GABE AND THE GRIZZLY.

Mataura Ensign, Volume 11, Issue 833, 14 December 1888, Page 2

GABE AND THE GRIZZLY.

AN IDAHO HUNTER'S BEAR-FIGHT. A few days ago Gabe Lucker went up in the Wahsatch range of mountains to kill some game, says a Biackfoot, Idaho, letter to The Cincinnati .Enquirer. After bringing down a large elk he dressed it, cut off some of the choicest pieces, and covered, the remainder so that it would not be disturbed by wild animals,, intending to return and secure the rest. ", He then shouldered the steak, and was walking along the side of the mountain on his way homeward, and was only a few rods distant from where the elk had been slain, when suddenly out rushed a huge grizzly from a thicket near by, and made toward Gabe in a twinkling. It was hot the first time Gabe faced a grizzly, for he had killed many a bear, and knew no such term, as coward in their presence. .. So he thfJßWiJown his load quickly but coolly, , and hauled up his Winchester and fired. Gabe had intended to break the bsar's neck, but the closeness of the animal, and the necessary haste in shooting his aim, caused the bullet t > go wide of 1 his aim, but it tore out the bear's right eye and deprived the brute of. half of its power of vision. Theshock scarcely checked the mad beast, it rose On its feet, and, before he could fire a second time, the bear struck his gun from his hands, and it went spinning rods away while the force of the blow made Gabe whirl around for a moment, as if he was a top in the hands of a schoolboy. He fell some distance from the bear, yet he was on his feet in a twinkling and braced himself for a grapple. Uttering a horrid growl the bear followed up his stroke, and, with outstretched arms, both hunter and bear clinched in hand-to-paw contest and fell to the ground, rolling and tumbling over and down the steep, craggy sides of the mountain, the bear bellowing and roaring with pain and rage, while the hunter, who had drawn his sharp knife from its sheath in his hunting-belt, was viciously plunging it to the hilt at every stroke into the sides of the animal. Blood quickly followed, besmearing both combatants. The embraces of the bear, though at a disadvantage, were terrific, and Gabe nearly lost his breath during the frightful hugs, but it only made him ihe more desperate, as he began to think his time had about come and he must get iv his work qnickly. By a lucky stab and slash of the knife on the bear's head Gabe cut the left eyeball of the animal in two. and completely destroyed the brute's vision. As the eyeball streamed from its socket the bear became doubly enraged, and, catching the left Bide of Gabe's head in his mouth, he instantly tore off an ear and part of the hunter's scalp. In a moment more both Gabe and the bear,

bight in each other's embrace and fighting desperately, had reached a fifty-foot precipice, down they went, whirling and tumbling among the bush and rocks below. The bear, being heaviest, struck first, and Gabe was thus "saved from instant death. The hard shock caused both to loosen their holds and bound several feet apart from each other. ! The bear was evidently stunned by the concussion, and Gabe was on his feet first and out of the former's reach. Th!e grizzly's" wrath in endeavouring to finjd his enemy was terrible; He ran in various directions, tore" the ground, anjd wreaked his vengeance on the bushes by pulling and tearing them into shreds. Keeping out of the reach of the infuriated monster, Gabe endeavoured to find tHe knife which he had chopped from his grasp in the fall. At last he discovered the missing weapon, and, grasping the handle firmly, he approached- the Grizzly and plunged the blade into the lattery's body with all the strength he could summon. < The bear whirled in a twinkling and Gabe made a narrow escape,, leaving the knife still sticking ih the animal's body. The bear now plunged around among the rocks .and bush in the maddest agony. Remembering his Winchester arid revolver^, Gabe made a long detour to g^t to the top of the precipice to secure theu). On nearing, the place he fainted and lay senseless with exhaustion. How long he remained •in that position he does not know, but thinks it must have been at least an hour. On qpming to he was so weak from loss- of blood .that he could only crawl to his^gun arid rovplver on bis hands and knees. The -bear's' stroke had broken the gun so that it was useless, i Resting a while and recovering his strength, he returned below the precipice and found the bear sitting up and rubbing his eyes in a vain effort to see.. Gabe opened fire, and each shot^^the. bear would charge in the direction of th£ sound, but, being sightless, and tbi ground uneven, he would fall and tumble around in the most reckless manner. Teiji shots finished him, and Gabe went home and secured help, and when he. was hauljed to the hunter's cabin, he was found to weigh twelve hundred pounds. The loss of an ear and part of his scalp, besides being lacerated in various other places^ did not effect Gabe-s courage, and when seen -by our correspondent lie declared that he was a match for t any grizzly that ever walked. ;