Evening Star Newspaper, September 13, 1931, Page 73

Music PART 7. he Swnday Stae Magasine WASHINGTON, D, C, From a Coprighted Painting by W. R. Leigh. “4 CLOSE CALL> SEPTEMBER 13, 1931. Reproduced Through Courtesy of Schwartz Galleries. When the Grizzly Gave Battle Then It Was Time for the Hunter to Shoot Straight or Run for HisLife The Most Feroctores Animal of the Far West, a Dangerous and Deadly Antagonist When Fully Aroused or Wounded. EAR stories are in a peculiar way a part of the American tradition. If David Crockett had not been a mighty bear hunter and had not been facile in tell- ing bear stories he would never have been elected to Congress and then have become a kind of myth representing the Mis- sissippi Valley frontier, “B’ar hunting ain't as easy as scaring a wild turkey, not by a 16ng shot,” an old hunter used to say. Nobody who has read David Crockett can forget his account of following dogs afoot for hours one dark night, wading an icy river and then coming to the tree in which the bear had taken refuge. Crockett could hardly see the creature in the darkness, and he could find no dry fuel to ignite with his flint so as to make a fire. Then after a shot that scared the bear down, but did not wound him, he and the dogs tussled with the fierce beast in a crack that had been made by an earthquake untu Crockett stabbed him with his knife. “I suffered very much that night with cold,” says Crockett, “as my leather breeches and everything else I had on were wet and frozen. But I managed to get the bear out of the ¢rack and butchered him. Meantime I had made a fire, but it was a very poor one, as [ could not find dry wood, end as soon as I lay down to sleep I felt tia’ I should freeze un- less I took more exercise. So I got up, and, yelling with all my might, jumped up and down. But my blood was now getting cold, and chills had me in their grip. I was so tired, too, that I could hardly walk, but I thought I would do the best I could to save my life, and then, if I died, nobody would be to blame. So I went to a tree about 2 feet through, and not a limb on it for 30 feet, and I began climbing up that smooth part to where the branches came out, then locking my arms about it and sliding to the ground. The friction made the insides of my legs and arms feel mighty warm wnd good. I continued this exercise until day- light, and how often I climbed the tree and slid down I don’t know, but I reckon at least a hundred times.” Indeed, bear hunting was not so easy as scaring a wild turkey, and, in addition, i§ was the most dangerous sport known to the pioneer world. Consequently boys and men alike nursed the ambition to be known as bear kill- ers. Although Jim Baker was one of the most noted guides, scouts, trappers and hunters of the West, the act that brought him real fame was a bare-handed attack on a young grizzly. The only weapon he had was a knife; the bear would not run, and Jim Baker finally got the best of the duel. After it was over he declared that he would never tackle another bear with- out a gun. HE black bear, fully aroused, was dangerous enough, but it was mild compared with Uncle Eph, the great grizziy—ths most fero- cious and powerful animal known to the terri- tory of the United States. Until the grizzly learned how deadly man is, it would some- assailants. They had no time in which to re- charge their muazzle-loading rifles. “Hurry!” yelled Glass as he saw the animal rushing toward them, “we’'ll both be made meat of as sure as shooting!” Then, followed closely by his companion, he boited through the thicket. The brush was so dense they could scarcely make their way through it, but the weight and strength of the bear carried him over all obstructions and he was soon upon them. Meantime they ap- proached the edge of the thicket and saw a bluff just beyond a small opening. Shouting to his companion that their only chance was to climb the bluff. Glass led the way to it. They were running like race horses, and when nearly By J. Frank Dobie ‘Author of “Coronado’s Children” and Special Articles for. The Star’s Sunday Magazine. times hold its ground instead of running. It was exceedingly tenacious of life, and a bullet that missed killing it often resulted in a charge on the hunter. More than one hunter found a grizzly’s paws fatal One such attack by a grizzly has kept Hugh Glass’ name alive for more than 100 years, and it seems destined to live for centuries to come. Hugh Glass belonged to a party of fur trap- pers led by Maj. Andrew Henry, who in the Summer of 1823 were in the country drained by the upper Missouri River. One day he and a companion, while passing on foot through a cherry thicket, spied a very large grizzly bear rooting in the ground for pig-nuts. They both fired and both balls took effect without in- flicting a mortal wound. With a roar of agony and rage the bear at once sprang toward his across the opening Glass tripped on a stone and fell. As he arose he looked up Into the jaws of the bear, reared on its hind legs and preparing to hug him. Keeping his presence of mind, he called to his companion to close in on the other side of the bear and shoot him with his pistol; at the same time he fired his own pistol. Even while it was being dis- charged the bear knocked it from his hand with one blow of its paw and, fixing its claws deep into Glass’ body, rolled him to the ground. But Glass never gave up and never lost his wits. Somehow he managed to draw his hunting knife and then followed a duel between claw and steel too gory and horrible for description. At length, his flesh, as well as his clothes, in tatters, Glass released bis knife and sank insensible to the ground, ap- parently dead. His companion meanwhile had watched the encounter, spellbound, too excited to reload his rifie. Then, thinking that Glass was dead, he fled to camp and narrated what he had seen., The trappers were on the point of moving en. Not long before this they had had a critical encounter with the Arikara Indians. They were in a wild and unfamiliar country where enemies lurked. The need for pressing on te the mountains was urgent. Maj. Henry dise patched two of his followers to bury Glass, directing them which way to proceed in order to rejoin him. Ons of these two men was Jim Bridger, then a very young man, and later the most noted of all Western trappers and scouts. HEY found Glass still breathing, the grizaly bear dead across his body. They removed the monster and carried Glass to a spring of water. One account has it that they stayed beside the unconscious man for five days: another account says two days. At any rate, they were convinced that he could not pos- sibly breathe much longer. They were in a hurry to catch up with the band that had gone on. They took Hugh Glass’ gun, hunting knife and moccasins and, abandoning him for dead, went their way back to their party. But Glass was not dead. When he roused he dimly realized that he had been betrayed. Then he determined to live if for no other purpose than to confront his betrayers. When he tried to get up he found one of his legs so injured that he could not bear the least weight on it. With infinite pain he crawled down to the edge of the water. After he had drunk he found some wild cherries grow- ing by the water; near at hand wers some buffalo berries. For several days he lived on these fruits and on water. This was meager fare, but Hugh Glass had a wonderful con- stitution. Like the grizzly he had killed and that had all but killed him, he knew how to find roots in the ground. Once he robbed a badger that had uncovered some Indian bread root. He still picked buffalo berries. He was following & watercourse toward the Missouri River. After he had crawled for three days he saw three wolves pull @own a buffalo calf., He bhed &