The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1878-02-21
A TERRIBLE FIGHT WITH A BEAR.
Bruin and the Man Fall Three Hundred Feet
Down ~ Mountain side.

|
Down u Mountain side.
A correspondent of the New York
World writes to that paper from Goshen,
N. Y, as llows: The bear hunters haye
enjoyed fine sport in Ulster county for
the past two weeks. Even in the wilder
ness of Denning township it has been
many years since bears were so numer-
Gus. "Jack "Ackert and three compan-
ions of the Bull Run region startled a
large bear from its nest few days ago
and followed it several miles. Jack came
up with it where the dogs had brought
it to bay on ledge overlooking laurel
swamp. The ledge was perpendicular
one, ten feet high, on the summit of a
barren ridge that extended in an abrupt
slope to the edge of the swamp, a dis
tance of over three hundred feet. The
| ground was covered with several inches
of snow, upon which stiff crust as
smooth as ice had formed. Ackert shot
the bear as it was fighting with the dogs.
1t fell, to all appearances dead. The
other hunters were scattered about in the
woods. Ackert approached near the
PROSTATE animal and shouted for his
| comrades to come in. The bear, how
ever, was not dead, and, to the hunters
surprise, arose to its feet and rushed TO-
ward him in spite of the dogs. Ackert
fired his other barrel, but did not kill
the bear, and in another second was de-
Tending himself i'll hand-to-hand fight
with the enraged brute. The crust was
so slippery that the bear had the advan-
tage Of the hunter. as the latter could
not keep bis feet, while the sharp claws
~ fr, ,fof1
his position. Ackert slipped and fell.
The bear had hi i'm in his embrace in
moment. The movements of the COM
batants had brought them nearer the
edge of the rocks. AS the bear threw
his paws about the half-prostrate form of
the hunter the latter dealt it fearful
blow with bis hunting-a axe, which felled
the animal. The ground was sloping,
and as the smooth fur of the bear came
in contact with the CLASSY surface of the
snow the animal. maintaining its hold of
Ackert, slid toward the edge Of the ledge,
and before it could get hold in the
crust with it's claws both hunter and bear
fell over the rocks, and, striking the icy
slope below, shot like cannon ball down
| the mountain. Two of Ackert's compan.
| ions came out upon the rocks just as he
| and the bear went crashing into the
| tangled laurels at the foot of the ridge
and disappeared in the swamp. The
| hunters were compelled to make detour
of half mile to reach the swamp. They
found Ackert sitting with his back
| against a hemlock tree. H. was covered
with blood and his clothing hung in tat
ters. He was alive, but it was half an
| hour before he was able to realize where
he was and how he got there. He re-
membered falling off the rocks, starting
| down the mountain hugged by the bear
md crashing into the swamp, and that
was all. The bear lay ten or fifteen feet
,way, covered with blood and dead.
Both Of Ackert's shots had reached vital
| spots, but there is no doubt that but for
tue fortunate ride down the mountain
the bear would have crushed the hunter
before the wounds proved fatal. The
Dear weighed over two hundred pounds.
Since the above adventure King Shee-
ley, of South Mountain, with two of
MS brothers, put up bear on Moose
Mountain, in Denning. King wounded
It, but was attacked by the bear The
three brothers killed it with their hunt.
ing-axes, King being badly wounded by
| ~ Uoi iiS9 uliO hShp- 1uC uCuI was dI
enormous one. AS the hunters were
lragging it to an old wood road near by
hey heard the dogs making commotion
in the woods. One OF the brothers went
to the spot, and found two bear cubs in a
nest in the rocks. They were taken out.
The cubs began to whine and cry piteous-
| Iy, and in few minutes their mother
came tearing through the woods and
sprang out into the opening where the
hunters were amusing themselves with
the cubs. They dropped the cubs and
sprang for their guns. The old bear
threw herself in front of the cubs, and
rising on her launches backed toward
the woods, keeping the cubs behind her,
roaring furiously as she kept her eyes on
the hunters. Two rifle balls entered hel
heart, however, before she gained the
thicket, and she fell dead on the snow.
The hunters allowed the dogs to tear the
cubs to pieces.