| Show NOT NO loaded leu ani uc k raj A vi th a ts a very poor bidsy alati to fo be in when you meet a grizzly bilier says henry frye fryc 1 1 1 the bear reared up wid and towered toncred 4 f over henry frye its Is mouth was mas vide open and its teeth gle tn in the light henry nio niovi v lie ho just stood there gaping like a mau man turned to stone htone F I 1 U ile i ta t V j 5 V IN 36 01 I 1 ity by WILLIAM HORNE N ALL the wilderness of I 1 IN dismal swamp there is probably no animal more mor cunning and wily than the large black bear this species of the black bear often grows to weigh COO pounds and has been known on several occasions to attack a lone hunter or a trapper in the dense thickets of the swamp more than one hapless native has been known to lose the battle bear shows cunning often the din made by one of these larger killers as it attacks a cow can bo be heard for two miles through the silent swamp and ho does indeed employ weird methods in going about it ills his usual routine Is to stalk a herd patiently for several days until hs he learns the habits watering holes grazing territory and where they spend the night then satisfied with what he has learned and probably mapped out in his cunning brain ho he watts waits at a water place for the herd to approach or at night near the cattles corral in his minds eye he has already picked out the fattest of the lot when this individual approaches he springs from his place of 0 con ceal ment with the stealth of a caci cat t and launches his tremendous bulk straight atop his rys back if the victim can withstand the sudden attack and is not immediately dragged to the ground tile the bear sinks its long teeth deeply into the ridge of the neck and clam clamps P s down with all its enormous strength in this manner the vertebra is soon reached and the hapless bov bovine le collapses paralyzed often however the victim does withstand the terrific onslaught and in this case the attacker drops lightly to tho the ground and delivers terrific whacking blows to the re glon of the heart hit like jack dempsey Demp scy these blows can be ba heard for an unbelievable distance through the swamp and a native hearing the hollow whacking sounds knows immediately that some savage killer Is taking its grim toll tell ot of we with the exception of dragging the kill to its lair the bear uses the tha same tactics with hogs in t ko swamp stalking a big porker for a while he ha suddenly attacks with savage blows end and when the victim Is beaten into submission a smart slap on the side of the head with one great paw starts the hog walking toward the killers don den on that journey it Is driven wherever the bear wills by alternate blows to either side of the head and ones once at the mouth of the lair it Is quickly dispatched dragged inside and devoured at leisure bear captures hog henry frye who makes his home on a small isolated form farm near the drummonds lake section of dismal swamp probably knows more about these wily killers than any native ot of the region for during the last several years he has been molested a score of times and his last experience per peri ienco ence came near costing him his life at one time frye declares III 1 I was losing my hogs and cattle so fast I 1 thought id just quit trying to raise rals ethem them there was one old bear in particular that seemed to take a special delight in raiding my hog pen and my boy had gone with me many times on his trail with our hounds but wed never caught him one sunday morning I 1 was up on a ridge above the house when I 1 heard a hog squeal down in the hollow I 1 looked down across a little clearing carina cl bec we cor corn and I 1 saw this bl bi i v trotting along as calm as 1 so right beside my biggest p d now and thon then gouid try an and dodge around i that bear would reach out ins in a matter of fact way box its ears and start it going farther into the swamp tho hog would let out a squeal every time but railways koep keep going like tile the bear wanted it to too loo lite late to save sn cow cou 1 I t have my rillo right light handy wit but I 1 grabbed up a big stick and started i mining town down tile ho hill through the clearing and yelling 1 I got ellmost there b L fore tile tho boar bear stopped and looked a round nt at I 1 me the thou and left the hog and I 1 went galloping olt oil out of sight I 1 1 I saved iny illy hog till all right but I 1 dont think that bear wis really scared ot of me ma it was that same saino night right after supper that I 1 I 1 heard card a cow bawling somewhere down down in the swamp swami 1 I grabbed up myrine my rifle yelled to toa my boy and wa c made 0 our ur way as fast a as s wo we could toward towar athe alie sound that kept coming through the swamp pretty soon wo we could heir hear it plainer a loud slapping sound and then a bellow from tile the cow wo we hurried on oil but we get et there in ill time to siva save tier her when we finally located tier her she was lying on the ground dead and wo we could hear the killer crashing through the bushes getting away 11 i battle with a near hear I 1 but henry fryes frycs biggest adden turo ture took place a few nights later viero there had como coine a mysterious sound S from his hog poll pen situated about fifty yards back of ills his house ilav hav ing no idea lie he would have any need of a firearm ho he carried with ht him M only ills his lantern when lie rounded the corn crib and strode up t to 0 the low fence that surrounded it the hog pen lie he came face ace to face with tho the biggest and most savage of nil the bear family lie he had dealt with during his thirty odd years in the i great swamp S ill never forget that sight ho he vows as long as I 1 live when I 1 reached the fence and hold held rny my lan j 1 tern up to look over into the pen that bear raised up on its hind legs and towered over me its s mouth was wide open and its teeth gleam ing in the light 1 I move I 1 just stood Z there gaping like a man turned into stone the bear growled like lie ho was mad because id bothered him and before I 1 knew it one of his big paws flashed out caught tho the lantern and sent it twenty feet away where it crashed against a tree and flickered out for a second I 1 stood there in the dark then I 1 screamed out end and turned to run 1 I yelled again tor for my boy then something smashed against the side of my head and sent me stumbling 1 I could feel the hot sticky blood running down my face and neck I 1 knew it was where the bears claws had raked me as he slapped me then I 1 felt big hairy arms go around my neck and I 1 went down on my back right in a pile of wood I 1 had cut in stove store wood length and left there to season meets new foe something closed down with crushing force on my left shoulder I 1 thought it was all up with me then through the blood in my eyes I 1 seemed to see my boy across the yard with a lamp bobbing up and down tile the beer bear must have seen that lamp too tor for suddenly he turned me loose scrambled ambled to his hind feet and stood there glaring over me at the approaching light right then Is when I 1 felt the handle of the ax under me I 1 knew if my boy ran upon that beast he would be torn to pieces with this in mi mind nd I 1 grasped the axe got to my feet and swung it straight at that enormous wagging head the heel of the axe caught the head on the side and made a sound like hitting a rotten log I 1 guess the first blow must have killed him I 1 was scared more scared than ive ever been in my life and aidyl I hit 1 that bis big head twice more with au all my strength before the bear crumpled to the ground the skull was crushed when we examined it my face was wag ripped open my scalp split and my left shoulder laid open to the bone but I 1 guess after allI allilu lm lucky to be alive 0 dell bell syndicate WN service |
