Rensselaer Republican, Volume 23, Number 42, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 18 June 1891 — "Sunset" Cox's Bear Story. [ARTICLE]

"Sunset" Cox's Bear Story.

“In the Yellowstone park,” said Representative Cox to a Washington correspondent of the New York World, “the scriptural prophecy about the lion and lamb lying together is paralleled if not fulfilled. If the lion and the iamb don’t lie together at least the bear and swine sup together and all the animal kingdom are on fairly friendly terms. The hunted beasts outside the borders of the reservation seek its security, and when they feel the protection of tho government thrown around them they ease their headlong speed and breath in the fresh air of freedom. I can’t tell how they know it; they can’t read the posters that are stuck up warning hunters, but they somehow realize that the arm df the government is thrown around them when they get into the national park. “When Mrs. Cox and 1 were at an tnn in the park they told us of a big bear that came down every evening just before sunset to eat the swill that was thrown out to the hogs. The hogSen was about a mile back of the ouse, in the woods, and this be a.' would come down every day to eat the swill, and would go away content without eating any of the little pigal As t he did not leave much food for them, perhaps they never got fat enough for his taste. Whiie we were at dinr,<j« they told us that the girl who waa waiting on table had met the bear iq the path near the pen. She was carrying a basket of clothes from th* wash and had the clothes on her head. She said she was not afraid, but I suppose she was a modest girl for she dropped her clothes and ran. Mrs. Cox and I had a suspicion tha,t they were fooling us, but if there was a bear we wanted to see it So my wjft and I went out by the hog-pen to see the boar. Sure enough we met him in the woods-a great big fellow. He gave ja side glance at us and shuffled off as if he were about to run away. We wore about twenty yards away from him and quietened our pace to advance on him. Tie suddenly changed his mind about running, and w« changed our minds also. He turned toward us and growled. I remarked to Mrs. Cox that as she was-getting fa i and could not walk as fast as formerly it would be just as well if she’d turn bock toward the hotel. Then I mod estly followed. She walked much fast er than 1 thought she could.”.