Smoked Out. •

Evening Post, Volume LXVI, Issue 152, 24 December 1903, Page 15

S moked Out. •

What a bear may do under given circ umstances may be guessed with Reasonable certainty by one who has had experience, but it is not always safo to risk much on the uccuracy of the guess. Bruin's generul nature ia not to be depended upon in special cases. Ho has individual characteristics and eccentricij ties and in sxibjecb to freaks, and these Variations from tho line of conduct which he is expected to follow are what make most of the trouble for people who aro ; after his pelt. Morgan O'.ark, the old bear-hunter of Siskiyou, never hesitates about going into a den in the winter to drive out a bear, provided tho cavern is wide enough to let the bear pass him. Ho takes a torch in his hand and stalk* boldly in, becauso his. experience hns made the proceeding seem perfectly safe. "All you've got to do," says Morgan, "is to stand to ono sido and keep quiet, and the bear'll just pcoot by without noticing you. It's the light that's bothering him, and all he's thinking about i.s gotting out of that hole aa fast as ho can. He don't like tho smoke and the fire, and he won't pay any attention to anything else until he gets outside, but then you xrant to look out. Ho goes for tho first live thing in sight when hog clear of the cavo and the smudge, and he don't go very slow eithor. Jim ljruckett, found that out qver in Squaw Valley one day. Ho found a bear in a don, and built a firo at the mouth to nmoke him out. The firo was burning rather slowly, Brackctt thought, and 'he atood looking around and waiting for something to happen. While he had his back turned to the den bomothing did happen, and it happened dog-gone sudeku. Thnt Jlro was plenty fast enough for tho boar,, and the old cuss came out without waiting to be choked. He- came out gallcycahoo, and the first thing ho saw was Bracket t leaning on his gun and waiting for the show to begin. He just grabbed Bracket t by the back of the neck and slammed him around through the manxnnita brush like a dog shaking v groundhog. Brackett told me that he novcr felt ho turprised nnd hurt in his life. Ho hadn't cal'lated on that bear coming out for a good two minutes more ; but mebbo the boar had stronger objections to smoking than Bruckett know. If it hadn't ' beon for Brackott's little cur dog, that he supposed wasn't fit for nothing btifc barking 1 at chipmunk«t I reukon tho bear would have chawed and thumped the lifo out of him, Tho cuv seemed to tumble to the situation right away, and he went for tho bear's heels in good shape. It generally takes time and a few knockout cuffs from bear's paw to teach a dog that there's two ends to a bear and only one of thorn safo to tackle, but that little ornery kiyi knew it from the start/ If there's anything a bear can't stand, it's a dog nipping his heels, and when the cur begun snapping at his hind legs and. yelping, he lost, intercut in Brackett and attended) to jtuo disturbance in the rear The little cim was cute und spry enough

to k'ap out of liia reach, though, aud he ' mado such «, nuisjncu of himself, without doing .my, aeiious d.image, of cour.se, that, the bear got dixgusted with the whole i>erfoinmneo,and hiked out through the- brush. Bucket r iwo hurt, too badly to follow him or to fi [0 a gun, and ifc was two "months btfore ha was ablo to get around. But he wouldn't havo sold that little scrub for all the money he over «aw." Budd Watson, who used to hunt and trap on the I'm River and the M'Uloud, had an ndventuie with v beur that didn't conduct his part of the hunt nccoiding to Iloyle. Budd and Joo Mills tracked v, big Cinnamon to a den in* the mountains near the M'Cloud and built v big Hmudge to smoke him out. The wind blew tho wrong way to diive the smoke in, and so Budd took v torch and went after the bear, leaving Mills on guard outside. Like Morgan Clark, ho know the bear would pass him head down and make for the open air without delay, and he wasn't afraid. When the boar got up with a growl at the appearance of the torch and started for the exit, Budd quietly stepped aside and gave him room to pass, but the Cinnamon developed individuality in an unexpected direction and made a grab for Budd's right leg as he passed. Budd threw his leg up to avoid tho grab, lost his balance, and fell fiat on top of tlho bear. Instinctively he caught hpld of the thick fur on the bear's hind quarters with both hands, still holding the torch in hi* right but dropping his gun, and, winding Jus legs about tne bear's body, he rode out into Ihe daylight before ho hardly knew what had happened. Mills was ready to •shoot, when the bear appeared, but, seeing his partner riding the game, he was too much surprised to take tho brief chance offered ut the bear's head, and in another instant it was too late. To fire after the pair had passed was too dangerous, as he might hit the rider instead of the steed. The Cinnamon, in his first panic, plunged wildly down the hill, trying to shake off his strange burden, and went so rapidly that Budd was afraid to let go. But Budd's principal fear ~was that the bear would recover his presence of mind and turn upon him, and his game was to keep the beast on tho jump ns loug as he could, tiusting to chance for a way out of the scrape. The torch, made of rags soaked in oil, was still blaming in his right hand. Taking a firmer grip with his legs and a good hold just above the tail with his teeth, he applied the torch to the bear's rump. This application and the hairraising yells of Mills, Who was plunging along madly in the wuke, caused an astonishing burst of speed, and the Cinnamon thundered through the brush like a runaway locomotive on a down grade, with such lurches and rolls and plunges that Budd dropped his torch and hung on, tooth and nail, for dear life. Tho unfeeling* Mills was taking a frivolous view of tho case by this time, and as ho strode rapidly along behind, losing ground at every jump, however, ho encouraged Budd and the bear alternately with .flippant remarks : "Stick to him,* Budd! Whoaauw ! Go it bar I", "You're tho boss bar-buster, old man. Can't buck you off!" "Whoopee Hellitylarrup!" "Who's bossing that job, Budd;' you or the bar?" "Say, Budd, goin' ter leave mo here? Give a feller a ride, won't yo?" "Hi-yi ; that's a bully saddlo bar!" . But Budd was waiting for a chance to dismount, and ns the bear rose to leap a big log in his path, Budd let go all holds and slid head first to the ground, He bumped his' forehead and skinned his nose on ft r>>ck. His legs nnd back weve sorßtched and torn by the brush, his clothes were in tatters, and he was almost >casick from Vhe lurching motion of his steed. Mills came up louring with laughter. Ho thought it wns tho funniest thing he ever, had seen in his lifo. But Budd was not a man of much humour ancT he failed to appreciate tha ridiculous features of tho adventure. He got up slowly, ruefully brushed awpy the blood and dirt from his face, and solemnly and methodically pave Jqo Mills the most serious and matter-of-fact licking that a man ever got in this world. — Allen Kelly.