Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly vol. 5.djvu/168

 158 PETER H. BURNETT. tain life and scenery. His descriptive powers were fine, and he would talk until a late hour at night. My whole family were deeply attentive, and my children yet remember the Judge with great pleasure. He was always a most welcome guest at my house. He did not tell so many extraordinary stories as the average Rocky Mountain trapper and hunter, but those he did tell were true. I remember one instance. He said that he and a colored man were out hunting to- gether on one occasion, and wounded a large grizzly bear. A grizzly bear, when wounded, will rush upon the hunter if near him ; but, if at a distance from the hunter, the animal will retire into thick brush, and there conceal himself as well as possible. In this case, the bear crept into a small but thick patch of willows, and so concealed himself that the hunters had to approach very near before they could obtain a shot. The Judge and his comrade, with loaded and cocked rifles in hand, separately approached, on different sides, almost to the edge of the thicket, when the grizzly, with a loud, ferocious cry, suddenly sprang to his feet and rushed toward the Judge, and, when within a few feet of him, reared upon his hind legs, with his ears thrown back, his terrible jaws distended, and his eyes gleaming with rage. The Judge said that he knew that to retreat was death, and that the only chance was to make a sure shot. With the accuracy and courage of a skillful hunter, he fired as the bear stood up, and gave him a fatal shot through the heart. The bear fell, and the colored man came up as pale as a colored man could be, and exclaimed, "that was a 'roshus animal." Robert Newell was a native of the state of Ohio, and came to the Rocky Mountains when a young man. He was of me- dium height, stout frame, and fine face. He was full of humanity, good-will, genial feeling, and frankness. He pos- sessed a remarkable memory, and, though slow of speech, his narrations were most interesting. In his slow, hesitating manner, he would state every minute circumstance in its proper place, and the hearer was most amply compensated in the end for his time and patience. I knew him well, and have