Upon looking around,
to his utter amazement, he found himself sitting on the ground, _with
both legs and arms locked fast around the, tree! He had not climbed an
inch, and the bear had not been aware of his presence in the woods!_
"That ash sapling was safe from that day. It stood then in the old
forest. The woodman's axe spared it. It stands now in the open field,
a majestic tree; its great trunk, eight feet in circumference, its
long arms covered with foliage, casting a broad shadow over the
pasture beneath, in which cattle and sheep seek for coolness and
ruminate in the heat of the summer days. It is pointed out as the tree
which the man who was frightened by a bear _didn't_ climb, and is
referred to as evidence of the truth of my story, as the Dutchman
proved the authenticity of his Bible, 'by the pictures.'"
"And that," said I, "puts _me_ in mind of a bear story, which has this
merit over both of yours--it is true. I can speak of it as a thing of
personal knowledge, occurring within my own personal experience. I
began the study of law in Angelica, the county seat of Alleghany
county, and as it was a good many years ago, it is fair to assume that
I was a good many years younger than I am now, and that the country in
that region was younger too. Everybody knows that Alleghany county is,
or used to be, a great place for whirlwinds and tornadoes.
Pages:
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
209
210
211
212
213
214
215
216
217
218
219