Here is another of Dean Reynolds' stories. Dean calls this one Bear Eclipse

In the year of 1965, My father and I had the sheep feeding on the face of Lake mountain just below Hornet Springs. It was late in the afternoon and the shadows had begun to creep across the mountain.
My farther glanced at the setting sun and turning to me, he said. "Dean, if you will stick around until the sheep bed down. I think I'll go up on the top and knock down a deer. We're about out of mutton and I'd like some venison for a change."
"Sure, I said. Go ahead. I'll stick around." I watched him as he rode away, his horse picking it's way through the tall sage brush, it's shoes clicking on an occasional rock. In about ten minutes they topped out on the skyline and disappeared from sight. Then, I swung upon my horse and rode around the sheep to bunch them up prior to them bedding down for the night.
Dusk came quickly and as the air cooled, the breeze changed direction and came softly flowing down the mountain bringing with it the scent of balsum pine. The sheep were quiet now, and as I turned my horse toward the cabin thinking of supper. I heard the report of a rifle shot high above me and I smiled as I visualized my Father cleaning out a deer. He was a crack shot and seldom missed.
As I rode up to the cabin, it was dark and a bright full moon was rising over Saw Tooth mountain to the east. I unsaddled and hobbled my horse and turned him out to graze. I had a warm fire going in the cook stove and a pan of fried taters on top of the stove and a batch of biscuits in the oven by the time I hear my Father ride up and dismount.
Shortly I heard the clink of hobbles and then, the slow deliberate footsteps of my Father as he strode across the porch and came inside. We sat down to eat and as I poured him a cup of hot water for Postum I asked him if he had had any luck. He looked at me as if I had just ask him a dumb question.
"Sure", he said. "I knocked down a nice little fat yearling and gutted him and hung him up in a quakie. We can take care of him in the morning after he has cooled out."
After eating and doing the dishes, we sat out on the porch and admired the brightness of full moon and discussed our plans for the following day. I'll treasure the memories of those quiet times together with my father. We could set for long periods of time without saying a word, each enjoying one anothers company.
The next morning just before dawn and after having a quick breakfast. We saddled up and rode single file up the canyon just south of the cabin letting our horses rest from time to time. We reached the top of the mountain a half mile east of Hornet springs where we stopped to let our horses blow.
We sat there for a few minutes letting the light gather. In the distance below us stretched the Uinta basin. Being high up on the mountain at 9,000 feet we could make out the range of mountain known as the Tavaputs on the south rim of the basin. The few lights we could see through out the basin slowly faded out as the sun begn to crawl over the top of Sawtooth mountain to the east.
My Father turned to me and said. "I'll go take care of the sheep and make sure the coyotes don't get into them while you go and get that deer I hung up and skin him out an take him down to the cabin and wrap him up and I'll see you about dinner time." I said. "Ok." And after he had explained where he had hung the deer, we seperated and rode off.
I rode a quarter of a mile north until I came to the forest fence which ran east and west along the north boundary of the homestead. The nearest gate through the fence wa a half mile to the west of where I was and so I dismounted and tying my horse to a fence post. I crawled through between two barb wires and walked off toward the north looking for the deer that was supposed to be hanging in a tree. As I reached the place where I thought the deer ought to be. I couldn't see it and thought. "Dad must have given me the wrong directions because it just isn't here."
I started going in ever widening circles looking for it. After looking for some time I began getting a little concerned with not finding what I was looking for. Soon however, I came to a small sagebrush clearing and right in the middle of it lay the carcass of the deer all covered with dust. I hadn't noticed the drag marks out in the trees because of the heavy cover of dried leaves covering the ground. The truth is that I hadn't been looking at the ground but had beeen looking for a deer hanging in a tree. However, here in the bare dirt the drag marks were as plain as day. Also, there in the dirt just as plain as the nose on your face were large bear tracks. Instinctively I straighted up and looked all around me. Of course, I didn't expect to see that bear, but I looked anyway. You would have too.
Turning my attention back to the deer, I could see that the bear had torn off and eaten both of the deer's ears. Then, I wondered why the bear hadn't dragged the deer the short distance north into Lake Creek canyon where could he hidden it among the tangled fallen timber and juniper bushes. I have been in that canyon numerous times and have found it hard in numerous places for a man on foot to work his way through.
As I stood there thinking about it, I glanced to the east seeing it was still early in the morning I reason that the bear was probably dragging the deer at the time he had heard or seen me coming and had been scared off.
I left the deer laying there in the clearing as it was rather dirty having been dragged throught the dirt by the bear. I walked back to my horse and rode to where my Father was waiting for me. We sat by a small sagebrush fire there on the hillside and I told him all about the bear that had spoiled our deer meat. We dozed there for a while listening to the bleating of the ewes and lambs in the distance and then saddled up and rode back down to the cabin to get our dinner.
After we had filled our bellys with mutton and biscuits, we sat out on the front porch and discussed the happenings of the morning. We knew that it stood to reason that the bear would return that night to eat on the deer he had been scared off of. We remembered that a bear had gotten into the sheep a couple of weeks earlier and we figured that this must be the same bear. Well, we thought we can't put up with that bear any longer.
Now, Scottie Massey's place was just over the mountain to the north and down in Dry Fork canyon. My Dad said. "I wished we had one of Scotttie's bear traps so we could try to trap that bear and get him out of our hair."
I said. "I'll ride over to Scotties and borrow a trap."
"You can't do that it's too far."
"No, it isn't." I said. "I'll throw the pack saddle on ole Nig and ride over to Scotties and get one of his traps and be back by sundown."
I caught up old Nig, one of our pack horses and mounted up and high tailed it up over the high ridge and down through South Fork to Scottie's ranch along Dry Fork creek.
I found Scottie out in his strawberry patch leaning on his shovel where he was doing a little irrigating.
"We have bear trouble, Scottie and we need to borrow a trap to catch him with." Scottie pointed to a wooden shed back of the house and said. "There's a couple of traps in there and you can take your pick. But, first step down and visit a spell." No, I hadn't better waste any time. I better hurry back as soon as I can so maybe can set the trap before it gets dark."
I went to the shed and stepped inside. There hanging on the wall were two bear traps. They both looked identical so I grabbed hold of one of them to lift it off the hook. I was in for a big surprise. I hadn't realized they were so heavy. I guess they must weigh around 80 pounds. Well, I struggled the trap up on ole Nig and tied it down and waved to Scottie. I trotted up the trail towards our cabin.
I rode pretty hard and arrived at the cabin about 5 in the afternoon. My Father was taking a nap when I rode up. I guess I disturbed his siesta. He was kinda surprised to see me back so early.
I drank a cold glass of water and grabing a stale biscuit. We saddled Dad's horse and headed up the canyon to where the deer was laying in the clearing. It was a warm afternoon and the flies were buzzing around the carcass of the deer.
We dragged the deer off into the thick quakies and tied him up against the trunk of a quakie so that his hind feet were about three feet off the ground. We then cut down a green quakie that was about 14 inches in diameter and cut it into a ten foot long piece to be used as toggle to tie to the end of the chain on the bear trap. As we lifted the trap off the horse and laid it on the ground, my Father exclaimed. "What crazy fool would think it takes a trap that large and heavy to hold a little ole bear."
We had a time setting the trap. We had to use a pole as a fulcrum to mash the springs on both ends of the trap. We spread the jaws and lifted the pan to engage it so as to hold the jaws of the trap open. Then we placed the trap under the deer. Then we tied the toggle log onto the end of the bear trap chain. We then drug two large quakie logs up to the tree and placed them in a V along each side of the trap. The small end of the V at the bottom of the tree on each side of the trap.
By this time, it was getting rather late. The sun had gone down and as we figured we had done all we could, rode around the sheep to bed them down and headed back to the cabin.
As we rode up to the cabin and swung down off our horses, I watched my Father unsaddle his horse as I was unsaddling mine. A crazy idea was forming in my brain. I turned to my Father and said. "Dad, I have killed more than 20 deer with my bow and arrows. I've got the urge to take my bow and go back up to the trap and set down wind from it so that if or when the bear comes to feed on the deer maybe I can nail him with a hunting arrow." Of course my Dad thought I must be crazy but, decided to do it anyway. So I gathered up my bow and some hunting arrows and exchanged my coat for a warmer one. I headed up the canyon on foot hurrying to get to the trap before dark. I arrived there just as darkness was closing in.
I quickly located a juniper bush about 20 yards down wind of the trap. There was downed dry quakie log laying along side of it that I was able to sit down on and by peering through the top of the juniper bush. I could faintly make out the tree where the trap was set. Nocking a hunting arrow on the string of the bow. I stood it up leaning against the bush in front of me I pulled up the collar of my coat and setting on the log, I waited for things to happen. As the chill set in, I shivered as I lisened to the coyotes yipping in the distance around Indian spring.
In a few moments I began to notice that the moon had begun to peep over Saw Tooth mountain to the east. By the light it was casting on the tops of the quakies and pines. The pine behind me was a black curtin and already I could feel the ole bar creeping up behind me. It was hard to keep from jerking my head under the covers as I was afraid of the dark. Of course, that was when I was a little kid, but, now I'm a grown man and must take my mind off the things of the past when it comes to the dark. In a few momements, the moon had cleared the mountain to the east and was shining in all it's glory being so bright that it has washed out the image of the stars. The shadows of the quakies were like black rods stretched across the moonlite landscape in front of me.
I sat there and shivered and waited and waited and continued to feel spooky. I didn't notice, at first, but , as I nodded my head for a few moments and again looked up I suddenly realized that the moonlight wasn't as bright as it had been before. I couldn't actually see the moon from where I sat as the pines obscured it from my view. As it continued getting darker and darker, I blinked my eyes and shook my head and pushed up my glasses higher on my nose and stared into the increasingly darkness. A small feeling of panic and a shiver went up my spine. By now, I couldn't even see the tree where the trap was set. I felt vulnerable and began to thinking. What am I doing? It was so dark by now that I couldn't have seen the bear even if it did show up. All my life I have been sort of a thrill seeker and at that moment I was getting a good one. I have been scared quite a few times in my life. For instance, while serving as an infantryman in World War Two in Europe. The fear I felt back then was as if it was draining all the liquid out of your body and forcing you down into the ground and when you got to your feet and started running, You felt like your were going to run into a brick wall any second. The fear I felt now was a throwback to my little kid age when I was afraid of the dark....and dogs.
It was totally dark by now and the stars were merrily twinkling overhead in all their glory. I got up, I'm getting out of here. I held my bow out in front of me to ward off any branches and to let me know when I was about to crash into a tree. I made it to the forest fence and crawled through. A little farther along, I came out into the open and looked at the moon. I could hardly believe what I was seeing. The moon was a reddish pink and it looked enormous and on it's east edge just beginning to show was a streak of white lite getting bigger and bigger as I watched. The realiation hit me like a ton of bricks. The moon had just gone through a total eclipse. I felt a little sheepish. The feeling of fear that I had felt back in the trees had left me but, I was't about to go back in there. I used the excuse of being rather sleepy. So I found the horse trail as the light increased and making my way back to the cabin, I sneaked into bed without disturbing my Father.
The next morning I had to confess to my Father of my fears the night before and about the eclipse of the moon. He just grinned when I related my fears and expressed dissapointment about not seeing the eclispe.
After breakfast and with a little daylight showing, we saddled up the rode up the canyon. Nearing the top, we stopped to let the horses blow. My farther said, "I'll go around the mountain to the sheep and you can go check the trap. It isn't likely that the bear came back last night. We left a lot of our scent around the trap and it'll take a few days to wash out. "Ok" I said. After I check the trap, I'll ride on down to Hornet springs and wait for you there. I can do a little work on the water trough while I'm waiting for you."
I rode off and as I reached the top of the mountain and was about a hundred yards from the forest fence. I stopped my horse and set there listening to the drone of an aircraft engine. I had just entered the edge of the trees as the sun was just clearing the top of Saw Tooth mountain to the east. There was just a slight hint of a breeze and the only sound was drone of the airplane. My horse threw up his head to gain some slack in the reins and then lowered his head and began feeding on a clump of grass. I let him feed as I wondered how my Father was doing with the sheep. As my horses head came up chewing on a mouthful of grass, I touched my horse with my heels and rode toward the trap. When I came to the forest fence, I dismounted and tied my horse to a fence post. I ducked through the fence and stood up and began walking toward the trap which was about a hundred yards farther on to the north. I had forgotten about the sound of the airplane as it had stopped and I had taken my mind off of it. As I continued walking, suddenly the sound of the airplane came again and this time I could tell that it came from in front of me in the direction of the trap. I made a beeline toward the location of the trap. I stopped again, listening to the sound and trying to locate the tree where we had set the trap.
Glancing to the right, I was surprised to see what appeared to be a Herford cow. I turned my steps in that direction, hoping to get a better look and maybe check the brand of the cow. All the cows had been removed from the forest as it was late fall and I figured that this one had been left behind. As I got closer and the trees thinned out so that I had a better look at the animal, I stopped and stared while my mouth popped open and my heart gave a leap and the adrtenalin surged in my bowels. I was looking at the largest brown bear I had ever seen on Lake mountain. He was standing there facing me with his head down and his nose barely touching the ground. The sound of the airplane had stopped then, I realized that it had been the bear growling. I slowly and cautiously approached him. He didn't move a muscle but kept his nose to the ground and followed my every move with his little pig eyes. He air had warmed up and a few flies were buzzing around him as I sat down on a log and admired him. He was the color of a bay horse. His hair was long and the tips shown in the sunlight. He had little round ears almost covered up by hair and I could see the white of one eye as he stared sideways at me without moving his head. As I studied him I had a feeling of ecstacy tinged with sadness. I thought, what an awful thing to do to one of God's bueatiful creatures.
I don't want to tell the rest of the story except to mention that when my Father showed up, he looked at the monstrous bear and exclaimed. "Dean, do you think that trap is large enough to hold him?"