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THE ARGUS, SATURDAY, OCTOBER 30, 1909. r 1 I - J plifir . tf-y 0 . - " ; r-i"ni,wm ir"iT"irirr inm iiii'MiiiniriiiiiirmiyWTVtT ,s ; ' ' ' - " ' ' ... A T tHe king's staff-headquarters at Gitschin tHertf was great activity. Aides-de-camp dashed back and forth with messages; groups of Prussian officers stood about talking earnestly; while all around were columns of marching infantry, struggling teams of artillery, and dashing squadrons of cavalry. It was scarcely light, but his Majesty tfie King of Prussia was up and fully dressed. He was seated ia his tent, closely studying a map. On one side of him sat a gaunt, clean-shaven man, his long bony finger indicating some spot on the chart. He was Field-Marshal Von Moltke, commander-in-chief of the Prussian armies in their campaign against the Austrians. Opposite the sol dier sat an imposing and burly figure that of Count Otto von Bismarck, then Prime Minister of Prussia, and later Chancellor of the German Empire. : The three sat in consultation for some time, the soldier pointing out to the king the plan of attack, while the statesman ever and again flung out some suggestion or sought information. It was the day of the battle of Koniggratz, and a crushing blow was to be delivered by the Prussian armies at their Austrian opponents. At seven o'clock the council broke up, and king, sol dier, and statesman came out from the. tent Just as the Prussian monarch prepared to mount his waiting hcrse, he turned toward Count Bismarck and in a tone of apol ogy said : " Have you a cigar in your case ? " r An onlooker might almost have detected a shade of 'disappointment pass-across the face of the Iron Chan cellor as he hastily drew out a well-worn leather cigar case and handed it to his king. "With pleasure, your Majesty, he said. . The king -opened the case, but the next moment closed it and returned it to his minister. ; " I should do ill to deprive you of your last cigar," he V remarked. "I know only too well their value out here." r In vain Bismarck pressed him to take it. " He reso lutely tieclined, and the case with its one lone cigar was returned to its owner's pocket. f I The king's servant, overhearing the conversation, en- Jdearored to obtain a cigar from some of the staff, but s without success. Among all the officers of the King of 1 Prussia's staff there was but one cigar, and that lay in f the case of the Iron Chancellor. All through the day he guarded that cigar as a miser ; guards his gold, and looked forward in happyanticipa . tion to the hour when he should enjoy it after victory. Soon after eight o'clock the king and his staff reached 1 the line of battle, and the cruel panorama of strife was spread before their anxious gaze. At noon in the orchard near Sadowa the king and his officers were resting, and once more the thoughts of the ; Iron Chancellor turned toward his lone cigar. He drew it forth from the case, and lovingly turned it over and smelled of it. How he longed to light it and iphale its ; . fragrant smoke ! A cry caire ringing down the Prussian front: Be Sure and Read "Via Wireless," the Serk in Today's Issue of The Argus n iVj. -v i is v - J A1 t t. V f 4 " The Crown Prince f The Crown Prince ! " The long-anticipated hour had arrived, and reinforce ments were at hand. The king remounted his horse, and, attended by his generals and minister, spurred for ward to meet his son. Forward, close behind the surging tide of battle, fol lowed the staff-headquarters, and the Prussian leaders observed with growing satisfaction the staggering lines of the "enemy. Long columns of Austrian prisoners be gan to pour past them. Captured cannons and standards followed. Victory was settling upon the German arms, and the Austrian retreat was fast becoming a rout Forward ! Forward ! " were the orders, as position after position fell into the hands of the victorious troops ; . and at length Count Von Moltke turned to his royal master and calmly announced : " Your Majesty, our triumph is assured, and our only thoughts need now be the pursuit I beg of you to rest awhile." Wearied and exhausted, the little party turned their horses' heads in the direction of a farmhouse which stood at the edge of the orchard, and the stern face of Count Bismarck lighted up with pleasure in anticipation of the treat that was now in store for him. His beloved, his last cigar, could now be enjoyed in the rest of the hour of victory. Eagerly he brought it forth and was about to place it in his cigar-holder. Just then an agonizing groan close at his side attracted his attention, and, look ing down, he beheld a poor private of dragoons lying upon the ground wounded in both arms. He was beg ging for something to refresh him. Bismarck hastily felt in his pockets. He had a purse well filled with gold; a silver-mounted penknife; a match-safe; many papers and odds anoVnds ; but, alas ! nothing that would be of aid to this poor fellow. As he yet lingered, wondering what he could do, he noticed the wounded man's eyes rest with an almost appealing look upon the precious cigar he held as yet unlighted in his hand. In a moment the count understood. The poor fellow was longing for that cigar ! Bismarck turned his head away to hide the struggle that was taking place within him. Could he " give it up? After all the long, weary, nerve-racking day, was hie to be deprived of his treasured reward at the very moment of its enjoyment? In an instant he was off his horse, and cutting off the end of the cigar he placed it between the soldier's teeth. Tenderly he raised him,, and then bending over him he struck match after match in the strong wind that was then blowing before he succeeded in lighting the cigar. With a long-drawn-out "sigh of satisfaction, the wounded man inhaled a draft of the soothing smoke, and then closed his eyes in quiet contentment to await the arrival of the surgeons and the ambulance. Thus it came about that a few minutes later one of the king's aides-de-camp found the Prime Minister walk ing slowly away from the wounded soldier, every now and then looking back with a mingled expression of sor row for his wounds and sympathy with his enjoyment of the only cigar that could be found on the battle-field. . .j J By J. M. Gleesost A N early blizzard surprised a huge grizzly bear Z-V while he was still looking for a safe place in which to " hole up " for a good, long sleep. He probably did not like it at all, but his face showed no change, doubtless because he could not possibly look uglier if he tried. His wicked little eyes rolled about in search of comfort: a good, warm, well-protected hole under a tree or among the rocks, or even some such dainty morsel as a small animal or bird hiding away from the storm. The noisy roar of the bliczard as it swirled down the mountain-side drowned the solid pounding of his huge feet and the scraping of the long, ivory-like claws against the rocks. Suddenly he stopped short: a varying hare, not yet quite white, was sleeping in the shelter of a little bush near by. He had almost passed it, when, out of the corner of his eye, he detected a tuft of pinky-white fur ; a few cautious steps, and, with a growl, his mighty foot came down. He growled just a fraction of a second too soon: there was a flash of pinky-white, two long, white legs shot out like light ning, and the paw struck the warm spot where the hare had been sleeping. What a monster he was as he stood there, looking about 1 His eyes small, dull, and sullen, his long head swinging slowly from side to side on the powerful neck, the fringed under lip dropped loosely, making a hideous grinning expression and exposing the purplish gums and the strong, yellow teeth. The driving sleet clung to his coarse coat, giving him k still more grizzled appearance. His long claws, curved like simitars, were worn flat on the ends, where they struck the ground with a snap as he walked. ' 1 M - r.JSf r.il -M-'Z- JJ I 5 - vvr Was ever animal more fitly named Grizzly Bear? The very sound of the word evokes a host of grim, fearsome pictures; and his scientific title, Ursus hcr ribilis, is even more significant. In captivity he stalks restlessly to and fro, cr more often swings round and round in bis narrow prison; the great paws may be stretched through the bars to seize and draw in some offered morsel of food, but there is no joyousness in the action or any expression of pleasure. All the other bears are more or less playful, some of them very much so, affording, when in captivity, endless amuse ment for the spectators. Who lias not watched with delight the mighty rompings and wrestlings of the great white bear of the frozen north, or the neverending games of the various black bears? Funniest of all art the smooth-coated little Malayan sun-bear and the shaggy black sloth-bear of India that Kipling has nude so familiar under the name of " Baloo." But the grizzly never plays and apparently never feels happy; if he has not a grtidge against the whole world, he at least is not going to add to its amusement if he can help it The cubs, of course, like all young animals, are playful, but their mother never joins in their frolics. She takes good care of them, however, and they roam about, hunting and sleeping together for a couple of years, when the youngsters independently wander off and shift for them selves. . r In the old days, before the deadly magazine rifle was invented, hunting the grizzly was a very different affair, and no animal on the American continent was mor dreaded, his fierceness and vital force when wounded filling the most reckless of hunters with a wholesome dread. It was not at all unusual for a grizzly with a bullet through his heart to pursue and tear to pieces the hunter, whose long, single-barreled, muzzle-loading rifle, with its one round lead bullet, was altogether inadequaU for such a contest. It is a strange thing, too, that while the grizzly bear is an omnivorous feeder, living on anything from roots and nuts to steer and buffalo meat, he has never been known to devour human fleslu In the days of Kit Carson the grizzly had not learned to look upon man as a foe to be shunned at any cost, but the quick-firing magazine rifle has taught him that if he possibly can he must keep out of man's sight. He has now been driven back into the almost inaccessible solitudes of the northwestern Rocky Mountains, and the sportsman who wishes to add his pelt and dangling neck lace of claws to his collection of hunting-trophies, must travel far and endure much hardship and labor, for " Old Epl.raim", as he was called by the Western pioneers, u as cunning as he is fierce.