A HAIR RAISING STORY-----------
A BEAR STORY FROM CALIFORNIA
Brooklyn Eagle, Friday , December 30, 1892
FEAR MADE A MAN’S HAIR STAND ON END TWO WEEKS
George F. LEIDIG, the proprietor of Granite Springs hotel, Mariposa
County, who arrived here a day or two ago, says that game of all kinds
is very plentiful in his vicinity and a few miles away in the high
mountains. The bears are as numerous as has been known for some years,
while grouse, pheasants and quail swarm everywhere. Mr. LEIDIG has been
in the hotel business for ore than twenty years in California and tens
of thousands of people have met him.
“I have known of some curious things in reference to the varied wild
game of Mariposa”, he said to Chief Clerk George WARREN and one or two
others as he leaned over the counter and toyed with the leaves of the
register. “But I never knew of a stranger thing than happened to my son
George and Stage Driver Joe RIDGEWAY of the Yosemite line some time
since. George, you know, is engineer on the Central Pacific railroad,
on the division between Wells and Carlin. Well, he and RIDGEWAY thought
they would go up above Glacier point one day and have a look around .
You know that to get to Glacier point you must climb about 3, 500 feet
and do it all in but little more than a couple of miles. It’s a hard
task and when you get up there you look sheer down, as it were, from a
balloon upon the world. Before you is spread the waterfalls of the
Merced river, the snowcapped cones of the Sierras and everything to make
up a garden of wonders. Probably in the work there does not exist a
grander sight. It is within the confines of the celebrated Mariposa
grant, to which the dauntless explorer, Colonel John C. FREMONT, once
had a title, but which he finally lost, after much litigation. This was
for many years known as the home of the large numbers of grizzlies, the
most formidable to be found anywhere. Since there were so many of them,
not all the hunters that have gone into that region have succeed in
wiping them out. When George and Joe had finally succeeded in getting
to the top and they had gazed upon the panorama before them, they
started to the south on a shoulder of the mountain. They had not
proceeded far when there were indications of bears. Their great tracks
were visible in some places along the trail and they kept a sharp eye
out for them. They thought, with out noticing much, that they were
the tracks of black bears. There were some birds and altogether the
boys were enjoying themselves. Just as they began to descend a winding
knoll on the edge they heard a thrashing in the bushes, as of someone
whaling them with a long club. The two had become separated. RIDGEWAY
was where he could get the best view, and he suddenly caught sight of a
big grayish black object lying on a log. He knew at once that it was a
grizzly and he let fly at him. Whether he hit him or not was never
found out, but immediately there was more thrashing and a shriek from
the bear that make the tall pines ring. Then there began a journey of
the bear toward George. It was rapid, for a grizzly can run like a
wild buffalo as unwieldy he looks. RIDGEWAY could see that he had
sniffed George or caught a glimpse of him through the bushes, and he
yelled to him to look out, as the grizzly was after him. Then he took
to his heels himself. George had scarcely got the warning then the bear
was almost upon him.
He turned and flew down the mountain. It was a terrible race. Now it
would look as though George would evade the bear and then would appear
that there was no escaping his paws. George zig zagged over stumps,
fallen trees and bushes, the bear still after him, and finally fell down
a rocky declivity, where for a time he lay half dead. The great brute
had finally given up the chase, luckily for the young man he was after,
and at length RIDGEWAY got to George and helped him to stand up. How,
here a a strange discovery was made, to which I want to call your
attention. You have heard of people's hair turning white in a night, as
though a man had lived a lifetime in a a few hours? When George got
down to my place his hair, which had since his birth lain flat on his
head, stoop up like stubble, as though it was waxed and combed up. More
than that, it staid up so for two weeks before he could get it down to
where it was formerly. The terrible race he had with the bear had
caused it. We all took notice of it, and talked about it during the
whole two weeks. I suppose this may seem impossible to some, and they
may not believe it, but it is entirely true. Nothing any of us could do
during the fortnight would make the hair stay down. George is as brae
as anybody, but he couldn't help knowing the awful danger he was in, and
when his hair rose up the consciousness of the danger was so great, and
remained so long with him,, that it took this length of time for it to
get down again. Since then he is having no use for bears, especially
grizzlies, and those familiar with the dangerous race he had do not at
all wonder at it." San Francisco Examiner
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Wonder if anything about this was printed in the Mariposa Gazette?
Carolyn
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