CONFRONTED BY A BEAR.
Cease your exertions to destroy this people, or God will bring
you to judgment and destroy your nation, and cast you into
, where there shall be weeping and gnashing of
teeth [Matthew 22:13]; for the Lord God has spoken it. I must pause; I almost
forgot I was writing a narrative.
We started about sunrise and crossed a thirty mile prairie,
apparently as level as a house floor, without shrub or water.
We arrived at timber about two o'clock in the afternoon. As
we approached the timber a large black bear came out towards
us. We were not afraid of him, for we were on the Lord's
business, and had not mocked God's prophets as did the forty-
two wicked children who said to "Go up thou bald
head," for which they were torn by bears. [2 Kings 2:23-24]
When the bear got within eight rods of us he sat on his
haunches and looked at us a moment, and then ran away; and
we went on our way rejoicing. We had to travel in the night,
which was cloudy and very dark, so we had great difficulty to
keep the road. Soon a large drove of wolves gathered around,
and followed us. They came very close, and at times it
seemed as though they would eat us up.
We had materials for striking alight, and at ten o'clock, not
knowing where we were, and the wolves becoming so bold, we
thought it wisdom to make a fire; so we stopped and gathered
a lot of oak limbs that lay on the ground, and lit them, and
as our fire began to burn the wolves left us.
As we were about to lay down on the ground—for we had
no blankets—we heard a dog bark.
My said it was a wolf; I said it was a dog: but
soon we heard a cow bell. Then we each took a firebrand and
went about a quarter of a mile, and found the house, which
was sixty miles from where we started that morning.
It was an old log cabin, about twelve feet square, with no
door, but an old blanket was hung up in the door-way. There
was no furniture except one bedstead, upon which lay a woman,
several children and several small dogs. A man lay on the
bare floor with his feet to the fireplace, and all were asleep.
I went in and spoke to the man, but did not wake him. I
stepped to him, and laid my hand on his shoulder. The
moment he felt the weight of my hand he jumped to his
CONFRONTED BY A BEAR.
Cease your exertions to destroy this people, or God will bring
you to judgment and destroy your nation, and cast you into
, where there shall be weeping and gnashing of
teeth; for the Lord God has spoken it. I must pause; I almost
forgot I was writing a narrative.
We started about sunrise and crossed a thirty mile prairie,
apparently as level as a house floor, without shrub or water.
We arrived at timber about two o'clock in the afternoon. As
we approached the timber a large black bear came out towards
us. We were not afraid of him, for we were on the Lord's
business, and had not mocked God's prophets as did the fortytwo wicked children who said to "Go up thou bald
head," for which they were torn by bears.
When the bear got within eight rods of us he sat on his
haunches and looked at us a moment, and then ran away; and
we went on our way rejoicing. We had to travel in the night,
which was cloudy and very dark, so we had great difficulty to
keep the road. Soon a large drove of wolves gathered around,
and followed us. They came very close, and at times it
seemed as though they would eat us up.
We had materials for striking alight, and at ten o'clock, not
knowing where we were, and the wolves becoming so bold, we
thought it wisdom to make a fire; so we stopped and gathered
a lot of oak limbs that lay on the ground, and lit them, and
as our fire began to burn the wolves left us.
As we were about to lay down on the ground—for we had
no blankets—we heard a dog bark.
My said it was a wolf; I said it was a dog: but
soon we heard a cow bell. Then we each took a firebrand and
went about a quarter of a mile, and found the house, which
was sixty miles from where we started that morning.
It was an old log cabin, about twelve feet square, with no
door, but an old blanket was hung up in the door-way. There
was no furniture except one bedstead, upon which lay a woman,
several children and several small dogs. A man lay on the
bare floor with his feet to the fireplace, and all were asleep.
I went in and spoke to the man, but did not wake him. I
stepped to him, and laid my hand on his shoulder. The
moment he felt the weight of my hand he jumped to his
