THE BEAR AND THE BOAT

New Zealand Tablet, 27 April 1911, Page 789

THE BEAR AND THE BOAT

Dr T b w r story A with .an element of novelty is related by Dr. J. Winslow Ayre m his Life' in the Wilds of America Dakota?' 161 ° CCUrred on the Little Missouri Paver, iff. coo „ A young Indian told ns one morning that lie had seen an old bear and cub on the bluff of a small creek on the opposite side of . the river. ; ; Several of the party nr once took a small boat and started in? search of tfe came" resolved to take the cub alive and keep it for a pet g ’ They proceeded ,up the creek for a hundred yards op more.-, hen,^hastily.#clambering ‘up the bluff, ’ tlfey soon Jobe Sn . C " b m “ reCCSS ° f th r00l;s - b "‘ ‘he da*°„ y as S ™l . ‘This suited,the hunters very well, as they were ; not in n bloodthirsty mood. By means of a rope they secured

the cub without difficulty, but when they began to drag it down the cliff : it made a noisy protest, and by the time the men entered the boat with their prize they discovered the old bear bounding downward in pursuit. Just at the mouth of the creek a large rock projected over the water, and toward this point the bear advanced. : Several shots were fired at her, but not one took effect. . The men thought that they could easily row away from, her, but, -to their consternation, just as they were abreast of the rock she sprang from the extreme point directly into the boat! £ The celerity with which the gentlemen vacated the premises was really astonishing. Over the side of the skiff and into the water they plunged and swam to land, regardless of guns and wet clothing. The situation was ludicrous, or would have been so to persons in a less perilous position. ‘ Meantime the boat had acquired sufficient headway to carry it down the river in midstream, with the bears still in it. Later it drifted ashore and was recovered, but the bears had escaped.’