“Un ours!” (a bear!) they murmured, with glances of displeasure and many shrugs of disgust.
“Un ours!” What did it all mean, and what in the world were these Americans laughing at? Where was the joke? They failed to see anything laughable. “Un ours!”
No one laughed, and at last the lieutenant tried to explain his joke. “Son nom est Napoleon!” said he, pointing to the bear. “That is his name! Napoleon! He has come to see you!” and Grimsby burst out in another laugh.
Dismal silence continued to prevail ashore, except that several, still shrugging with comical little grimaces, muttered that Monsieur, l’Americain, appeared to be un farceur—a joker!
“Ah, well,” cried Grimsby, disgusted in turn by their lack of humor, “you had better take a good look at him! It is the only Napoleon that you will ever see come up the Mississippi! Your grand Napoleon has sold you out to the United States. Within ten days your new American governor will be here!”
At this juncture Capt. Meriwether Lewis, who had recently come there, made his way down to the bank, and hailing Captain Royce, whom he had previously met at Marietta, lent his aid to explain the matter to the governor and others. Captain Lewis was at this time completing his preparations for the famous Lewis and Clark expedition, which, under direction of President Jefferson, set off from St. Louis on the 10th of May following.
Lieutenant Grimsby had not seen the last of his joke, however. On setting off from the Milly Ayer the next morning, to lead Napoleon to the governor’s house, at the northeast corner of Main and Walnut Streets, he was stoned by some young loafers; and in his efforts to catch one of them he lost hold of Napoleon.
The bear, alarmed by the stones, galloped up the street and turned in at the open gate of one of the palisaded courtyards.
Immediately a great outcry ensued inside. Children and women screamed, and presently a gun was fired. Napoleon was creating a terrible commotion, and it was uncertain what damage to life or property he might be doing. But Grimsby, being overmatched by his assailants, was unable to go in pursuit of him. After a scuffle the lieutenant ran back to the river bank and called on Moses, Lewis and Wistar Royce to return with him.
The four set off together at a run, and on reaching the scene of the skirmish, found that Grimsby’s assailants had beaten a retreat, and a worse outcry than ever was issuing from within the courtyard of the house where the pet bear had taken refuge. But now the cries were those of pigs instead of human beings. The gate had swung to and latched, and the palisades were too high to scale.