The Wolf Point herald. (Wolf Point, Mont.) 1913-1940, 1930-07-25
Continuation of
CHAPTER XII

oCGlnS q L oceARf JUN UARCa -
shout of victory, that poor Ernest
might gain courage to approach
the scene of conflict, which at last
he did, and Joined is in examin-
ing the dangerous animals, as
they lay m~otionless before us.
Every point was full of interest,
their wounds, their sharp teeth,
their mighty claws, the extraor-
binary strength of neck and Shout
der, all were remarked and com
mented on, and observing that
the shaded brown hair was tipped
with glossy white, l thought that
these might be the silver bears
mentioned in Captain Clarke's
journey to the northwest coasts
Of America.
well, my lads said l, IF we
have failed to catch sight of SER
penis, we have at least made good
radiance of some other bad rub
bfsh! These fellows would one
day have worked us woe, or l am
much mistaken. What's to be done
next?"
why, skin them, to be sure"
said Fritz. We shall have a
couple of splendid bearskin rugs"
AS this process would take
time and evening drew on, we
dragged the huge carcesses into
their den, to await our return,
%concealing them with boughs of
trees and fencing the entrance as
well as we could. The ostrich eggs
we also left behind us, hidden in
a sandy hole.
BY sunset we reached the tent
and joyfully rejoined the mother
and Franz, right glad to find a
hearty meal prepared for us, as
well as a large heap of brush
wood for the watch-fire.
When a full account of IL adj
ventures had been given, with a
minute and special description of
the bear fight, the mother related
what she had done during our
absence. She and Franz had made
their way through the wood up
to the rocks behind it, and dis
covered a bed of pure white clay,
which it seemed to her might be
used for making porcelain. Then
she had contrived a drinking
trough for the cattle out of a split
bamboo.
She had arranged a hearth in
a sheltered place, by building up
large stones, cemented with the
white clay; and, finally, she had
cut a quantity OF n and
brought them, on the cart, to be
in readiness for the building we
had in hand.
/ praised the thoughtful dill
gence which had effected so much
that was of real and definite use.
In order to try the clay, l put
some balls of it in the fire now
kindled, to burn during the night,
and we then betook ourselves to
rest under shelter of our tent.
l awoke at dawn and aroused
my little party. My first idea was
to examine the clay balls, which
l found baked hard and finely
glazed, but too much melted down
by the heat-a fault which, see
ing the excellent quality of the
clay, l knew it would be we'll
worth while to remedy.
After breakfast, and our ecu
toned devotions, we harnessed the
cart, and took the way to the
bears den. Fritz headed the party,
and, coming in sight of the en-
franc to the cave, called out
softly:
Make haste and you will see
a whole crowd of wild turkeys,
who seem to have come to attend
the funeral obsequies of their re-
spected friend and neighbor, !
Bruin, here. But there appears to
be a Jealous watcher who is I'M
willing to admit the visitors to
the bed of stated"
The Watcher, as Fritz called !
him, was an immensely large bird, {
with a sort of comb on his head, {
and a loose, fleshy skin hanging J
from beneath the beak. Part of
the neck was bare, wrinkled, and '
pur%plish-red, while around it, rest '
ing on the shoulders, was a downy
collar of soft, white feathers. The
plumage was grayish-brown, mark I
ed here and there with white {
patches; the feet appeared to be
armed with strong claws. This t
great bird guarded the entrance f
TO the cave, occasionally retiring t
into it himself for a few minutes;
but as Don as the other birds {
came pressing in after him, he t
hurried out again, and they were
forced to retire. s
We stopped to observe this cur
ious scene, and were startled sud t
denly by a mighty rush Of wings t
in the air above us. We looked I
up; at the same moment Fritz I
fired, and an enormous bird fell t
heavily head foremost ON the G
rocks, by which it's neck was
broken, while blood flowed from d
a wound in the breast. e
We had been holding back the C
dogs, but they, with Fritz, now Il