The freeman. (Fremont [Ohio]) 1849-1850, 1850-04-06
sporting i'm California.

We copy it that our readers may have some
dea of the animals as well as the minerals of
that new land:
We have rich sport in hunting. / enjoy ii
finely, although il is hard work travelling over
the hills. / call my rife ''Old Muskingum, "
md the pleasure of drawing her to face with !
a line fat deer within one hundred and hity
yards, amply compcnsates me for days walk
Venison is worth fifty cents per pound, and
thus We make II profitable business, Inc
deer are becoming scarce, and we have to go
FIVE and six miles to find them, and then carry
them in on our backs. l frequently hunt all
day in the rain. There are plenty OF grizzly
bears within four OF five miles of camp. Early
in the fall they come within mile OF camp IN
the night. | have seen three this winter, and
heard a fourth one near me IN the bushes, but
did not see it, / went in company with two
other men, on bear bunt few days ago
There had been slight fall OF snow during
the night previous, and we took advantage OF
this to track them with more facility. We
started early from camp, each OF us armed
with a good rife and knife. We went slxmlesl
when we struck track-and here let me tell
YOU something about these California bears
and their tracks There have been three OF
them killed in this vicinity and | state what
/ know. In color they are of dark brown,
an the back nearly black, and lighter on the
sides and flank. Of those that were killed,
one weighed 500 pounds, one 600, and the
other 500, and none of them were considered
TO be of the largest size. They make track
very much the shape of mans foot; and II
have measured tracks one foot long and six
inches wide, and then the claws made their
marks two inches before the toes making the
entire track fourteen inches in length; this is
the hinder foot The fore f ,ot is nearly round
These animals travel during the night, and in
id:rtImc secrete ::i:;liiccA!ves in thick bushes,
GENERALLY on rocky hills Here they dig
great beds in the ground precisely similar to a
hog bed.
l have seen hundreds of them. When ly-
ling within one of these beds they will allow
you to approach within fifteen or twenty pa
ces before stirring, and then bound off with a
tremendous grunt or boo, and move off to an
other thicket. They will not attack man I'M
less he happens to be in their path as they
come out of their beds. When wounded they
are sometimes very ferocious. Well, to re-
sumo my narrative: We followed the track
about two miles, across hills, hollows and
creeks, until he assembled a hill, where the
bushes and rocks were unusually thick 1t
being kind of sugar-loaf hil we went around
the foot to see whether he had crossed it.
I've found he had not, and that three others had
| gone up We now knew that we had four
bears on this hill one half mile in circumfer-
ence at the base. We did not care about
having So many to commence on but, after a
short council and examination of arms, we de-
termined on an attack. We commenced as
cending the hill in the most open place, keep
ing vigiant look out in all directions, and
with rifles cooked and in hand. We had as
cended about half way, when we saw where
a bear had passed into the bushes ahead OF US
The bushes being too thick to penetrate in that
direction, we turned to the right, keeping the
track on our left. We continued vending
around the summit of the hill, making oul
circuit smaller each time, until we found thai
the bears were in dense thicket just on the
summit of the hill, amidst some high rocks
Now came the tug of war-to find his bear
!. ship and shoot him before he should find as
We began exploring the bushes slowly ant
with the utmost circumspeetion, keeping in the
open parts and when possible near trees. We
kept close together for the purpose of shooting
together, should one come suddenly upon us
We had proceeded in this way for near hal
an hour, when we were brought to 4 suddel
halt -by seeing bear standing on his hinde
feet twenty yards distant, looking at US owe
: the bushes. which were low in that place. A
the moment l saw him he dropped on al
fours and started of. As he did so he pass
: ed out of my sight, but quick as thought
lsprank past cluster of bushes towards him
/. and came ont in view of and Immediately be
hind him. brought my rifle to my face, an
shot him Just over the hips One OF my com
panions' rifles cracked with mine and the 9th
er a second or two after.
: At the crack of our rifles the bear fell o.
his side, with great bawl, and we though
that we had sickened him; but, before W
could reload, he gathered himself up and pu
G off through the bushes. We went down th
hill again and found his trail. He appeare
n to have been running, but with the bloc
IS streaming from him on both sides. One {
$ nv comrades had side shot, and shot hi
through the body with half ounce ball. Th
'f ball had evidently gone through him, for th
IS blood on the two sides of his track was tW
feet apart. We followed him about thre
miles, and then tracked him into thicket Q
l. top of a hill As he was still bleeding freel.
we had strong hopes of getting him. If "
him We separated and commenced circlir
"a around the thicket. to ascertain whether
had leftit had got about a hundred yar'
D. distant from my comrades, when one OF the
a sung out, "Look out, Warner-he's coming
With loud grunt he rushed from the thick
m on the opposite side from us, and was quick
to out of sight We took his track again, and fc
to lowed it a short distance, when my conrad
proposed to give UP the chase. With relu
e. tance | yielded, and we turned homewar
distant eight or nine miles, We reached can
lie Just at dark, tired and hungry. A good su
per of venison, short cake, coffee and molasse
O. soon revived us. Thus ended my first be
TX hunt. The next snow l intend to try it agal
On returning to camp we learned that thr
lg men had been dangerously wounded viii
engaged in hunting a bear, only two or thr
ID miles distant from US. Two of the men ha
since died, and the hand of the third is ter
er bly, lacerated.
ad -+o--
Fx-Judge BisSell viz. Ex-Judge Woo
Ill IL Al 1ao oAaV- in I a