The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1877-05-03
Bear Hunting in Shokan.

A well constituted Catskill UrSns
-1Mer1cdnMS has about as good a time as
any animal | know of. He has q mag
nlticent country to rome through, there
are not too many other bears to divide
the spoils with, the climate is not too hot
i'll midsummer, and in mid winter he can
curl up in some snug retreat, suck his
paws, and sleep till vernal mildness calls
him forth to new Wanderlngs. He is not
bothered with many visitors barring the
hunter and his hounds. If | could not be
butterfly, | should like to be a bear 1t
| amounts i'll the end chiefly to choice be-
tween being caught in a trap and perfor
ated by rifle ball, OF captured in sillen
net and bayoneted with pin
A bear is born in February (uSually
with single twin brother or sister), in
some cave or hollow under the roots Of a
tree, where his mother had ''holed up"
in a state Of partial Information when the
first heavy SHOWS came, and the cold froze
up the spring holes. The old bears 90
into these winter caves excessively fat
and seem SO when they come out; but
their long fast and the nursing of the
Young soon reduce them 50 that they
often have a hard rub to keep alive if the
spring is slow and their diet Of roots and
bulbs is held tightly locked by late frosts.
At such times they frequently become
very bold, making repeated attacks upon
the farmers sheep and calves. EnoS Brown
last spring had five sheep taken off in
rapid succession. He therefore stopped
| his farm work. applied himself to trap
ping and soon five bear skins graced his
shanty'S walls. His sheep We're avenged.
tba ao,,1y- b.n
bears live by their Nits-rathcr poorly
and are little hunted. They are shedding
their hair so that the fur is not in good
plight, their flesh is lean, and their Young
accompany them about the woods. The
time to begin to hunt them is when the
woodland berries begin to ripcn.
In the late autumn bears are also
hunted with dogs, and although the sport
is very exciting, it is the hardest imagin-
able work. The mountains are rugged
and steep in the extreme, covered with
forests which are choked with Il dense
underground Of huckleberies and briers,
while fallen trees. rugged detached rocks,
and deep sWampy gullics obstrurt the
way To work ones way thrulgh this
tangle is not easy mt the best, and when
one is hamreTed by a rifle, ammunition
and other ''tiNm's,' and is trying to Keep
up with the excited dogs, the undertake
ing requires a man Of steel. When Il
bear finds itself pursued, it takes off up
the steepest, most inaccessible places,
and over the very lOftiest points in the
whole region keeps on from peak to peak
across the worst ravines and through the
densest jungles, fully aware that thus il
Will soonest exhaust its pursuerS, and
finally escape, if at all. through its su-
perior endurance. The hunter, knowing
this, follows as best he can with one or
two tough little dogs, mere Whtlrts,
which dash up and nip the bear behind.
! When brun turns around in amaZcmcnt
and indignation, the little dog is not there,
but returns the instant the bear starts ON,
and thus worries it into stopping and at
tempting to fight its minute and pertlna
ciOuS tormentor until the hunter comes
up and can shoot \ large dog will at
tack the bear boldly, and hold ON until
he is hugged to death-the speedy and
almost inevitable result of his incautious
courage. A bear hunt of this kind is full
of adventure and fascinating for the
sportsman. vet the chance of getting the
bear in the end is Il doubtful one. You
are sure, however, OF Il SineW-tcSting chase
and nerve-testlng struggle ut the end.
II an enraged bear is not a pleasant fellow
to meet on his native hills wounded one
is still less SO, and the hunter must be
self-possessed and agile to escape the
formidable antagonist that has failed to
fall at his first shot. En0s Brown tells Il
story OF an adventure of this kind he and
! his ''Woman' (ShokanitrS never say Witr)
had when Il very large bear submitted to
be shot in the head, straightcncd out with
his head down hill. and have his throat
cut, and then suddenly revived, and made
exceedingly lively and sanguinary work
for the Brown family before conscnting to
yield up the ulSine ghost. Sometimes,
moreover, Il bear is lost through 4 pro
Volling accident such as stupid dogs stop
ping to tree a porCuplnc, entirely losing
track of the nobler game, to the VrNatiOn
Of the breathless hunter. who rusheS mp
convinced from the dogs racket that Il
whole den Of bears awaited his conquest.
Ernest lngersoll i'll IIarper's Magazine
for Nav