Portage sentinel. [volume] (Ravenna, Ohio) 1845-1854, 1848-01-05
.. ~, From the Summit Beacon.
a, Bear Hunt Thirty Years Ago.

!: n ,gft From the Summit Beacon.
J sA.Bear Hunt Thirty Years Ago, .f.ys,
Mr.. Editor:-+~A few days since 4 saw in
the Ohio statH journal nns account stf a.
Squirrel HuneiniF Franklin county ia 1892,
whicl, brought fresh to my recollection
Christmas Bear Hunt we had in PortageE
county in1sI7eor I8is .eAnd ,if Old Poe
tage cannot beat Franktinin squirrel scalps,
/ amssure she can ir. bears, wolves, adeer |
and turkeys..7@.si ~ st5jaeesaI 81: li!i slsssi
Early in December, 1911. number of
the inhabitants ofthe townships of Ravenna,
Charleston, Palmyra, Deerfeld, Atwater,
Randolph and Rootstown netaat RaSenna
70 make the iran gen1ents for ihess IT uni. ].
The time ngreed upon was Christmas day. ).
"a general invitation was given for all 10
attend. Thsground selected was The south
.half.of Edinburgh and the north half of
Atwater townships 5 miles square. There
were no inhabitants living on The 5hunting
ground with the exception. perhaps of'a few
families on the south line in Atwater, and
one family d. Chapman's) on the north
west cornerein Edinburgh ~ va.5 Ta1lai u
A committee of arrangements was ap-
pointed--a half mile square was well mark
ed offat the center to drive the game into
another line was run and we'll blazed Ia
miles from the centre, and the out side line
or place to start from needed 10 marking,
being the centre lines and travelled roads
through the centres Of Edinburgh and AT
water townships, on the north and south,
and the township lines on the east and west.
Persons were 10 be stationed with horns 40
rods apart-a horn was TO sound at the
northwest corner, Is minutes before 8 o.
clock in the morning. AT the time agreed
upon sounded the horn, and in less than
two minutes the sound came from the south,
assuring US that the lines were well formed.
At 9 O'Clock precisely we tooks the line
of march, and as agreed upon, every one
made as much noise as he could by hollow
ing, blowing hols,s, and firing guns, for the
purpose of getting all the game which
might be enclosed, ON the march toward the
center. ~ -Hr. -ea -. s4a5H. - z.ss.s
After forming our lines anew, by the
sound ofour horns on the Ii mile line, we
again took up our line of march at 10
o'clock, with a fttlo less noise from all,
excepting from those who had guns-but
as the game, deer in particular, began TO
show themselves, there was q constant re-
port from those who had guns. g; .a..-
| A great many deer and some bears were
killed before we arrived on the 1 mile
square, but the,number could not be ascer-
tained; as no game was brought upon the /
mile square, but that which was killedthere.
T [ saw number Of deer and two bears kill.
| led long before we arrived on the mile
square. .>-a.. s.. o. 80 ..1:.a, = a.
Our line was wellformed on the square
before IL O'Clock, and from that time until
about 3, there was one continued roar from
our gnns. Many deer and some bears
made their escape by breaking through the
lines. At one Time large drove of deer
attempted to break out iieaf where stood,
and before we could stop them, I was on
horseback and with others rode Immediately
among them, moro than 30, and probably
more than double that number, broke out
We had seen but few turkeys duringth the
DAY, but occasionally one would be seen
flying out. There had been few inches
of. snow the night before, and the tracks of
the turkeys assured us that very large
number ofthem must be inclosed. As
great part Of the large game was killed or
had escaped, at about 3 o'clock word was
sent round the lines to stop firing and
general rush was made towards the center.
Many of the turkeys few oht, but still every
tree and bush large enough to bear up d
turkey, appeared to be covered with them,
and hundreds of them were killed in few
moments ----
The game killed on the ! mile square
was then collected and brought to the center
and counted by the committee. There
were ll9 deer, 81 bears, and 19 wolves
brought in and counted. The number Of
turkeys killed was not ascertained, for by
the time we had got through counting the
large game, it was almost hight, and appa-
rently by common consent every one who
wished helped himself to turkeys from the
heap. ...- ss
The day was not cold but considerable
snow fell. From the commencement the
sport was highly exciting, and not the least
accident happened, although there was some
little danger, particularly near the corners
of the square. recollect whilst talking
with some person near the northeast cor
ner, heard some ming pat kgainst beach
tree near my head, and on. examing, i
found some person had, contrary to arrange
ment, fred across the corner. ss 3, w. u
~ Tho War Office has received by
the officers who have recently arrived from
Mexico, various trophies Of war: Among
them, are two small beautiful brass wall
pieces of ordnance; sent by General Scott,
and brought to this city by Col. Andrews.
The most curious Of these trophies is the
black flag Of the guerillas. The material