Year: 1876

A correspondent of the New York
Times writes the following from Delhi,
n. Y, Dec. %:


The head-waters or the Delaware
River are about thirty miles northwest
OF here, in a wild and unfrequented por-
ton of the Catskill Mountains, in Scho-
harie County. There are very few set
Elements in the region, but about year
ago man named Jonas Butler put up
cabin on one of the mountain tribu-
tarles of the stream, having contract
with parties in Greene County to peel
bark and cut railroad ties. His wife
and two children, one girl about six
teen and the other an infant, occupy
the cabin with him. Butler goes into
the woods sometimes several miles from
his home, and often does not return for
two or three days. On Sunday last he
went out to his work, leaving his family
in their cabin. The section is noted for
its wild game, deer and bear being
plentiful, but the present season bears
! Lave been unusually numerous and bold,
and the pig-pen of the Buffers has twice
been depopulated. About > O'Clock
Sunday afternoon Mrs. Butler and her
daughter were preparing to feed the
pigs, when an immense black bear was
discovered trying to get out of the in
closure with fine, fat shote in its en-
brace. Mrs. Butler seized a heavy
wooden mallet, used in driving wedges,
and her daughter took up an AK. They
ran and jumped into the pen, followed
by the dog, and commenced an attack
on the bear. 1t held on to the pig,
however, until blows of the women and
bites of the dog became too much for
him, when it turned on his assailants
1t seized the dog and crushed it to death.
The girl rained in blows with the AK
on the head of the bear, when suddenly
Brain made for her. With one sweep
of his great paw he sent her AK flying
out of the inclOsure, and pressed her
into one corner. The mother, seeing
her daughters danger, increased the
fury of her assault with the mallet, and
although the bear got the girl in his
embrace, he dropped her before doing
her material injury to ward off the at
tacks of the mother. The floor of the
pen was now slippery with blood that
was flowing from the wounds of the
bear, for the girl had struck with the
edge of the AK, and buried it somewhere
in the animal every time. When the
bear turned on the mother, she shouted
to her daughter to run to the house and
get the rifle. While Jennie was gone
her mother succeeded in keeping the
bear from getting too close to her, but
when the daughter returned with the
rifle she was about exhausted, and was
fighting from a corner, into which the
bear was pressing her. Jennie put the
barrel of the gun through a chink in the
logs and fired. The ball entered be-
hind the bears fore shoulder, and he
fell to the floor and died in short
time. 1t was long time before Mrs
Butler could summon strength enough
to climb out of the inclOsure; and, as
soon as the excitement that had suS-
tained the daughter was over, the lat
ter fell fainting to the ground, and it
was two hours before she could get
about again, Her clothing was nearly
all torn from her by the claws Of the
bear; but neither of the women Sis
tanned any serious injury. Monday,
Jennie walked out to where her father
was at work and told him of the adven-
ture, when he returned home with her
and skinned and dressed the bear. 1t
weighed over 800 pounds.