Barney Blake, the Boy Privateer; or, The Cruise of the Queer FishJohnstone, Herrick
History
Barney Blake, the Boy Privateer; or, The Cruise of the Queer Fish
Johnstone, Herrick
Dime novels; Privateering -- Fiction; Sea stories; United States -- History -- War of 1812 -- Fiction
Old Bluefish called my attention to a great dust in our advance, which
we soon perceived to be caused by four Mexican hunters in pursuit of a
grizzly bear. We took our stand on a little eminence, and waited to see
the sport.
The bear could run almost as fast as the horses of his pursuers, and on
they all came at a terrific pace, the Mexicans shouting at the top of
their lungs and brandishing their lassoes at a great rate. We now saw
that their intention was to take his bearship alive.
Just as the grizzly came opposite our point of observation, one of the
Californians let his lariat fly, and, catching Bruin by the hind paw
tripped him up, while the rest of the horsemen began to circle round the
beast on their wild steeds, swinging their lariats, and watching for a
chance to noose the monster.
The latter rose up on his hind feet, clutched the line which held him,
and began to draw his entrapper toward him--horse and all. I never saw a
more striking instance of the great muscular strength of the grizzly
than this. He seemed to draw the horse and rider toward him with the
most perfect ease.
We expected to see the Californian draw his knife and cut the line
immediately, thus releasing himself from his unpleasant predicament. But
he did nothing of the kind. He retained his seat with the most perfect
coolness--exhibiting his exquisite horsemanship in so doing; for,
although the horse which he bestrode gave tokens of the utmost fright,
the horseman kept him in perfect subjection to his will, and calmly
allowed the bear to pull him forward inch by inch.
I was almost ready to yell out with excitement when I saw the fearless
horseman dragged up to within a few feet of the ferocious beast. But, at
this instant, whiz went another lariat through the air, and Bruin was
caught around the gullet and choked so taut that he could hardly
breathe. This caused him to release his hold on the line of his first
captor and make at the new assailant. But another noose quickly followed
the second, catching him by one of his forepaws, while his remaining
hind-foot was quickly caught up by the remaining hunter.
Poor Bruin was fairly in the toils, for his prodigious strength could
now avail him nothing.
The horsemen commenced circling around him on their swift and
well-trained steeds, in such a manner as to wind their long, stout
lariats of hide repeatedly round the body and limbs of their prey. When
he was no longer capable of effective exertion, the horsemen dismounted,
and completed their work by a few ingenious knots, so that the bear was
completely powerless.
A light wagon or cart, which had been waiting in the distance, then came
up, and, after a great deal of pulling and hauling and leverage, the
monster was safely loaded.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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