Magpie's night-bear by W. C. Tuttle
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Magpie's night-bear by W. C. Tuttle is a humorous Western short story written in the early 20th century. It centers on a comic frontier mishap in Montana, where two prospectors’ quiet night turns chaotic when a bear wanders into their cabin and a phonograph unexpectedly becomes the key to escaping trouble. Two prospectors, the narrator and Magpie Peters, are mining on “Plenty Stone Creek” and living in a cluttered cabin prized for
its phonograph. In the moonlit night a huge bear slips in, wrecks the stove and cupboard, gets tangled in flour, bedclothes, and a high chair, and drags the protesting Magpie around the room. As the bear seems ready to turn dangerous, it accidentally starts the phonograph, which blares a bugle and marching orders; the bear, trained to drill, shoulders Magpie’s rifle and marches off into the timber. Next day a newspaper notice reveals a lost trained black bear named Gladys “versed in the manual of arms,” confirming the absurdity of the night. The partners briefly consider the reward, but Magpie refuses to pursue a bear that might also be a sharpshooter. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
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About this eBook
| Author | Tuttle, W. C. (Wilbur C.), 1883-1969 |
|---|---|
| Title | Magpie's night-bear |
| Original Publication | New York, NY: The Ridgway Company, 1915. |
| Series Title | Produced from the March 1915 issue of Adventure magazine. |
| Note | This story may be a precursor to Tuttle's stories about Magpie Simpkins and Ike Harper. A central character is named "Magpie Peters" and the narrator is referred to only as "Ike." |
| Credits | Prepared by volunteers at BookCove (bookcove.net) |
| Language | English |
| LoC Class | PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature |
| Subject | Short stories |
| Subject | Western stories |
| Subject | Bears -- Fiction |
| Category | Text |
| eBook-No. | 78551 |
| Release Date | Apr 25, 2026 |
| Copyright | Public domain in the USA. |
| Downloads | 363 downloads in the last 30 days. |
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