The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1915-04-18
BILLYS BEAR FIGHT
By HUBERT EARL.

admiration doubled by the knowledge
OF the wonderful strength that lay In
his powerful muscles.
well. boy" said Bill at last. with a
yawn. Il rather think we'd better turn
in now. Wrap yourself good or you'll
bc stiff in tho mornin'.'
| do not know what time it was. but
closed my eyes when I was suddenly
awakened by the sounds of a fierc,
struggle. with great amount of low
choking, growing, and subducd mutter.
ing. I srrang up forgetting my blank,
ct. which tripped me. and nearly pitched
mo headlong into the fire.
When | finally reached my feet and
saw the cause Of the row, 1 was more
than amazed. There was Bill huGgine
i'and being Rugged for dear life by a good
sized hear. 1t was nip and tuck, and
Selling my rife l danced around trying
to get shot at the bear. Bill caugh,
sight of me, and cried out in jerks:
"Boys-Tn nevcr-forgive you II you
kill him. It's the first-chance I've had
TO strangle-a bear and. by gum. I'm
er-Soin 10 stranrle-this one.
The bears claws had already played
havoc with his clothing, and his legs
We're bleeding in more than one place.
Back and forth they struggled. one of
the hears forepaws around Bills neck
and the other around mis- waist. Bill
had the bear by the throat with one
hand. and with the other held his head
Stn
Suddenly they tripped on the edge of
the slope that led in gentle descent
to the stream below. ! jumped forward
this time, determined to put an end to
it. but before I could reach them. down
they went. rolling over and over the
slopinG ground. fighting away like mad,
until. with a crash they struck the thin
ice on the stream and plunged \out OF
sight.
1t was a bright moonlight night. and
the hole they made in the ice looked
black and ugly. I jumped down the
bank. and seeing the roots of an old
tree running out near the spot 7 made
for 1t. l crawled out on the roots and
yelled to Bill TO let me settle it.
IF yer fetch him, boy, I'll never for
give yer. I'm not done vet by long
shot, and Ill down the critter IL it takes
all night
"dltNtu lHe Jun. altOCetncr 100 Scrl-
Gus for fun. l thought. Their struggles
were fearful. and l screamed. and would
certainly have fired at the bear had 1t not
been for the fear of hitting Bill.
By this time they had worked over to
the roots, and then realized what Bill
was up to. He got one arm around them
to brace himself. and with the other
clutching the bears throat, he slowly
and by main force pushed those fearful
red gaping jaws away from him. Slowly
and with almost superhuman strength he
pushed the head further away until
finally he forced it under water.
/ could see the claws of the animals
forepaw dig into Bits shoulder l could
see his violent struggles as he strove to
get his head above water, but Bill held
him under.
The fight grew weaker and weaker,
and then all was still except the quick
painting of Bill. At last with a deep sigh
his chest relaxed, his hand gave up his
prey, and a few bubbles showed where
the bear sank. Slowly Bill made his way
to,where / was standing, and putting out
his hand. said:
THANK We. boy: you had nerve to obey
me. and that makes a good hunter"
He was pretty nigh exhausted and
badly clawed. While I helped him to
patch up his wounds temporarily
learned that the bear had sneaked into
camp during the night and stumbled over
Bill, who gr: bbed him. The next morn
ing We fshed him out Of the water. and
found him a large specimen and foe
well worth letting alone.
tCopynshi. 49,. BY Harper Brothsn)