Bear Country

Journal 2006 07 15
Bear Country

“In the evening, the man who had started to go to the other end of the portage (McNeal), returned without being there. A white bear met him at Willow creek, that so frightened his horse that he threw him off among the feet of the animal; but he fortunately (being too near to shoot) had sufficient presence of mind to hit the bear on the head with his gun; and the stroke so stunned it, that it gave him time to get up a tree close by before it could seize him. The blow, however, broke the gun and rendered it useless; and the bear watched him about three hours and went away; when he came down, caught his horse about two miles distant, and returned to camp. These bears are very numerous in this part of the country and very dangerous, as they will attack a man every oportunity.”
Sgt. Patrick Gass

“…these bear are a most tremenduous animal; it seems that the hand of providence has been most wonderfully in our favor with rispect to them, or some of us would long since have fallen a sacrifice to their farosity.” Captain Lewis

As Lewis and his men are near the Great Falls that required the great portage last summer he recalls the great danger they met in this area and reflects much as I did when I wrote about it last June. I wrote of Lewis’ day of what appeared to be Heaven on earth that he was required to defend his life from natural enemies three times and decided to head back to the safety of his men rather than spend the night alone and tempt fate to continue to overtake his life. Today he writes, “…there seems to be a sertain fatality attatched to the neighbourhood of these falls, for there is always a chapter of accedents prepared for us during our residence at them.”

And as a footnote to today’s record he adds, “…the musquetoes continue to infest us in such manner that we can scarcely exist; for my own part I am confined by them to my bier at least ¾ths of my time. my dog even howls with the torture he experiences from them, they are always most insupportable, they are so numerous that we frequently get them in our thrats as we breath.”

Meriwether Lewis lost his hope for Paradise on earth last summer after the bear, cougar and snake attacked him in succession. He still marvels at Creation. He also acknowledges the portions that result from what I would call “The Fall.”

God created a garden and placed the man He had created in it. He looked at what He had made and decided the man needed a “helpmeet” a companion. A woman. He took a rib out of the man and formed the woman. They later sinned by disobeying God. God forgave them, covered their shame (which required an animal to be slain) and banished them from the Garden forever. And the history of mankind and the world has been built around redeeming that act, that sin, that required separation from God.

“The Fall” and the decay that follows it. We think we live a long life. We live far shorter lives than the patriarchs of Isreal. Scientists tell us that the universe is in “decay.” It is not on an upward climb of evolution but a downward spiral of physical decay into a sin-caused spiral of loss.

Meriwether Lewis recognized the juxtaposition of the grandeur of Creation and the depravity of our natural world. Do we? We had DDT for mosquitoes, now we have DEET. We can close ourselves off from most of the uncomfortable parts of life, but we still have sin and death.

The wonder of Creation points us to Father God. The depravity, or perversion through decay, of Creation points us to the Father’s plan for redemption. His Son, Jesus Christ.

So do you see it? They are both in front of our eyes for the taking. Mt. Rainier on a clear day in Seattle. Troublesome mosquitoes and horseflies dogging your every step and breath as you hike or camp around that same mountain. Let them speak to your mind and heart to see the truth.

Proceed on.