The Sun.
London, England, 1854-09-26 00:00:00

TERRIBLE ENCOUNTER WITII A BEAR.

The following terrible encounter with a bear occurred
in Lower Canada ; the particulars are translated from
the Canadian:—
" A most painful occurrence has spread a panic in the
parish of St. Raymond. A man has been torn to piece*
by a bear. The bear killed and carried off. over night,
cow belonging to a man of the name of Michael Can-
tin. On the morrow an experiencect hunter in that re.
;ion, named James Cantin, wi. use aim for 40 years had
orought down bears, moose, and other large game of the
forest without number, prepared means to put an end
ti this ferocious brute. It was sundown before these
were completed, and he had not time to go for his son to
assist him in the bunt. The bear came, according to
custom, to feed upon the prey he had secreted ; and
the inhabitants of the village heard the firing of a gun.
Fifteen minutes later another gun was heard, the report
sounding as if near the woods ; and as the night waa
closing a third report was heard, coming from within
the forest ; then all was silent.
"The people gathered together to meet the hunter on
his way home, and hear from his, own lips the story of
his encounter with the hear. But the night has begun,
and he does not come. The hopes of his friends turn to
fear, and they resolve to fly to his assistance. They
start with lanterns, and proceed to the edge of the
forest, where their cries and discharge of firearms re-
main unanswered. They enter the wood, and scour it
in all directions, without seeing or hearing anything.
Then they return homeward, sad and dispirited, to re-
sume the search at dawn the next day.
" More than forty persons, who bad been summoned
in the course of the night, met at daybreak on the mor-
row at the spot whence the report of the hunter's first
the forest • and
shot proeeeded. A bloody track led them on through
bear, whiCh they found lying dead in a clump of bushes
many who were following it came to the
near a swamp. But no hunter was to be found. They
continued on their way, still keeping to the traces of
bloodre lay on the groundwh , which extended beyond the spot
thicket they the animstumbled al, until in the middle of a dense
on the unfortunate Cantin. to
The soil trampled and torn u
on downth
et trodden,
athnedt
trhuenkfaoofe te three eee
13, the bushes broken and
arthakrdgboyr,ythweitlheavthese
blood that had been shed, and the mutilated limbs of the
deceased; everything told 'of a long and desperate one
waged hand to hand between the unfortunate hunter
and his terrible adversary.
" From all that could be gathered on the subject, it
is surmised that the horrible tragedy took wounded
in the
following manner :—•Cantin's first shot had wounded the
bear severely, and driven him to the wood. The hunter
followed pursuit, and fired a second time, but from the
rear, as in the first instance. Still this could not have
been a mortal wound, Then it is supposed that the bear
finding that he was followed up closely, and urged on
by fear and rage, plunged deeper into the forest, where
at length he laid down to recruit his strength, or per.
haps to die after the custom of his species, the membere
of which usually seek some retired spot to breath their
last. Accordingly, the monster selected the densest
thicket to be found in the wood.
" Animated by the noble ambition of the hunter who
thinks he is sure of his game, and is desirous of adding
another to his numerous exploits, Cantin persevered in
the chase, notwithstanding the increasing darknesit
around him. Still it must have been sufficiently light
fir him to distinguish the gory track of the bear ; but
it is highly probable that he stumbled suddenly upon
him in his secure retreat ; and then in his rage the ani-
mal regained his strength for a while, and rising con-
fronted his pursuer before he could escape. Still Cantin
must have had time to fire a third shot, but so hurriedly
that his aim could not have told effectually, the ball
being found in the neck. Then he undoubtedly clubbed
his gun and beat the animal on his head until the
weapon fed shattered from his grasp to the ground,
where he was discovered by his friends. The man and
the brute must have closed then in the last fearful con-
flict which terminated to fatally ; but disarmed, with-
out a knife, and having nothing but his stout arm to
oppose the fury of the bear, the brave fellow's courage
could not save him from the tragic end he met with.
" When a bear engages in a fight he rises, and sitting
on his haunches strikes his paws like a monkey, but
uses his claws in addition like a cat, while his enormous
muscles indicate a strength that is almost inconceivable.
His claws, projected with a terrible power, tear and
carry away everything they fall upon. From these
poor Cantin received several terrible blows before he
succumbed, the marks of which made the blood run
cold in those who looked upon his corpse. His
hands were torn by the claws, and partly devoured
by the animals teeth. The hair of his head and
the scalp hung in pieces about his face, and his
right thigh was mangled into mince meat. He
must have been still contending against the bear,
when the brute, with a fearful instinct, directing his
blows against the man's face, fixed his murderous claws
in his face, for, by a blow of his right paw, he literally
stripped off the hunter's left cheek. One of the claws
had penetrated immediately beneath the left eye and
torn away the cartilage of the nose, without, however,
injuring the eye itself. This terrific blow doubtlessly
threw Cantin to the ground, when the bear left him and
retreated to die a few rods from the scene of conflict.
" That wound was not mortal, and Cantin survived it
several Hours. The blood which deluged
his knees
showed that he had sat down to let it flow. It may be
that at that very moment he heard, without being able
to reply to them the cries of the party who sallied in
quest of him at night. Exhausted at length by the he-
morrhage, he laid himself down gently on his right side,
perhaps to make his face and limbs less painful. Pos-
sessing his consciousness still, he consecrated his last
moments to God in prayer. He was found with clasped
hands, and holding his blue bonnet. Honest and strictly
pious, the last thoughts of that unfortunate man were
worthy his whole life. He leaves a disconsolate widow
and four children to lament his untimely and awful end."

DEPARTURES FROM THE PORT OF LONDON.—The de-
partures for the Australian colonies during the week hays
comprised seven vessels—three for Port-Philip, with an
aggregate burden of 2,545 tons; two for Sydney, with an
aggregate burden of 1,274 tons ; and two for Adelaide,
with an aggregate burden of 762 tons. Their total capa-
city was consequently 4,581 tons. The rates of freight
exhibit no material alteration.
THE TEA TRADE.—Messrs. James Goddard and Co.,
in their circular say :—ln the tea market business has
been quiet during the past fortnight, and prices re-
mained unchanged until the arrival of the telegraph on
the 15th instaht, advisieg threatened disturbances in
the neighbourhood of Canton, and considerable alarm
and interference with business there. Importers upon
this, determined to wait the arrival of their letters, and
declined to sell, excepting at an advance ; exporters, who
had generally orders on hand unexecuted, showed a dis-
poition to purchase, and common congau was done at
4,1. per lb. advance. Sales were also made to a mode-
rate extent on speculative account. The trade, how-
ever, have not shown any inclination to get into stock,
o that, with the exception of some 4,000 or 5,000 chests
.f common congou that have changed hands at the ad.
aece, the business .;one has not been large.
VENTILATION OF SEWERS —Complaints of the gully-
hole emanations are now general, and though I should
be sorry to defend the barbarous practice of ventilating
the sewers through slits in the streets ortbrough the gully-
holes, yet there is one view of the subject which has es-
caped the notice of the public, though, of course, scien-
tific men are aware of it. It is this : --If the foul air can-
not get away through these street openings it will make
its way through the house drains into the interior of
houses, and woe be to the tenant whose drain is un-
trapped. The flap-traps are never air tight, even the
syphon-trapsarefrequently insufficient. In a county town
a few years ago, the borough surveyor was afflicted with
a vehement spasm of gully-trapping. There was immedi-
ately a rapid increase of disease, and in the higher parts
of the town, clearly attributable to the fact of the
foul air entering the houses through the untrapped
drains. What are we to do between the two fires?
At any rate, the liberty of the subject should be so
far trespassed upon as to make it compulsory on the
landlords to have the house-drains trapped, whether they
f
t
bi
wi
eke like
relievediht ourl
dn go
ete
ther
dpxsueepor
air-pressure
Next, if
ephmieuhrefnaiee byrodtnlesisomefltnseoucetrnheyoe
sa.a.
si
arntg
semaes:ei
die
eshtaawarnldti
through
osnei
uvuntsigilhdefddhienetnlntdhseghoie
fsetwfir
oe
couldcorue
osmurttss thcemeotrTpsuund
hleiotadni
the streets. I would suggest that the commissioners
tbmb
oeoi
tgmdthoeatmnkr nee
into
by
kty he
me
at
enweaxene
difference in area making a difference in the friction of
the two columns of air, up and down, and create a draft
of some power ; of what amount that power would be,
to be ascertained by the experiment. The draft might
be slow, but it wculd be continual, requiring no fuel, and
no attending to. Prom this might approximately be
determined the number of ventilating-shafts for a given.
district.—The Builder.
THE RUSSIAN FAIR OF NOVGOROD.—The fair annually
held at Nijny Novgorod, upon the right bank of the
Volga, is the great mart of Russian commerce between
years, however an
d A iiat
for the interchange of the products of the national in-
.haelnbeteehemecomarseree
aonfdthmeorlase
at
markettwenty
in-
dry,
fursbi
British
yssh‘,ll
los
awe
niauntfgalt
toeuerteehesew
we. set
raoeb
el sthkamde
ueeantlthl
yeorfs
uhAparnpmldae,
nnuti
pianntgeh
Ite
those,
e 423
e,
gr
of Russia, notwithstandring the protectivea eeeuslts
adopted by the has
recently bees publishede r of the businesa done at this
which it appears that there
a merchandise, valued at
42 288,100 roubles , EufrroomPean and colonial, 7,404,825
766,350 roubles—making a total of
275 roubles. This amount was lees by 1,606,004
63,459,
roubles than at the fair of 1852. The gales produced a
taken to itE—Russia
rfwaoei,:rbeil theA ;Asiatic, a yeart
i ,1875",
gross sum of 34,417,705 roubles, being considerably
less than the amount in 1851, when the value sold
was returned at 53,690,400 roubles. The receipts
of the restaurants, cafés, and shops—most of which
are mere stalls, but of which a regular account is kept
—show a corresponding diminution in 1853 compared
with 1852. Among the Asiatic articles brought to the
fair was tea from China, to the value of 5,374,500 roubles.
And in speaking of those produced by Russia, the report
says that the ordinary cotton fabrics made by the native
manufacturers continue to hold the first rank in compe-
tion with those of foreign production. Their value was
the greatest of all the articles enumerated among the pro.
duce of Russia, with the exception of wrought iron, for
it is put down at 8,189,100 roubles, or one-sixth of the
whole. The common and average qualities of these fa-
brics suit exactly the taste and circumstances of the Peo-
ple, and some credit is taken for the diminution of the
business in 1853 compared with that of the preceding
year, in the goods sent by foreign traders. But-it added
that the aggregate diminution was mainly caused by
cholera or the fear of it. It is a significant fact that the
circulation of coin, both gold and silver, wag leis in
1853 than in 182.