FOREST AND STREAM. 
[June 29, 1895. 
hi Sp ar ^ n F m S&ttmi 
TWO TALL STORIES. 
In its halcyon days our camp was a large one, and in 
connection with its various departments of labor em- 
ployed nearly three hundred men. The mines were 
distant about three or four miles from the main camp, 
where were located the company's offices, smelter, the 
store, and of course the inevitable saloons. Every 
Saturday night many of the miners made it a point to 
visit the camp, both for the purpose of purchasing needed 
supplies, as well as having a bit of a good time. The 
store, a large, commodious frame building, was the 
general meeting place, and here, as the evening wore on 
and the men gradually mellowed under the influence of 
frequent libations, as well as their own rough, good 
fellowship, there were sure to be heard some tales of ad- 
venture calculated to give the average tenderfoot a bad 
case of the shivers. 
For there were some rough blades in the crowd, old 
"49ers," who had braved the perils of the overland route 
and the privations of the diggings, and who had since 
drifted from one to the other of the great mining camps 
of the "West. They had quite naturally accumulated a 
fund of rare experiences, and withal had acquired, in a 
high degree, the faculty of telling a story with a peculiar 
picturesqueness of diction such as I have never heard 
elsewhere. When one of them cleared his throat pre- 
paratory to a story everyone drew near, all talk in the 
room ceased, and each face bore eloquent testimony to 
the belief that a mighty good thing was about to be given 
to the world. At times a fierce rivalry developed be- 
tween these old fellows, and under its inspiration some 
strange and fearful tales were born. 
It has long been a source of regret to me that I did not 
at the time jot down the more salient features of many 
of these stories, although it would be impossible for me, 
I think, to give them the peculiar flavor which these 
men imparted to them, and which, in reality, constituted 
their greatest charm. 
I well remember one night, however, when the stories 
ran on hunting adventures and experiences with the big 
carnivora of the mountains, for it is a theme in which I 
have always been deeply interested, and besides some of 
the stories were of such a startling character that they 
were likely to impress themselves rather deeply on one's 
mind. An eager, credulous tenderfoot in the audience 
was, I have always thought, responsible in a large meas- 
ure for their rather sensational character this night; for if 
there was ever an occasion when these old yarners would 
spread themselves, it was in the presence of the gullible 
tenderfoot. 
There were probably fifteen or twenty men seated 
about the big stove at the rear end of the room, the ma- 
jority of whom were pulling away at their pipes, while a 
few munched away at their plug, varying the exercise 
with occasional deluges of expectoration aimed at the 
sawdust filled boxes which stood about the stove. Brow- 
nell, the storekeeper, had just finished telling how the big 
bison bull had chased him on the top of Bullion Mountain, 
and how narrowly he had escaped with his life, when old 
Tom McKinnon, one of the elect, removed his pipe from 
his mouth and, giving his shoulders a slight shrug, said 
with a rather contemptuous air that it was mighty easy to 
dodge a critter when one had the whole top of the ground 
do it in, but that it was an entirely different matter 
when the critter had you down in a hole in the ground, 
and was madder than all furiation besides. 
Immediately there was a general drawing nearer the 
stove, for everyone knew that a story was coming. Tom , 
as was his wont, however, said nothing for a moment, 
whereupon the tenderfoot, thinking that some inter- 
rogation was necessary to draw him out, asked him if he 
had ever had such an experience. 
"Without deigning to reply directly to the question, 
Tom, after another moment's silence, began as follows: 
"In th' winter of '67 I bed a contract on the Bogash Mine, 
near th' Argentine Pass. There wuz four of us in it, an' 
we wuz makin' purty good money, till we run inter some 
turribl' mean rock, when we didn't make enough ter 
pay fer our tools, which we wuz knockin' ter pieces tur- 
ribl' fast. 
"One day we wuz short a drill, an' thinkin' ez I might 
find one in an old drift which hadn't been worked fer 
some time, I went inter it ter prospect. Jist off'm th' 
breast of th' drift thar wuz a hole eight or ten feet deep, 
an' curled up in th' bottom wuz th' biggest cinnamon b'ar 
thet I ever see. I thinks at fu'st thet he's dead, but 
d'rectly I watched him a leetle bit I see his side move, an' 
then I knowed ez he wuz alive. D'rectly ag'in I seed ez 
he hed one of his big paws in his mouth, an' then I 
knowed ez he wuz takin' his reg'lar winter snooze, what 
th' books calls hibernatin', or su'thin' like it. Th' perfess- 
ers an' th' book smart folks says ez they don't eat nothin' 
then. Wall, mebbe ez they doesn't eat reg'lar like, but 
they gits substance inter the'r stummicks all right enuff . 
"An old Arapahoe Injun fu'st told me of it, an' when I 
seed thet thar b'ar a-suckin' of his paws? I knowed ez th' In- 
jun wasn't a liar, which I 'lowed ez he wuz at fu'st. He tole 
me thet afore th' b'ar tied up fer winter he laid in a lot of 
ile inside his old karkiss, which he sucked out of his paw 
m winter, an' thet it kept him from gittin' hungry, an' 
kept him powerful sleepy all th' winter. Wall, it seemed 
turribl' onreasonabl' like ter me then, an' I give th' Injun 
th' laff, but I threw up both hands when I seed th' b'ar 
dom what th' Injun says they does. 
"I don't know what put th' idee inter my head but I 
guess it must have bin th' devil hisself, but leastways I 
got a thmkin' ez what th' b'ar would do, 'lowin' ez I wuz 
ter pull his paw out his mouth. The more I thinks about 
it, the more cur'ous-like I gets, till I ups an' d'rectly does 
it. Now, I had 'lowed ter a certainty most thet th' b'ar 
would put her back d'rectly an' keep on er sucklin', but 
he don't do nothin' of th' kind. D'rectly I noticed him 
twitchin' about an' gruntin', like ez he wuz havin' power- 
ful bad dreams, an' then of a sudden he started like an' 
opened his eyes. Thar wuz suthin' in th' looks of 'em ez 
made me feel kinder oneasy, like ez I hed made er mis- 
ake 'an' waked up th' wrong feller. But I didn't have 
much time ter think about it, fer all of a suddint he let a 
terribl' howl out of 'm an' then quicker 'n Jack Robinson 
he riz ter his feet an' comes straight at me. 
"I don't think ez I ever see sich a mad-looking critter 
n all my life, an' he seemed turribl' narvous-like, th'same 
ez a pusson when he fu'st comes to arter a two weeks' 
stidy drunk. I wuz jist natchelly too paralyzed ter move, 
an' if the b'ar hadn't took a suddint stagger ter th' right, 
why, I reckon ez th' perceedin's would 've eended right 
thar. Ez 'twas he missed me by two foot, but he turns 
about d'rectly an' comes at me ag'in. Now, I didn't hev 
even a knife with me, an' ez th' game wuz runnin' I 
allowed ez I was purty sure ter pass out at th' next call. 
"However, I sees purty quick ez I wus only play in' 
inter th bar's han's by standin' still an' waitin' fer him 
ter collar me, so I turns about an' legs her down th' drift 
fer all thet's out. Now, th' b'ar wuz kinder onsteady an' 
groggy on bis pins, but he somehow got over th' ground 
discouragin' fast, an' I sees d'rectly ez he wuz purty sure 
ter lay a hold on me afore I got ter th' mouth of th' drift. 
But I kept peggin' erway till all of a suddint suthin' 
ketches me by one of my legs, an' over I goes. Then th' 
b'ar wuz on top of me, an' I knowed ez th' game wuz up. 
He jist natchelly sot down on me, an' fer a minute er so 
seemed ter be sort of gloatin' over me afore perceedin' 
with th' inquest. 
"I noticed ez he wuz sort of holdin' up one of his paws, 
th' one he hed bin suckin', cause it wuz sort of tender, I 
reckon, an' then a great idee come ter me. An' I didn't 
hev any time ter spare nuther, fer jist then th' bar 
lowered his big ugly head, opened his mouth an' with a 
savage growl bent over ez if he wuz a goin' take me by 
th' neck. Jist at that ar moment I swung his big paw in 
atween, an' his jaws closed on it stid of me. Wall, you 
never see anythin' like the curious effect it hed on him. 
"I alius 'lowed ez he got er extry dose of ile out his 
paw, for he gin over bein' savage all of a suddint, an' 
almost afore I could see ez I hed called his bluff he lopped 
clean over on me, an' with his paw in his mouth went 
fast asleep. I hed a terribl' time, though, in gettin' out 
from under him, fer he was scandalous heavy, an' be- 
sides I wuz terribl' skeered that his paw would come out 
his mouth ag'in, a perceedin' ez I knowed wuz pooty 
sartin to wind me up. 
"Wall, I finally gits out all right, but when I tole my 
pardners of th' game ez I hed bin in, they gives me th' 
biggest kind of er laff. I wuz so terribl' arnest about 
it, though, that they finally goes back with me ter 
see th' bar ez wuz sleepin' with his paw in his mouth. 
I alius 'lowed, though, ez th' perceedin's of th' day 
kinder got his narves out of kilter, fer we didn't find 
him whar I hed left him, an' of course my pardners 
thought ez I hed bin stuffin' of 'em; but, fellers, it's th' 
dead sober truth, ez I've bin tellin' ye." 
For a moment a deep silence reigned among the circle 
about the stove, for it took the rough men there some 
time to fully grasp the startling character of the sug- 
gestions conveyed in Tom's Btory. Even then there 
were no open manifestations of incredulity, whatever 
the men may have thought privately as to the truthful- 
ness of the story, for it was a fixed principle with them 
never to manifest surprise at any story they heard. 
Pollard, the tenderfoot, had not, however, schooled him 
self to any such stern self-repression, and many expres- 
sions of wonder at the surprising nature of Tom's revela- 
tions escaped him. Indeed, it was very apparent that he 
was deeply impressed with the story, and the very evi- 
dent prest'ge which Tom had acquired in his estimation 
clearly occasioned the other story tellers a great deal of 
unhappiness; for, as I said before, the keenest rivalry ex- 
isted between them. 
Suddenly I noticed old Si Emslie beginning to twitch 
about in his seat, which phenomenon 1 knew from long 
observation to be the precursor of a yarn, and such it 
proved to be in this case, for after an extra twitch he said 
slowly as his seamed and weather-beaten old face stretched 
into an amused smile, as though Tom's yarn might do to 
feed boys with, but was no diet for men: "I ain't gain- 
sayin' as b'ars ain't troublesome at times, an' mebbe they 
does suck ile through the'r toes ezputs 'em asleep. I ain't 
gainsayin' it and I ain't gainsayin' ez 'tain't 'zactly pleasant 
ter hev one on 'em er chasin' yer through er drift, but 
law, 'tain't nothin' ter hevin' two starved lion an' er snow- 
slide arter ye at th' same time." 
At this Si paused and looked triumphantly at Tom, who 
hung his head as* though conscious of the fact that the 
coming story was likely to throw his own able effort far 
in the shade. 
"It wuz in th' winter of '69," resumed Si, "thet I 
started ter cross th' range on snowshoes near St. John. 
I wuz pooty near th' top o' th' divide when all o' er sud- 
dint I hears th' tallest kind o' howlin' back o' me, an' ez I 
turns my head ter see what it wuz all erbout, I sees two 
mountain lions er tcarin' erlong arter me ez fast ez ever 
they could get erlong through th' snow. My 1 but they wuz 
th' leanest lookin' critters ez ever I sot my eyes on, an' 
the'r jaws wuz workin' like they thought they wuz er 
chewin' on me. Well, you kin bet ez I perceeded ter git 
th' tallest kind o' er move on immejate, fer I knowed thet 
if I could onct git over th' top I wuz all right, fer I 'lowed 
th' lions never could ketch me onct I got in motion down 
th' steep slope on t'other side. But 'twaz mighty slow work 
gittin' up thar, an' toward th' last I 'lowed fer sure ez th' 
lions would sample my ole karkiss. 
"I don't think ez thar wuz six foot 'tween us when I 
turned th' top, an' jist ez I begin ter git inter oncommon 
good' motion th' lions wuz thet close 'at I feel the'r breath, 
an' it wuz that hot 'at it feel cl'ar through my close like 
ez some one hed sot er hot iron ag'in me. But in er minit' 
my ole shoes hed got er hump on thesselves, an' I wuz jist 
er burnin' up space. The lions wa'n't in er leetle bit, an' 
th' way they wuz er howlin' ter thesselves wuz su'thin' 
seandalous. They wuz th' wu'st losers ever I see, an' they 
wuz er kickin' like they wuz some humans I knows on. 
"But d'rectly I heard er sort o' rum'lin' sound what 
stidily growed louder, an' ez I turned ter see what wuz up, 
I see th' biggest snowslide I ever sot eyes on come er tear- 
in' down th' mountain arter me. Wall, I 'lowed ez I wuz 
sart'in ter beat 'er down, an' didn't worry myself much 
erbout it. But pooty soon I notice thet th' roarin' wuz er 
gittin' louder, an' ez I looks back I sees ez th' 'tarnal ole 
slide wuz sure enough er gainin' on me, an' I figgered ez 
'twuz likely ter ketch me 'fore we reached th' bottom. 
Wall, I sot down lower on my ole shoes ter squeeze out 
th' last drop o' git thar wuz in 'em, but hump thesselves 
ez much ez they would — an' they wuz er gittin' er power- 
ful move on — th' slide wuz stidily overhaulin' ov 'em. 
"Now, thet wuz er sitiwationez wuz kalkilated ter bu'st 
er man's narves wide open, but wuss wuz comin', fer 
d'rectly I hears above th' roar o' th' slide what sounds on- 
common like er lion's voice, only that it seemed ter be 
sort o' laffin', like 'twuz 'most tickled ter death. Now, I 
never heerd o' er slide makin' sich er noise erf ore, an' ez I 
turned ter see what wuz amoozin' it, I see them two Hons 
er sittin' right on th' edge o' th' slide, watchin' me, an' 
wery apparent enj'yin' thesselves monstrous at th' appe- 
tizin' prospect. 
"Wall, it sent er peck o' cold chills er chasin' thesselves 
down my back, fer I 'lowed then to er cartainty thet it 
wuz er game ez wuz sure ter do me. I wuz gittin' down 
toward th' bottom o' th' walley amazin' fast, but so wuz 
th' slide an' er heap faster, an' ez it begin ter git right 
close ter me, th' appetite o' th ! lions wuz su'thin' painful 
ter look at, 'specially ter me. They wuz that hungry ez 
it seemed like ez they couldn't wait fer th' dinner bell ter 
ring, but they never stopped givin' me th' laff at th' way 
they wuz er doin' me. D'rectly they wuz so close thet I 
feels the'r breath on th' back o' my neck, an' it wuz so 
monstrous hot 'at it curled up th' ha'r on th' back o' my 
head like ez er fire hed struck it. 
"I 'lowed then ez th' chuck would be sarved up ter th' 
lion in 'nother minit, an' not feelin' 'zactly easy 'bout it I 
suddint like sot low down on my shoes. Now th' lion hed 
worked thesselves up to er p'int ez they wuz oncommon 
eager ter begin perceedin's, an' ez I went down I reckon 
ez they 'lowed I hed done 'em er dirty mean trick an' 
dropped out o' th' game. Leastways they seemed ter lose 
the'r heads all o' er suddint, fer they both let er reg'lar 
Comanche yell out o' 'em an' jumped straight arter me. 
They lands jist erhead o' th' pint o' my shoes, an' then 
d'rectly th' shoes hits 'em fa'r an' squar'. 
"Now I respecks th' truth, I does, an' I ain't er goin' ter 
say how far I goes up in th' a'r subsequent, but when I 
comes down I lands jist on th' edge o' th' slide, 'zactly 
whar th' lion hed sot er minit b'fore. Th' slide hed bin 
goin' so much faster 'n me ez it hed ketched me while 1 
wuz up in th' a'r. O' course I lose my shoes, but I lose 
th' lion too, an' that wuz er concarnin' me more'n most 
anything else about that time." 
As Si brought Iris tale to a close a deep silence pervaded 
the room, but it was clear from the looks bent upon the 
old man that he had fully maintained his reputation as the 
most unique story teller in camp. 
Pollard, the tenderfoot while evidently profoundly 
impressed with the tale, seemed nevertheless to have 
something upon his mind, and in a moment he asked : 
"Wasn't you covered up by all the snow that was coming 
down the mountain after you?" 
"Kivered by the snow!" said Si with a snort of impatient 
disgust. "Be you sich or dog blasted eejot ez ter Tow ez 
I wuz er goin' ter git erway with two lion with nothin' 
but snowshoes, jist ter let er pesky lot o' snow git erway 
with me? Say, young feller, you'se monstrous foolish." 
TWO MONTHS ON THE ST. JOHN'S. 
[Continued from page ,707.] 
We found Jacksonville, that is, the principal street 
and the wharves, a very busy place. We made a number 
of purchases, among them a new axe, to replace the one 
borrowed by our Fernandina friends. Stopping in a fine 
large grocery store, we asked the clerk if there was such 
an article as grats or grits. There was quite a crowd in 
the store at the time, and they all burst out laughing, 
clerk included. He informed us that after we had been 
in Florida for awhile we would be very apt to discover 
that there was such an article as grits; that most every- 
body lived off them down there. 
Now, Tom don't say much, but his remarks are generally 
very dry and right to the point. So he informed the clerk 
(and crowd at the same time) that "the grits were wanted 
to boil up for the dog. The poor dog had to eat some- 
thing, even if it was grits." Some of the crowd didn't 
smile at this at all, but looked real offended. But we 
found that grits were excellent food, and there wasn't a 
meal that we were without them afterward. 
When we returned to the boat, where we had left Sam 
in charge, it had stopped raining, and the clouds showed 
signs of breaking up. There was nearly a gale of wind 
blowing right out of the north, and of course in our 
favor. 
The little Rambler did some great sailing that day. I 
thought she would swamp more than once, or tear her 
mast out, anyhow. But Sam was at the tiller, and what 
he don't know about handling a small boat is hardly 
worth learning. The waves would come chasing after 
us astern, and catching her would lift her stern high 
in the air and plunge her bows under, so that she would 
be buried forward clean up to the foot of the mast. 
At the same time she would yaw, as though she was 
bent on pitching everything clean out of her. 
Overhead ragged clouds chased each other across the 
sky in the wildest manner conceivable. We were very 
much surprised to see such a sea raised on a river. It 
was rough and no mistake, as we had an opportunity to 
observe-when a river steamer passed us. She was the 
Magnolia from Palatka. She would lift so that we could 
see considerable of her forefoot; then she would plunge 
into the head sea, and smashing it into atoms the spume 
and spray would fly as high as the pilot house. 
We took particular notice that there was no one on her 
forward deck. I wouldn't be afraid to wager that she 
didn't reach Jacksonville that night on time. As she 
passed us quite a number of her passengers and a portion 
of her crew came to the side of her after decks and stared 
at us as though they thought we were either crazy or else 
we wanted to sail pretty bad to be out in such weather in 
such a boat. 
Soon after the Magnolia passed, one of us noticed an 
object rising and falling on the waves directly ahead. It 
proved to be a large square-ended scow, truly a most 
dangerous menace to vessels passing up and down the 
river. 
After making what we thought was a fair day's dis- 
tance we headed toward the east bank, and sailing along 
close to the shore kept a sharp lookout for a good place to 
spend the night. Rounding a point where the ground 
seemed to be somewhat higher than usual the Rambler 
was run into a sort of cove, where the water was almost 
smooth. We couldn't run her bows directly up to the 
bank on account of the shallowness of the water. We 
run up as close as we could, however, when we took in 
sail and made fast a line to a tree ashore. 
We had decided that we would find a good place and 
get a good night's rest this night, for we had grown tired 
of wharves, Cracker shanties, hard pine boards, etc. 
I think this spot was as wild looking a place as I ever 
saw — being covered with huge pine and cypress trees as 
far as we could see, from the branches of which hung 
