Much of the stories about animals in the 1800s involved killing them or abusing them, so when I found this rare gem of the fierce kitten who scared off a bear, I had to share it.
Cats can be fierce critters. My own cat walked right up to a visiting bear to chase it out of the yard, but I was already there, smacking two pots together to make enough noise to scare off the bear before my cat could risk getting hurt. My sister, who also lives in bear country, caught her cat chasing a bear out of her yard. She said it was a strange sight. A bear went running past her window, followed by her cat. Neither the cat nor the bear were injured.
KITTEN AND BEAR
Pussy Frightened Bruin [another word for bear] Up a Tree and Kept Him There.
Chris Burns, the veteran first sergeant of troop D, has a kitten which during the summer camping of the troop at the Lower Geyser basin made her home within the sergeant’s tent. Here, curled up on a pair of army blankets, she defied the world in general and dogs in particular. When the latter approached she would elevate every bristle on her brave little back, her eyes would glow like live coals and her tail would swell up threateningly. If the dogs approached too near, she would hiss and exhibit the usual signs of hostility until the intruders had vanished from her neighborhood.
One day, when the camp was bathed in sunshine and every soldier in camp felt lazy, an inquisitive black bear came down the mountain side and, whether because he was in search of adventure or because by a savory smell from the cook’s fire, began to walk about among the white tents of the calvary command.
Suddenly the kitten caught sight of him. Dogs by the score she had seen, but this particular “dog” was the largest and the hairiest dog she had ever seen. But she did not hesitate. It was enough for her that an enemy had invaded her special domain. Hissing forth her spite, while her little body quivered with rage, she darted forth at the bear. The onslaught was sudden, and one glance was enough for Bruin. With a snort of fear, Bruin made for the nearest tree, a short distance away, and did not pause until he was safely perched among the upper branches. Meanwhile the kitten stalked proudly about on the ground beneath, keeping close guard over her huge captive, her back still curved into a bow, and her hair still bristling with righteous indignation, while her tail would now and then give a significant little wave, as if to say: “That’s the way I settle impertinent bears.”
The soldiers, who meanwhile had poured forth from their tents, could scarcely believe their eyes; but there was the bear in the tree and the kitten below, and there were those who had seen the affair from beginning to end.
And perhaps the strangest part of it all was that the bear would not stir from his safe position in the branches until the kitten had been persuaded to leave her huge enemy a clear means of retreat! Then he slid shamefacedly down from his perch, and ambled hastily off towards the mountain. — Lieut. Charles D. Rhodes, U.S.A., in St. Nicholas. [Source]
