ill a b'ar
as fur off as I could see 'im, an' that gun was as knowing as a man. If it
hadn't been fur that, it would never ha' busted!"

"How did you break it?" asked one of the hunters.

"I strained it t' death," said the old guide soberly. "I was out hunting
one day when I seen a buck and seven does a-standin' close onto me. I
pulled up old Beetle--that's what I called th' gun--and was jest goin' t'
let go when I heard an awful funny noise over my head.

"I looked up 'n' there was more'n ten million wild geese a-sailin' over
me. There I was in a predicament. I wanted th' geese 'n' I wanted th'
deer.

"At last I aimed at th' geese an' let sliver. Beetle must ha' knowed I
wanted both, fur that was th' end of the old gun. The strain on her was
too much, an' both barrels busted.

"Th' shot in one of 'em killed the buck, th' shot in th' other killed ten
geese, and when Beetle died she kicked so hard I was knocked into a crick.
But when I come out my bootlegs was full o' fish. I ain't never seen
another sech gun as Beetle."--_Lippincott's Magazine._

A POWERFUL SALVE.

A man in Nebraska has invented a new powerful double-acting salve which
shows powers never before exhibited by salves of any kind.

The inventor accidentally cut off the tail of a tame wolf, and,
immediately applying some of the salve to the stump, a new tail grew out.
Then picking up the old tail, he applied some of the salve to the raw end
of that, and a wolf grew out; but he was a wild wolf, and had to be
shot.--_Chicago Tribune._

HOW THE PACK WAS PACKED.

A red-faced man was holding the attention of a little group with some
wonderful recitals.

"The most exciting chase I ever had," he said, "happened a few years ago
in Russia. One night, when sleighing about ten miles from my destination,
I discovered to my intense horror that I was being followed by a pack of
wolves. I fired blindly into the pack, killing one of the brutes, and to
my delight saw the others stop to devour it. After doing this, however,
they still came on. I kept on repeating the dose, with the same result,
and each occasion gave me an opportunity to whip up my horses. Finally
there was only one wolf left, yet on it came, with its fierce eyes glaring
in anticipation of a good, hot supper."

Here the man who had been sitting in the corner burst forth into a fit of
laughter.

"Why, man," said he, "by your way of reckoning, that last wolf must have
had the rest of the pa