Year: 1875

Mho. TVfE AMI THE BEAR


You must look out for the sheen. wife.
These warm days will bring the bears out
of their dens. They will be ravenous, like
as not they will break into the yard and
carry off some of the sheep. l saw bear
tracks up the mountain this morning.


"Well.' said Mrs. Pope. "they need't
expect to get any of our sheep. If they
come prowling ronnd here, I'll drive them
off in some way. We need the sheep too
much to have them carried off by bears


Il wish you understood using the gun,
wife. When l am gone, worry about
leaving you and the baby all day alone.
The woods are so near, can't help think
ing some wild animals may come down
from the mountains and attack you.n


"lou need't fear about that" answered
Mrs. Pope. ''To be sure it is lonesome
with neither man nor dog about. l pre-
sumo | should feel safer if / understood
handling gun, but don't believe any
thing will come near in the daytime. SO
don't worry about us, only be sure to Get
home before dusk"


''Don't expose the baby or yourself to
any danger, and I'll be back before night


SO saying, Mr.. Pope. with bag of grain
on his horse, started off to the mill, leav-
ing his wife and baby alone in their soli-
tary log cabin in the wilderness.


This conversation occurred in the town of
Kirby, Vermont, in the spring Of
1911, when that region was but little set
tied, and when even women understood
they were in constant peril from wild
beasts. Jesse Pope's cabin stood close 10
the Kirby mountains, in whose rocky fast
nesses bears, catamounts and wolves had
their inaccessible dens. Bears especially
were so thick as TO be source of constant
dread to those who had flocks, or were
compelled to leave their homes unprotect-
ed, while they went to larger settlements
on necessary business.


Mrs. Pope fully understood the peril that
surrounded her during her husbands adj
sence. ner cheerful talk with her husband
was mere bravado. She said what she
did, as much to keep her own spirit up as
to dispel her husbands anxiety. She knew
that he must 60 to the mill, and there was
no way for her but to stay at home and be
as brave as possible. She was brave wo-
man. Nature had endowed her with cour-
age, and the surroundings of her early life
had all tended to foster and strengthen it.
She fully understood her situation, and
when her husband passed out of sight she
knew she and her baby were alone in the
great wilderness, beyond the reach of help,
should anything serious occur. But she
had alway lived in the wilderness. The
howl of the wolf and the growl OF the bear
were familiar sounds to her, and she had
become accustomed to lonely life in the
woods So, instead of shutting herself
in the house, she went on with her work
as usual


A
and put away, she brought out her ''linen
wheel"an went to spinning flax. They
must have clothes for summer wear, and
that was the season to spin and weave, be-
fore the summer set in. can remember
imagine just how Mrs. Pope looked. sitting
with one foot on the treadle. can hear
the buzz of the wheel as it flew round;
can see Just how often she dipped her fin
ger in the little cup of water, as she drew
out the fibers OF flax and dexterously
shaped the strong symmetrical thread, in
a manner that would astonish modern
housewives.


All the long forenoon her musical wheel
kept humming its pleasant tune, stopping
only now and then as its mistress either
crowed to the baby in the cradle, or looked
out to see that no wild animals were
proving about. Noon came and went.
and nothing disturbed them. The baby in
the cradle went otto sleep, and she kept on
with her work. After time she rose and
looked out again. This time she saw an
astonishing sight! Coming down the
mountain side from the woods, she be-
held full grown bear, not hundred
yards distant. lie was on his way to the
yard where the sheep were in fold, and
she knew he was after the sheep. She
had q gun, bat that would not avail any
thing. for she had never learned to use it,
She had an axe, but she knew an axe to
be poor weapon to fight bear with.
The next thing she thought of was pitch
fork. Their few sheep were q treasure to the
family. All their winter clothing was 10
come from the sheep, and now that they
were in peril she was aroused to instant
action. The one absorbing thought of
saving the sheep banished all sense of
personal danger. Instead of shutting her.
self up in the house she darted out and
closed the door after her lest anything
should modest the baby. Then running
into the log barn, she snatched up the
pitchiork, ran around the barn, and
planted herself directly in the bears path.
Brandishing her pitchfork and screaming
at him, she attempted to scare him back
to the woods. But the bear was ravenous
with hunger. and he came straight
down the hill at her, showing his
teeth and growing iiercely. As he
approached and sprang toward her. Mrs.
Pope lodged and dealt him a blow, the
iron ring OF he fork striking him exactly
on the end of the nose. The shock stunned
the bear for an instant, and during that
one instant, with almost superhuman
strength, Mrs. Pope plunged both tines OF
the fork into the bears side where she
supposed the heart to be. Either good
fortune, or the hand of Providence, di-
rected the weapon, for one OF the tines
passed clear through the bears heart, and
he fell over dead, leaving her not only
victorious. but unharmed. After the ex-
element of the contest was over, Mrs.
Pope went back to the house, shuddering
at the extremity Of peril she had been in.
But after a time her nervousness passed
OF, and she went on with her work again,
and so the afternoon wore away