374 



RECREATION* 



The story always sounds fishy, and old 

 hunters always wink the other eye when it 

 is told. 



A bear rarely, if ever, begins a fight by 

 biting. His first attack is always by means 

 of a blow and if this bear had been within 

 reach of the hunter before a shot was fired 

 he would probably have dealt the hunter 

 a solar plexus that would have knocked 

 him silly, if he was not that before. 



Furthermore, the chances are that if the 

 bear had taken the muzzle of the gun in his 

 mouth and it had then been fired the bar- 

 rel from which the charge went would 

 have burst. 



It is said that if you stick the muzzle of 

 your gun in a pail of water and fire it, the 

 barrel will burst. I never tried it and don't 

 know. If you get a chunk of mud in the 

 muzzle of your gun and fire it the barrel 

 will burst. I have tried it and I know. 

 Therefore it seems reasonable to suppose 

 that if you shove the muzzle of your gun 

 in a bear's mouth, plug up the muzzle with 

 his tongue, his alimentary canal, his break- 

 fast and things, and then let her go, the 

 barrel would flatten out somewhere be- 

 tween the muzzle and the breech. 



The pictures indicate that the bear was 

 really a corker, and no doubt King and 

 Petersen, or one of them killed him: but 

 I seriously doubt their having killed him 

 in the manner stated. 



I wish Mr. Dunham had taken a close 

 up photograph of the gun barrels and given 

 me a chance to judge whether or not there 

 were any tooth marks on them. Of course, 

 if these men faked uo the story of killing 

 they could easily have disfigured the bar- 

 rels with a pick, or a hammer, or some 

 other instrument, in a way as to give a fair 

 imitation of tooth marks. — Editor. 



THE SAME BEAR IN THE MEAT MARKET. 



A celebrated army officer, who happens 

 not to be very tall, once found himself in 

 the center of new friends in a club. There 

 was an unusually tall gentleman present, 

 who, evidently believing himself a wit, 

 seized every opportunity of raising a laugh 

 at other people's expense. On being intro- 

 duced to the General, the wit bent down 

 patronizingly and remarked : 



"I have often heard of you, but " 



shading his eyes with one hand as if the 

 famous General, being so small, could be 

 seen only with difficulty — "I have never 

 seen you." 



The General promptly replied : "I have 

 often seen you, sir, but I have never heard 

 of you." — Argonaut. 



AMATEUR PHOTO BYE. A CROMAN. 



A PROMISING PAIS. 



Diner — Waitress, will that roll be long? 

 Waitress — No, sir; it will be round in a 

 minute. — Illustrated Bits. 



wi 



