. The cattle queen of Montana . to me that a mess of huckleberries would berelished by father and mother and starting through a smallgrove of timber at my left, in search of a spot where theberries were plentiful, I suddenly came in close proximityto a large black bear. The animal was a curiosity to me,for, being as I was as yet, a pilgrim from the States, Iwas not aware of the nature of the beast. Acting uponthe impulse of the moment, to drive the animal from thepatch of berries, where it was quietly feeding, I picked arock from the ground and hurled it. The aim was goodand it landed fairly i
. The cattle queen of Montana . to me that a mess of huckleberries would berelished by father and mother and starting through a smallgrove of timber at my left, in search of a spot where theberries were plentiful, I suddenly came in close proximityto a large black bear. The animal was a curiosity to me,for, being as I was as yet, a pilgrim from the States, Iwas not aware of the nature of the beast. Acting uponthe impulse of the moment, to drive the animal from thepatch of berries, where it was quietly feeding, I picked arock from the ground and hurled it. The aim was goodand it landed fairly in his ribs. Immediately the bearassumed an upright position and proceeded at a rambling,although swift gait, in my direction. I stood my groundfor an instant, but perceiving that he did not hesitate, andbeing by this time fully convinced that to retreat was nowmy only chance, I made haste to get from the spot as rap-idly as possible. My pursuer still continued the chase andsoon the fun was on in earnest. As I ran, my toe caught. Head of Mouniain Sheep. A STORY OF PERSONAL EXPERIENCE IN THE WEST. 81 a twig and I fell flat, but it was the work of but an instantto regain my feet and again fly from the animal who wasby this time almost upon me. I knew now that my onlychance for life was to mount a tree if possible and thus getbeyond Bruins reach, and, acting upon the thought, I direct-ed my course to a small pine and by quick work and strictapplication to the labor in which I was engaged succeededin gaining a place of safety upon one of the limbs ere thebear had reached the foot of the tree. The maneuver, Ihave every reason to believe, was not executed in the mostgraceful manner imaginable, but haste was the essentialfeature and as I succeeded in accomplishing the objectsought I was well satisfied to think I had escaped my pur-suer in any manner. The bear took up a position at thefoot of the tree and there for hour after hour he sat, growl-ing and licking his lips, and watching me
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjectfrontie, bookyear1894
