The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1913-03-13
BATTLED WITH ANGRY GRIZZLY
Cook Who MistoOk Bear for Friend
Has Thrilling Encounter.


cook, but could not get anything to
do
Things were looking pretty black
when one day, quite by accident, l
met a former friend of mine. After
q few words of greeting, he asked
me where I was working at present,
and I told him in how bad tx L
was and how hard it was to find any
kind of job.
We'll" he said, elf you would
care to go out to some camp l might
get you something" He added that
he was working in the office of min
ing firm, which owned several large
mines, and that this company in
tended to start a camp out in Idaho
within the next week.
Two days later I received lnstruc-
tions to call on my friends COM
pany. l saw the manager, who told
me that if l was. willing to go to a
small mining camp to cook for seven
men 1 could start that very evening.
l promised to be at the. depot at
the appointed time and went back to
my hotel to pack up.
At 500 in the evening I took the
train to Butte, Mont, arrived there
at $40 next morning and changed
for the train to Armstead, where [
met Mr.. Frank Turner, the engineer,
and five miners. The road from
Armstead to Gilmore, Lima county,
was at that time under construction,
and for this reason we had to wait
until / o'clock to get a work train
to the latter place. From Gilmore
to the mine was nearly nine miles,
and after arriving there we had to
stop at the hotel for the night, and
then proceed next morning to the
mine on horseback.
Wearied out, We finally reached
our destination, in the heart of the
Bitter Root mountains, in the fore
noon, and l had to commence work
at once. l had to cook for seven
men-Mr. Turner, his assistant and
five miners.
I was looking around, thinking
about nothing in particular, when !
heard some curious sound coming
from the trail leading to the mine.
/ listened, but neither saw nor heard
anything else, and l was just about
to go in and start on work when the
sound came again-like the breaking
of a small board. l started in the
direction of the noise, getting my
eyes used to the uncertain light, and
presently saw some object moving
along the trail about thirty feet
ahead of me. Thinking that perhaps
some prospector had got into diff
culties and was crawling along the
trail, l stood my shovel down and
called out: "Halloa! Is anybody
my shout, so l started to investigate.
! was within ten feet of the object,
and getting ready to pick up the fig
ure I could just discern on the
ground, when, to my horror, the
mass all at once Strengthened up and
presented itself to me as full-grown
grizzly bear of immense size!
The bear had one of the leg-bones
I had thrown out under his right
arm, just in the same way as a
human being would hold parcel. l
noticed that Then he let out roar
and started towards me. l made
jump backwards, too frightened to
think. Next moment the bear drop
ped the bone and, raising itself on its
hind legs, gave an angry growl, show
ing his awful teeeth. Then he came
for me, his fore-paws stretched out
as if he would like to take me in his
arms.
Wild with fright, turned and ran
for the door of the cook-house; but,
to my horror, l could not open it;
the snow 1 had thoughtlessly stamp
ed down kept it tight shut. l pulled
at it with such force that l tore off
the lock and half of the plank, but
the door itself would not move an
inch. All this happened quicker than
it is told, and meanwhile the bear
came nearer and nearer. He was
only a few feet away when thought
struck me. Turning round, with one
bound 1 was in the meat-house, the
door of which, as mentioned before,
stood above the ground level and
opened easily. bolted it behind me
with a meat-hook the instant / was
in, and 1 was not a second too soon,
for the bear was there, scratching
with his long paws at the boards, al
most as soon as l turned round.