Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1878-03-27
Chr Gamilg Circle.


Various are the methods employed for
the purpose of killing bears such as SET,
tine steel-traps, dead-falls, etc. but Will
only describe the method called setting
a Gun for a bear" The backwoods farmer
discovers that havoc has been made IN
" roasting ear" season, and Mt once ac'
cuses Bruin of the theft though the bear
is not in hearing distance when the accu-
sation is made, and is, perhaps, hail-a
dozen miles away in a forest thicket, tax
inc his noon-day nap. So the hard tolling
husbandman, after looking around the
margin of the field awhile, finds well
beaten path, wnere the animal has been IN
the habit. in the Silly hour of night, OF
coming after his luscious ratlons at the
expense of the farmer, who now begins to
think of a plan 10 get even with the bear
and so, little before night, on one side OF
this path two crotches are driven into the
ground in solid manner, in which is laid
a well loaded rifle fastened into the same,
so that the gun would he in range with the
bears vtals. Then u small but strong
cord is tied to the trigger and brought
around stake set in the ground few
inches back of the hreech of the rifle, then
stretched across the path and tied to anoth-
cr stake and as 3ruin marches along the
path, unconscious Of approaching danger,
eager for his midnight meal, and when,
pressing against the fatal cord, bang! goes
the massive old rifle. and cod Shaggy"
is suddenly laid upon his side, having
committed suicide with little prearranged
| assistance of the sagacious farmer.
A brief story | will relate, connected
with this method of bear hunting. One
evening in the forepart of September, my
father set gun for BEAR" several of
the neghbors assembling at our house in
the evening, awaiting the result of the
hunt, the gun being set about half mile
from the house, SO that we would be in
hearing distance of the report, in case old
Bruin should take a notion to push az anst
the string placed across the path. Every
ear was open from the start, | assure you,
listening for blast from the rifle. Ten
o'clock, and no report. What could it
mean! Had the bear concluded to 90 with
out his supper and thus spoil the antc-
pated fun? Perhaps he would not come
into the corn until morning, and that
would be too long for the boys to watt or
perhaps the bear had come new route,
and would return the same way, and so be
out of reach of the gun. Various were
the coniectures regarding the outcome, but
when their impotence had got to g fever
heat" boom went the old shooting-iron,
which report echoed and re- echoed through
the valley, which sent the boys to their
feet in the widest excitement; indeed, it
seemed more like house being on fire
than anything else, and the inmates all
scrambing to get out. Forward, march!
was the cry all along the line, and with
lanterns, dogs and guns, they marched to
the field of conflict" prepared to finish
the bear, provided that he should prove to
be only wounded and within reach After
getting to the field and looking around, no
bear, dead or alive, could be seen. lad
the gun missed the mark entirely? or was
the creeter only slightly wounded, and
so had escaped?
"llclo, here is few spattcrS of blood.
says one; "lhe 'varmint' must have been
hit, to II ccrtainly' This wnym saws
another; " here is regular pool Of the
red stuff; surely the old chrp is not far of
after losing so much hloodm' Hip, bur
rah!' cries another; here he is. dead rs
IL poker, beyond all controversy" And SC
it proved to be; tn" bullet having gone
through the bears vitals, and there he lay
us calm as May morning. Didn't the
boys feel justly elated over their success
full bear hunt? Didn't they skip about like
crickets on hot hearth? Well, they didn
do anything else Tor II few moments then
settling down to II regular business by cut.
ting long pole and several blue beech
withes, soon had old Bruin strung up ready
for II ride to the house, The pole being car
ricd across the shoulders Of the sturdy
boys.
The bear was Il fit old fellow, weighing
nearly four hundred pounds. Tie skin
brought eight dollars, the purchaser con
vcrling it into Il sleigh-robe, and the grease
sold for Il considerable sum- The meat was
divided among the neighbors us IL rare NOR.
sci when property cooked and seasoned
though some few were too squeami>h to ac
cept of meat from the hams of ferocious
bear, with such frightful looking claws! Sc
ended the successful bear hunt, and all con.
cerncd were happy, and could talk OF
nothing else for IL few days. But, my
young friends, before closing this article
permit me TO draw an important moral
from the above, by remarking, that it j,
the specific business of Satan TO stretch
snares in an adroit manner, across youl
pathway through life, which. if not guard
ed against and stunned entirely, will
prove as killing to your souls eventually
as was the leaden missive to the body OF
the unwary bear W. H. Ward, in N. w
AdC0cdte.