CHAPTER XXI
A CALIFORNIA BEAR HUNT
That evening in camp Jack and Donald were full of the exploits of theday--the roping and death of the bear.
"What I can't understand yet," said Donald, "is why that bear died.Vicente said that it died because it was so mad; and certainly we knowthat it died, and without being hurt, except so far as it was chokedbefore we got it stretched out. Did you ever hear of anything of thatkind, Hugh? I suppose you know more about bears than anybody in thecamp."
"Well," replied Hugh, "of course, I've seen bears in my time, andseen some of 'em killed, but I don't know anything more about whetherthey'll die of anger than you do. I expect the only men that can tellyou much about that are Vicente here and Joe. I've heard more than oncesomething about grizzly bears dying because they were mad; but I don'tknow anything about it."
"Come on, Joe," laughed Jack, "we've got to go back to you Californiansnow for information. California is the only place I ever heard of wherethey regularly roped grizzlies, and I suppose it's a long time sincethey did much of that."
"Yes," answered Joe; "it's a long time ago. The big Californiagrizzlies had got to be mighty scarce long before I learned how tothrow a rope; but here's Vicente--he's seen it done, for he told meso to-day. And I've heard a man, who did it before I was born, tell astory of what he himself had seen in California in early days."
"Well, I reckon we'll have to squeeze a story or two out of you andVicente to-night," said Hugh; "but first I'd like to hear what youknow, or have heard, about bears dying of anger."
"I know just about as much about it as any of the rest of us here,"responded Joe. "It used to be common talk out in California that bearswould die of anger; and the one we saw to-day certainly acted that way.At the same time, I don't suppose all bears are alike in their temperor feelings any more than all men are alike."
"I should say not," declared Hugh; "and that's what I've been trying totell the people for a good many years. Men say that deer, or antelope,or coyotes, or jack-rabbits, always act in a certain way, under certaincircumstances; but I don't believe a word of it. There's just as muchdifference in antelope and coyotes and jack-rabbits as there is inhorses and cattle and dogs. Some are fast, others slow; some gentle,others wild; some are cross, others friendly; in other words, all theanimals of a certain kind are not exactly alike, and don't all actalike."
"I guess everybody believes that, Hugh," said Powell, "if he stops tothink of it, but the trouble with most of us is that we don't stop tothink."
"That's sure what's the matter with most of the people in thiscountry," replied Hugh; "they don't stop to think. They've got senseenough, if they'd only think. Well, Joe, tell us your story, the oneyou heard; or let's hear the one Vicente has to tell."
"I'll give you mine easy enough," said Joe. "It happened just about thetime I was born, I suppose in the late '50s, and near a place calledSan Pascual. It seems that bears had been making trouble killing colts,and the men at the ranch made up their minds that they'd try to get'em, or some of 'em; and if they got a bear, they'd take it to one ofthe towns near by and have a bear fight by fastening the bear and abull together. Just about that time one of the men came in and reportedanother colt killed, and its mother badly scratched up; so two or threeof the men, one of whom was supposed to know everything about bears,went out and looked the ground over to decide what to do. Finally theykilled the old crippled mare on a low flat piece of prairie a milewide and about three miles long and then took her paunch and draggedit, making a circuit of about ten miles, and finally came back to thecarcass. They found in the trails the tracks of an old bear and threebig cubs, and saw that they were traveling around pretty much all thetime. When the men dragged the paunch they crossed a good many of thesetrails.
"While this was being done, other men went out and drove in the horses,and the best broken ones were picked out for those who were going toride after the bear. Of course every man looked after his saddle. Ifany of the latigo strings, or any of the strings of the saddle or thebridle were worn a little, they were taken off and new strings putthere. It wouldn't do to have anything break when they were going totry for a bear.
"The next morning early a man was sent out to go to the bait, and towhere the paunch had been dragged, so as to learn if the bears hadfound it. He came back soon, and said it looked as if there had been athousand bears going over the trail where the paunch had been dragged.He said that they had eaten considerable of the old mare.
"The men who were the leaders--the bear sharps--said the bears wouldcome back that night, and that all hands ought to be within earshot ofthe bait by moonrise. So by dark all the horses were saddled, and aboutten o'clock the head man called the outfit and led 'em down toward thebait. Before they got anywhere near it, they could hear the coyotesyelping on the hills all around the bait, and they knew that the bearswere at work. If the bears had not been there the coyotes would beeating and not yelling. When they began to get near the place, they allstopped and tied up the chains and the tinklers on their spurs, so thatthese wouldn't be heard, and then waited for the moon to rise. After awhile the moon came up over the mountains, and then very quietly theyjogged along until they got between the bait and the ravine out ofwhich the bears' trail had come the night before. Then, facing aroundthey rode in a line toward the bait.
"The leading man had told 'em that those who couldn't rope--and thatmeant pretty much all the Americans in the bunch--had better staybehind and either try to catch the cubs, or else to pound 'em withtheir ropes and try to turn 'em. The leading man, Don Juan, was goingto rope the bear, and he was to be supported by two other good ropers,both Californians.
"Well, according to the story, they got quite close to the bait beforeanything happened, and then an enormous bear stood up and looked at'em. The man who told me said that she looked to him as tall as a pinetree; but I guess he wasn't used to seeing bears. At all events, evenif she did have her cubs with her, she put out across the flat makingfor a big ca?on that was quite a long way off.
"Don Juan and his partners kept after her and before very long caughtup and Don Juan put his rope around her neck. But before he knew itshe threw it off, and he had to slow down a little to gather his rope.Another man drew up to try to rope her, but the bear gave a snort thatscared his horse so that it ran away. Finally the third man got up toher and, roping her with a big loop, caught her around the neck andbehind her shoulder, and the rope stayed. She turned and charged onthree legs, one of her fore legs being held close to her neck, but shenever arrived, for Don Juan came up at that moment and caught both hindfeet and in a minute she was handsomely stretched. Garcia, the man whohad been on the frightened horse now came up. Taking his macate to holdhis horse with, he went up to Don Juan, who in the meantime had riddenup within ten feet of the bear's hind legs, shortening his rope all thetime, and so leaving about twenty feet behind the horn of the saddle.He passed this end to Garcia, who was now on foot, and Garcia, passingthe end of the rope through the loop that was about the bear's neck andfront foot, carried the end back to Don Juan and helped him hold thebear's hind legs, while he took up the slack of the rope that had beenpassed through the neck loop. When this was done and he got a pull onthe rope, the bear's hind feet came close up to its neck, and it was inkind of a ball.
"They'd provided themselves with strings and ropes, and now that thebear was helpless her mouth was tied up, and then the three men,putting their ropes on her, dragged her to a tree, and, after a gooddeal of work and fussing around, got one hind foot on either side ofthe tree trunk, and tied the two together on the other side. The bear'shind feet were thus useless to her. She could walk around on her forefeet and dig holes in the ground with 'em, but it was impossible forher to get at the lashing which held her hind feet.
"All the other ropes were then taken off and she was left there for thenight.
"Meantime, the cubs had been attacked by the Americans, and after awhole lo
t of excitement all the three were captured and tied up.
"The next morning they got fresh horses and all went back there andcarried a beef hide with them. You heard Vicente say yesterday that ifwe had a beef hide we could take the bear to camp, didn't you, Jack?"
"Yes; I heard him say that, but I didn't know what he meant."
"Well," said Joe, "you'll know if you'll listen to this story.
"When they got to the bear, Don Juan made a rough measurement of thedistance there'd be between the two front feet and the two hind feet ofthe bear if she was lying stretched out on the ground, and then in thebeef hide he cut holes at different points.
"Now strong ropes, wound with sheep skin to keep the ropes fromcutting her, were put around the bear's fore feet and hind feet. Thebeef hide was moved up close to her head, the ropes attached to thefore feet were passed through the holes in the fore part of the beefhide, and the bear was slid forward on to the hide and the ropes drawntight. Then the ropes on the hind legs were passed through the holescut at the back end of the beef hide and drawn tight and there lay theold bear, stretched out flat with the beef hide under her and firmlyattached to it. They say it made the white men who had just come intothe country stare to see the way the Californians handled the ropes andthe bear.
"When the bear was fixed there to the hide, another rope was fastenedto the head of the beef hide; and then with three men ahead, each witha turn of one of the ropes around his saddle-horn, and two men behindto keep the hide properly stretched, the outfit set out for the ranch.
"The cubs were tied up and packed on horses, and the whole family,except one cub that had died, successfully taken to the house.
"The next day, after they had put another hide under the bear, theyhauled her down along the road to the town. They say that they had lotsof fun on the way down, for every ox-team and burro train that they meton the road, just as soon as it got a smell of the bear, started fromthe road and took to the open country.
"There in the town they got a bull and brought the bear into the corraland fastened bull and bear together by a long chain and then turnedboth animals loose. Of course, it don't seem to have been half fairto the bear, for she had been tied up for a couple of days and musthave been fearfully stiff. However, she was ready to fight. But it waspretty short; the bull managed to stick his horns through her after alittle bit, and killed her."
Jack drew a long breath.
"Gee, wouldn't I like to have been there!" he exclaimed.
"They certainly were handy with the rope in those days," said Hugh.
"Yes," replied Joe; "they were. Vicente was telling me to-day about hisuncle's catching a bear and tying it up all alone. It seemed to me apretty good story. I don't believe you can understand more than half ofit if he tries to tell it in English. Suppose I get him to tell it tome in Spanish, and tell you just what he says."
"Bully!" responded McIntyre; "that'll make it a whole lot plainer."
For a moment Joe and Vicente spoke together in Spanish, and then Joeturned to the others.
"All right," he said; "here goes:
"It seems that Vicente's uncle was riding through some thick willowsin a wet place on a ranch in California, when suddenly he felt hishorse stagger and heard the sound of a slap. He knew that a bear hadhit at him and missed him, and hit the horse, and the horse went flyingout of the willows into the open grass with the bear charging at hisheels. His uncle slowed down a little and let the bear get prettyclose, bending off toward a low, stout willow that grew alone. When hegot nearly up to it he dodged a little to one side, stopped his horse,and as the bear passed, roped him by one hind leg and, riding half adozen times around this willow, drew the bear up close to the tree. Ofcourse, the bear was biting at his hind foot all the time, trying toget rid of the rope. Vicente's uncle tied the end of the rope to anoutside limb; then riding up close to the bear in front--of course itwas making desperate efforts to get at the man--he threw his hair ropeover the bear's neck, fastened it to his saddle-horn and backed hishorse off so as to hold the bear. Then the man got off his horse, tookoff his silk sash, went around behind the bear which was held by thehorse, and tied his hind legs together behind the tree. That was allthere was to it."
"Gosh, that was enough!" exclaimed Jack Mason. "We don't know anythingabout what those old fellows used to do with horses and cattle andbears."
"That's so," drawled Vicente. "In those times they often sent out aman alone to kill and butcher a steer and bring it in to camp. Prettydangerous, all of it; but the vaquero must not be afraid."
Jack the Young Cowboy: An Eastern Boy's Experiance on a Western Round-up Page 23
