Rocky Mountain Sam — page 96: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

‘ROCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 87 jerking him upon his hams as the balloon passed on, and then paused. Che bear began to roar, and work himself into a rage generally; while Sam, leaning over the side, quickly emptied the chambers of his revolver into his carcass, but apparently with no other effect than to increase his fury. ‘‘We’ll have to cast anchor in’ a tree, and then you can lower me down to the ground, where I can have a _ better chance at the varmint,” said Sam. ‘‘I haven’t tasted bear meat for a week, and my mouth is just watering for some.” Lhe professor acceded to this plan rather reluctantly, and muttering between his teeth something about some folks always thinking about their. stomachs before any- thing else, soon made an anchor fast in a stunted pine, while Sam, with the Indian girl’s assistance, hastily made another line fast under his shoulders, and reloaded his re- volver. | | ‘““Now, let me down easy,” said he clambering over the car, with a. happy smile on his beardless face, as if he was about to take part in a frolic instead of participating in a hand-to-hand struggle with one of the most ferocious beasts in the world; ‘‘and be ready to jerk me up out of reach if you see it growing a little hot down there.” The car was swinging in the air, about twenty-five feet from the ground, and the intrepid young hunter was speedily lowered down. ‘I'he bear, in the meantime, had kept pawing away at his left ear in a vain attempt to de- tach it from the grapnel, but no sooner did he see the hunter within his reach than he tore himself free, and rushed upon him witha furious roar. Sam greeted him with a pistol ball in the throat, but the next instant he would have been in the brute’s terrible embrace, had not his friends suddenly jerked him up out of reach, and over the bear’s head, which received another slug just behind the ears, before he could wheel his bulky form and renew the assault. But again Sam hopped lightly over him, and another bullet was buried in his shaggy hide. ‘These tactics were repeated so often, that the bear seemed to weaken on the leap-frog dodge, and merely reared himself on his hams and set up asort of melancholy roar, at the same time rubbing his wounded body as if he had the itch, and strik- ing out aimlessly at the empty air, Comichboo €oO