The bear was not yet dead, but a ball from the rifle finished
him. He was a monster in size. Doubtless the
wound in his fore leg had made it difficult for him to get
food, and he had attacked the children on account of sheer
hunger. But had he not been in that maimed condition, 20
his attack would have been successful and the hindmost
child would have been torn to pieces and eaten up in the
shortest time and with little show of table manners.
—Stories of Indiana.
1. There must be in your community some older person who knows stories of the pioneer days. Ask your teacher to have him tell your class about the life of an earlier day.
2. What other bear stories have you read or heard?
3. Maurice Thompson (1844-1901) knew life in the Middle West at first hand. His home was in Indiana. He was the author of several stories, his widest-read novel being Alice of Old Vincennes.
A PATRIOT OF GEORGIA
By Joel Chandler Harris
Many of the most interesting incidents of the Revolutionary War are buried in old state documents, in family records, or in stray personal letters. Others are largely traditional; for our ancestors of pioneer days were doers rather than chroniclers of their doings.