The Buzby Family -- An Alaska Pioneer Family
Early Days in Montana - Page 7One other adventure worth mentioning occurred in March. There were some Silver-tip Bear in that country but never very plentiful on the prairies. One evening as Monty and I were riding home after dark we came upon a large male Silver-tip feeding on a Buffalo carcass. Our horses scented him first and went nearly crazy, all horses fear the smell of bear. We could not see to shoot so rode on concluding to try and find him the following morning. Bright and early we mounted and soon found the place where Mr. Silver-tip had fed. He had just come from winter quarter and was no doubt very hungry considering the amount of buffalo meat he had consumed. The snow being nearly all off, tracking was out of the question; but a dry creek bottom near by contained a considerable amount of wild plum and chokecherry which made a good place for Mr. Silver-tip to sleep during the day. Accordingly we begun looking for his bearship, and before long jumped him between a clump of cherrys. He immediately hid; we rode around the other patch of brush several times but could not see him; finally we rode in to rout him out. Monty sat on his horse, a buckskin with four white stockings that was as nimble as a cat and an altogether intelligent animal, at the edge while I rode lengthwise thro’ the clump toward Monty. How the animal could hide so completely was a mystery to us - but when I came toward his cover he rose and charged directly at Monty - and the way that big brute got under way was astonishing. Monty's horse jumped for the open while Monty spurred his best, but before they got under way the bear was upon them. He rose on his hind legs caught with his mouth at Monty's left leg while his right front foot landed just behind the saddle. Monty threw his foot and leg toward causing the bear to miss his leg so that he caught the cinch buckle in his huge mouth, bending the tongue of the buckle double. The horse shied and planted his hind feet squarely in the bear's ribs, which broke the bear's hold on the saddle - but did not deter him from his purpose to punish us for disturbing him. It was nip and tuck for about 40 yards before the horse gained much on the bear. Meantime I was getting clear of the brush and when the bear turned sideways I shot at him disabling a shoulder which caused him to go roaring across the prairie. Monty had command of himself and horse by that time so we rode after his bearship and soon filled him with lead. One of Monty's shots broke his neck and that was the last of the bear. I kept the skin as a memento while Monty cleaned and polished the jaws that came so near taking a leg from him. Shortly after this adventure we broke camp and drove to Fallon Trading Post - contracted with Launder Brothers, freighters, to haul what hides we had on both sides of the Yellowstone to Fallon. From there we scowed them to buffalo on the Big Missouri and shipped there to St. Louis by steamboat. Thus ended my first year on the Buffalo range of the North-West, one of the happiest of my life. |