The Democratic advocate., 1880-11-06
Our @lio.
Bears in Pennsylvania.


A correspondent, writing from Lacka.
wana, Pa, says that there are still exten. |
siyc forests Of beech and oak 10 the eoun. |
ties Of Wayne, Pike aud Monroe, in this
State, and in the adjacent counties Of Sui |
Ivan aud Delaware, in New York, with |
vast areas Of outlying swamp land Of flaurel, |
hemlock and tamarack. These are nearly
within hearing distance of the Erie Rail |
way but even at this late day the black
bear makes in them his fayorite breeding
and feeding haunts, almost as freely and
In nearly as large numbers as It did before
civilization had made any advance in the
region. This animal is hunted with great
profit by many backwoods people in the
counties named, and the sportsman finds
no little pleasure 10 its chase. The hun
ter for profit can command FROM SIS to
$50 apiece for bearskins, and its meat, al
though coarse and greasy, finds ready
sale at 20 cents pound. A full.grown
bear not unfrequcntly brings the hunter
$50. Prominent among the bear hunters
Of this county still 10 active service are
Jonas, Gil. and Brock Shaffer, Edward
Quick, and the Greening family. Jacob
Benson, now eighty years Of age, Is a IA
nous hunter who has retired. Marcus
Kellam is probably the best of all the bear
hunters, but he hunts merely for the pleas
ure there is in the sport. He is seventy,
and is still an unerring marksman. "Oid
Fin" Teehe, Of Wayne county, is famous
bear-hunter, now seventy,six years old.
He still hunts all the winter long.
From an old bear hunter Of Pike coun-
ty, who was in this place laying in supplies
for the winter a few days ago, Il was learn
ed that there are more signs Of bears this
fall than have been known for years. He
explained how they knew when bears were
plenty. Along the edges Of the great
swamps there is border Of soft, black
mud. These swamps are many Of them
almost inaccessible to man, and the bears
make them their places Of refuge. If
bears are plenty, the mud along the edges,
at this time Of year, will be broken up, as
IT cows had been walking and stamping in
It, At intervals, also, the mud will be
followed out in spots eight or ten feet long,
two or three wide, and two feet deep
These are "wallow holes, made by the
bears, which also make the tracks along
the edges Of the swamps. The bears will
almost bury themselves in their wallow.
holes, and lie in them, grunting and snort.
ing like SO many pigs, for hours at time.
One way Of killing them is to lie hidden
near the swamps and watch for them to
come out and wallow.
Another sign of the presence Of bears in
the woods is found by examining the scrub
oak ridges. If great patches Of scrub oaks
are found crushed to the ground, that is a
certain indication that bears have been
working" there. They have been out
feeding on the acorns. They rise upon
their launches among the scrub, and with
their fore paws beat the bushes violently.
This knocks the acorns to the ground, and
at the same time breaks down the scrub
oaks. After bear has thrashed a space
Of several rods around, he goes over the
ground and feeds upon the acorns he has
knocked of. IF hunter, out prospecting,
goes through woods, or clearings, or omen
fields, and finds the stones turned up for
acres and acres, he knows bear has been
there, and has made his home for the nonee
in the vicinity. Bears are very fond Of
crickets, slugs and bugs of all kinds, and
they know that their favorite insects make
their homes in the fall under stones on the
ground. Consequently, they select spots
where the ground is covered with stones,
and turn them up to get at the bugs. Vel.
low jacket and hornet nests, or rather their
contents, are fayorite morsels with the
black bear. If bear sees yellow. Jacket
or hornet working in the woods, he acts
like a crazy thing until he finds the hole
the one enters or the tree or rock to which
the nest Of the other is fastened. He
pranees and dances around through the
woods, licking his chops and whining and
growing until his unerring scent leads him
to the object Of his search. Then he gets
right down to business. yellow. jack cts
build their nests in the ground. When
the bear finds one il takes bat few swoops
OF his fore paws to turn it wrong side out.
The bees swarm out in clouds and cover
the bear until he looks as if be was paint
ed yellow. lie pays no attention to thei r
attacks, although an assault Of yellow jack
cts on almost any other animal would soou
result 10 death.
The bear merely shuts his eyes and grins
as he scoops the honey out with his paws
and licks them of until the nest Is dis
poiled Of every trace Of its sweets. The
old hunter who gives these observations on
the domestic habits Of the bear, declares
that he shot n big bear once in Pinchot
Swamp, over in the High Knob region
lie killed it, but when he went iu to drag
the carcass out he found that the bear had
been robbing yellow jackets nest, and il
was still covered with the fiery little in
sects. "If that bar had been wounded
only, and had showed fight, I'd waltzed
right into it without any delay, but when
one one o them eussed little hot-tailed
varmints Of a yaller.j jacket come a diyin'
at me, didn't want none o him, and l
cut and run. | want afecrd o no wound
ed bar, but that yaller bee scared me out.
| didn't dare to GO arter that bar till next
day"
Hornets build their nests high up in
the branches Of trees, or fasten them to
rocks, out Of the reach Of harm. But Gun.
ming as these insects are, they ara no match
for the bear. A bear discovers hornets
nest far out on limb, too small to bear
his weight, or high up on the breast of
rock. IL tho former, he climbs the tree.
breaks of the longest branch be can get
and holding it in his fore paws, thrashes
the nest until il drops 10 the ground.
Sometimes he dances or STAMPS on the
limb until the nest is shaken of. If the
nest is on a rock, the bear goes up to the
top Of the ledge above it, Then he gath
ers large stones and pieces Of wood and
rolls them down the side Of the rock until
one strikes the nest and sends il tumblinc
down to the ground below. The hornets
seem to know what has caused their ruin,
aud not one Of them deserts the fallen nest.
but all seem to wait for the appearance Of
the bear, when they attack him at once.
"a hornet sting, says the old hunter,
Sis equal to blow from sledge. hammer
every time, aud one bornetll knock a bull
down. But their bite won't raise lump
as big as buckshot ON a bar. and the
shaggy crilter seems to think it's heap
o fun. He'll stand up on his hind legs
and square of with his fore paws at the
hornets jest as If no was boxin with some,
body, only he's durn careful TO ksH von
Il -. u n