Fourty-Four Years, or, the Life of a Hunter. Meshach Browning
himself against a young honey-locust, which was full of long sharp thorns, and many of the points were sticking deep in his flesh, he roaring, "0 Jasus! I'm ruint, I'm ruint! O Jasus! it is ruint that I am!"
Over and over, down the steep hill, tumbled the bear
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and the dogs, till they foil into sink ; where they stopped, and I came up with them.
The lust shot had disabled the bear so much that he lay on his back defending himself by striking the dogs off as they attacked him. As I had nothing to shoot with, I went in search of a club, to help the dogs; and, pulling a dry pole out by the root, I broke it as short as I wished and went up to the fight.
Creeping behind the bear as he was reaching after the dogs in front, and leaning from me, I struck him on the head, between the ears, and down he went, while the dogs attacked his hind-quarters, and held on until I had finished him. I stood and watched the dogs worrying him till I felt safe in approaching; when, on examining him, I found his head was crushed, and that he was certainly dead.
All being now quiet, the back-track gentry began to
call:
" Halloo, Captain Morris! where are you ? "
" I am here."
All hands called answered. Then one asked, "Where is Browning ? "
" Oh, the —— knows," was the reply; " for I expect the —— fool has run on the bear, and is killed."
" Halloo, Browning! " was called.
I wouldn't answer.
"It's no use to call," said one: "he's as dead as ———"
"Halloo, Browning!" was repeated.
Still I did not answer, for I wanted to hear what they would say.
"Halloo, Browning!" resounded a third time
"What is wanting? said I.
"Where is the bear ? '
"Here he is."
"What is he about?"
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"He is dead."
"That's a lie, I expect."
"How could you kill him without a gun or a toma- hawk ? "
" I beat him to death with a club."
"You be ——— ; though you are fool enough to do anything. "
So saying, they began to come nearer and nearer, till they were at the edge of the sink; but they would not come any closer till I took the bear by the foot and shook him; when they were certain he was indeed dead. Then I showed them the club I had killed him with; when each one took it and struck the dead beast on the head, to have it to say they had helped to kill the bear.
The question then arose, how was he to be carried home? Some were for getting the oxen and cart; but I told them they could carry him on a pole, by tying his feet together, putting the pole through between his legs, and one person taking each end. This matter decided, they inquired what they were to tie him with. I told them that freshly-peeled bark would be as good as ropes; and at it they went, to hunt a pole, while I was to get the bark. We all soon returned, with bark and pole. I tied the bear's legs, and put the pole through, when two per- sons took hold, one at each end. But the head of the beast hung so low that the pole wabbled from side to side, and they staggered like drunken men. Such cursing, stag- gering, and tumbling as then occurred, is not often seen. I stopped them, and tied the head close up to the pole, when they got on pretty well, and soon arrived home with their prize—for they claimed the whole credit of what had been done, without naming me in any way other than as a fool.
The bear was laid in the kitchen, and old Mr. Caldwell came to see it, and to taunt those fellows for their cow-
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ardice. When the bear was closely examined by Mr. Cald well, all present saw that Captain Morris's two shots had struck him—one passing; through his ear, the other breaking two of his tusks—without doing any serious injury; and that not a ball from Martin's numerous shots had touched him at all. This was a bad decision for Martin, and, as the result proved, for me too; for the old man decided that my two shots had killed the bear; and he spoke of their climbing trees during such a fight as being cowardly in the extreme, and said that if the bear's back-bone had not been greatly weakened by my last shot, his dogs would in all probability have been killed; "For," said he, "it is clear that his was the shot that brought him out of the tree; and as soon as he was on the ground, you not only ran off, but hid yourselves, and let the dogs shift for them- selves. And the same thing would have occurred had you been engaged in a fight with the Indians."
This was very galling to them; but they had no redress, except to wreak their vengeance on me; which they cer- tainly did; for I believe they told tales about me to the old lady, and caused her to suspect that I was fond of her daughter. But be that as it may, they envied and abused me subsequently whenever they had a chance.
It being necessary to skin the bear, at it they went ; but they made a poor hand of it, though they got through at last. When the meat was to be divided among the hunt- ers. Captain Morris required his share, and all were in- cluded but myself.
"Well," said Mr. Caldwell, what share does Browning get ? "
They said that they did not know that I wanted any.
"Browning" said he, "do you want any of this meat ? "
"I have no use for the meat, sir," said I, "unless you
58 FORTY-FOUR YEARS OF
desire to have a piece. If you do, I will give you what should be mine. But I would like to have the skin."
Mr. Caldwell immediately took up the skin and handed it to me, saying, "It is justly yours; for my dogs treed him, and you killed him; and you have a right to the skin; for it has always been a rule among hunters that the first blood drawn takes the skin, be it bear or deer."
This last decision completely fixed their malice against me. The meat was then shared out, when Mr. Caldwell secured his piece.
This was the first bear-fight I was ever engaged in. The adventure raised my reputation as a fearless boy, and the old man often told it to persons who happened to spend a night with him, much to my gratification. And frequently, when Nancy and the other children happened to be in the kitchen during the evenings, they would in- duce me to relate the whole tale, when they would ridicule the back-track party for their cowardly conduct. I saw, or thought I saw, that it had raised me in the opinion of the old man and the children; for on one occasion Nancy said, in a pleasant way, "Browning, when mother fright- ened you so I thought you were a great coward; but I don't think so now. And I heard Pappy tell a strange man the other day that if he had you in an Indian fight he knew you would attack them as fearlessly as you did that bear. Browning," she added, "I have often wished that I had been born a boy; then I would be a man some day, and help either to kill or drive off the yellow rascals so far, that they would never come back again to murder the whites. If you had seen as much of their murdering as I have I know you would fight." She then related the fol- lowing story:
"Some years ago, before General St. Clair lost so many men in a great fight with the Indians, father and mother were compelled to leave this place, and we all went up to
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the town fort. The neighbors were obliged to leave their farms, and go into the fort also. My father and three or four of his friends used to go out, and some stood guard while the others worked, and either dressed their corn or chopped their wood, all time expecting to be shot by those yellow savages.