BEARS I HAVE NEVER MET 281 



an' cracking. I held my breath a minute till the 

 crash came, then you bet I yelled. 



"Say, that was a mighty quar accident! The 

 old b'ar went down a clawing on to the big sliv- 

 ered end an' his weight made the top piece of 

 the pine turn like a big arrow with me for the 

 feathers ! 



"It went clean through the b'ar, pinning him 

 to the ground. 



"HE WAS A DEAD B'AR SHUR'NUFF, 



an' I was a badly shuk up prospector; but it was 

 a funny sight for the bluejays and magpies to see 

 me on top of a pole yelling bloody murder and the 

 other end of the pole planted in the b'ar. 



"If you don't believe me, you go up thar an' 

 on the trail from Mount Bonny to Asulkan glacier 

 yu'll see a lodge-pole-pine a-growing from the mid- 

 dle of a pile of b'ar bones; wull, that's the top of 

 the tree what took root whar it wur planted by the 

 fall." 



A TRUE STORY OF A CINCINNATI BEAR. 



Mandy Jane's hair was the rich, yellowish red of 

 the old crockery pickle jars on the pantry shelf, 

 and her oval countenance was so freckled that it 

 seemed as if a cow had sneezed bran in her face. 

 Mandy Jane's lips were ruby red, her teeth pearly 

 and regular, her eyes deep turquoise blue and her 

 lithe, girlish figure was as plump as a partridge. 



