Rensselaer Republican, Volume 14, Number 46, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 3 August 1882 — STORY OF A BLACK BEAR. [ARTICLE]

STORY OF A BLACK BEAR.

The following is an incident whioh recently occurred in Michigan, where a bear of this species abducted a little girl about three years old, not with any desire to harm tbe child, but through a strange kind of affection., Mr. Henry Flynn, the father of the child, lives in a sparse-ly settled part of the country, about forty miles west of Ludington, Mich., and from him this account has been derived. It appears that he started one morning to take a horse to pasture, about two miles distant from the nouse, and as his little girl seemed anxious to go,he Irnt her upon the horse’s back, and et her ride a short distance, perhaps forty rods from the house, where he Eut her down and tola her to run ome. He noticed that she continued standing where he left her, and on looking back, after going a little farther, saw her playing in the sand. He soc n passed out of sight and was gone about an hour, expecting, gs course, that the child would return to th« house after playing a few moments. On returning home, he made Inquiry about her of its mother, who said she had not seen her, and supposed he had taken her along with him. On going to the spot where he left her he saw huge bear-tracks in the sand, and at once came to the conclusion that the child had been carried off by the bear. The family immediately made search through the forest, which was grown up to almost a j ungle, rendering their search very slow. All day these arxious parents searched for some trace of their child; nor did they stop when darkness came on, but remained in the woods, calling the lost one by her name. Morning came, and their search was fruitless. A couple of gentlemen looking at land came to the house, and being informed of the circumstances, immediately set out to find her. The gentlemen wandered about, and as they were passing a swamp spot where the undergrowth was thick, called the child, or else they were talking loud, when one of them heard her voice. He then called her by name, and told her to come out of the bushes. She replied that the bear would not let her, The men then crept through the brush, and when near the spot where she and the bear were, they heard a splash in the water. which the child said was the bear. On going to her, they found her standing upon a log, extending about half way across tbe river. The bear had undertaken to crots the river on the log, and being closely pursued, left the child and swam away. She had received some scratches about the face, arms and legs, and her clothes were almost torn from her body; but the bear had not bitten her to hurt her, only the marks of his teeth being found on her back, where, in taking hold of her clothes to carry her, he had taken the fle-h also. The little one says the bear would put her down occasionally to rest, and would put his nose up to her face, when she would slap him; and the bear would hang his head by her side, and purr and rub against her like a cat. The men asked her if she was cold in the night, and she told them the old bear lay down beside he , and Eut his "arms” around her, and kept er warm, though she did not like his long hair. She was taken home to her parents.—Chatterbox.