Adventure Magazine Cover, November 10, 1924 — page 65: what you’re looking at

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

The Two Jims and the Bears Eadie therefore stood mute, but his eyes shone like searchlights. Tomorrow! The front! Another day and he would have missed the regiment! “Sir,” said Eadie earnestly. “I wonder if the captain could lend me a few francs? I haven’t been paid for three months.” 63 With no comment the captaim produced a roll and tendered Eadie some pink crackly paper therefrom. “Thank you, sir,” said Eadie. ‘‘You see, last night I didn’t know what I was cele- brating, and then, as you say, it’s only once in a lifetime.” THE TWO JIMS AND THE BEARS by Sidney E. Johnson m)HAT Jim Bridger was given to ) @e| foolhardy exploits at all times, but especially when gone in ¥J liquor, we have Hough’s ‘The Come Wagon” and other reliable testi- mony to witness. But it is' improbable that in all their careers neither he nor his friend, Jim Baker, ever attempted a more Joolhardy venture than when they staged their famous battle with the grizzly cubs— and so far as can ‘be learned both were sober at the time. It is Baker’s story, and he told it often to my grandfather, from whom I got it. He and Bridger :were one day setting traps onthe headwaters of the Grand River when they came upon two young grizzly bears as large as Newfoundland dogs. _ Baker proposed that they kill and scalp these cubs with their hunting knives alone, and have a real feat to boast of. According- ly they laid aside their rifles, each chose a bear and they waded in, no more ready for the fray, however, than the.cubs themselves. For a-while, Baker said, it was a case of sparririg for an opening. Each man circled round his bear, seeking a chance to run in and deal a death thrust; but the wary cubs stood on their hind legs and kept their fronts turned to their adversaries, snarling and striking out with extraordinary swift- ness. Baker said he realized at once that “‘he’d tackled a heap sight more fout than what he’d reckoned on;’”’ and he quickly grew apprehensive of the coming of the cub’s mother—a contingency which, hampered as the two men were, would likely have put an end to the fight and also to the West’s two most seasoned pioneers. “Baker made several tentative attacks, slashed the cub’s paws a few times and finally angered the animal so that it took the offensive. Man and beast closed. Baker’s arms and legs were soon clawed almost to the bone, his clothes were torn to shreds and it was all he could do to avoid being slashed in the vitals. But after a terrific battle he succeeded in driving his knife to a vital spot. And so he laid out his bear. But Bridger was in a worse predicament than the one from which Baker had just extricated himself. His scratches were more severe, and he was so weakened from loss of blood that he could scarcely fend off the bear. He begged the other to come to his aid; and although Baker said he felt ‘it warn’t none o’ his business to meddle with anether man’s b’ar fout,” he went in. Whereupon Bridger immediately retired from the con- test. Desperately Baker fought. Vainly he implored Bridger to come in and end it either by shooting or stabbing the cub. “Go ahead, Jim,” said the panting Bridger. ‘Yo’ kin kill him an’ sculp him yo’self.”’ Baker, after a fight which tried him to the utmost, finally killed the second cub; and then each man rested and bound up the other’s wounds and was glad, rifle in hand, to seek shade and water. Finally Baker demanded an explanation of Bridger’s conduct. “Why, Jim, yo’ ’tarnal fool, ”” said Bridger, ‘““vo’ wanted to kil an’ sculp b’ars with butcher-knives an’ I really wanted to git ’em with guns. Yo’ got us into ther —— —— scrape, so I jest thort I’d ‘low ye to hendle ther big end o’ it!” Baker reflected a moment. “By gumbo whizz, yo’re right, Jim!” he said. “An’ I’ll never fight nary other grizzly less’n I’ve got a good shootin’ iron in my paws!” I guess he never did. CoOMmicbook C© 5}