellu-
loid wings 10 'em. He caught two
pelicans an trained 'em till they'd
gee, whoa an haw like hawses, an
they towed him all over the lake in
canoe.
Jim reckoned ten o. them would
carry his weight. So he trained ten
pelican team. an they raised him
right often the water, him sittin on
sort o boat-sled he'd built.
1T was grand. But a flock of
eagles from the canyon SwOoped down
an started a fight, an Jim dropped
so feet TO the water, an was like TO
drownd. So he gave up pelicans.
Git-up- boys
The Happy Boiled Frog.
Then. there was Jim's boiled frog.
He'd read in scientific books how
frogs wouldn't never notice gradual
changes in temperature.
You know them bOilin springs
that empty into the lake at Thumb
Station. Well. Jim took a big green
frog an tied him off shore. where the
cold water was tempered by the hot
water runnin in. he proceeded slow
and cautious. Every day he moved
that frog one inch nearer shore. where
the water was hotter. An at last ne
had him in water at the bOilin' point,
an Mr.. Frog still kickin'. He'd got
acclimated TO bOilin' water. YOU see.
Then Jim dumped him into that
bOilin' spring off shore, with the rim
o limestone around il. an the boiled
frog was as happy as a baby In
bathtub. But one day he jumped over
into the cold water, an died o. pneu-
monia, Git-up-boys,
Beavers Build Concrete Dams.
There's the beavers, now. Beav-
ers are folks, like men. Injins al
ways knOwed that.
Jim reckoned as now animals that
had enough sense 10 cut down trees
an build dams out Of EN- would a
whole lot rather build concrete dams.
So he went back along Duck creek an
built a little dam just TO show the
beavers how. wOrkin by moonlight an
the beavers watchin him. Then he
busted his dam and went away,
leavin' some sacks O cement on the
bank.
Next night Jim comes back. an
looks. maxim no noise. an there's
that whole bunch o. beavers gnawin'
open the sacks. miXin' the cement
with gravel, an building a fine rein
forced concrete dam, with a neat spill
way. usin jack pin for the frame
work. That dams still there. You
can go an see. Git-up- boys,"