The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1881-08-13
lPeck's SUM-
Capturing O. Bear.

1t will be remembered that sad and fatal
accident occurred at Madison few years ago,
by team being frightened at a performing
Frenchman and grizzly bear, and that it cost
the city good deal of money to settle the costs.
Other towns resolved that they would not have
ny more bear performances in the streets.
There was no town that was loaded for bears,
after that accident. any heavier than La
Crosse. The Mayor, Joe Clark, was red hot,
and he told the Chief Of Police, Ha:ch, never
to allow man with performing bear to
come into the town. Hatch didn't want any
thing better than bear fight, and he said he
should smile to see Canadian Frenchmsn
get up bear dance in that town, as long as he
walked the streets. When the new Mayor,
Smiley, took the office, he had only one order
give the police, and that was to keep an eye
out for bears There was CONSERVATION in La
Crosse on Tuesday, when boy came up to
the police Office and said there was a man
down town with performing bear, and Hatch
spit on his hands and told Pernue Clark to fol-
low him. The bear was hitched to the axle of
wagon, and the owner was III saloon TAX
ing drink. Hatch said he would go in the
saloon and capture the man, and told Pernue
to bring the bear right up to the station. Per-
nue. didn't exactly like the way the thing was
divided up, and he suggested that may be he
had better go in after the man and let Hatch
take the bear, as he was an old bear hunter
but Hatch said the man was desperado, and
he better surround him. So Hatch went in
and got the unresisting Frenchman, and
started off, telling Pernue to hurry up with
the bear. Pernue is man that, if he wanted
q bear, had rather hire man to go after il,
but the eye of the chief was on him, and he
walked up to the bear and took Lold of the
chain and said, "Come along, Mr.. Bear"
The bear reached up one claw and took hold
of Pernue's clothes about the small of the back
aud closed his claws and twisted little, and
there was about pound of coat tail and pan
falcons Cloth and shirt that all came off to-
| gether III wad, and with pale face Pernue
started toward the lookup to help Hatch hold
| the man. He overlook them as they arrived
at the calaboose, and Hatch asked him why he
| didn't bring the bear, and he said he came up
| to find out of the Frenchman what the bears
| name was. He said he never could take
| bear il he didn't know its name. He put ON a
| rubber coat to cover the place where the bear
| stepped OF him and by this time Sam Camp
! bell and Dave Llttlejohn, the other policemen,
| had arrived, and they ali went down after the
| bear. The boys made good deal of fun OF
| Pernue's clothes, and Sam said the way to
| handle bear was to look him right in the
| eye and paralyze him. Pernue said he would
| AeJ Odm pafalyZe Ine D6ar, out before ne
! got him paralyzed on more than one side the
| bear would rip all the clothes off him. Ar
riving at the wagon, Hatch said he would
| stand on the wagon tongue and hold it down,
and they could surround tho bear. The bear
/ was lying in the sand asleep, and they got all
around him and were just going to pounce on
him, when he rose up and the air seemed full
| of bears. The air seemed fairly fixed. With
one paw he grabbed Campbell by the slack Of
the trousers, and with the other he clawed
Littlejohn on the shoulder, and he ripped their
clothes scandalous, while Pernue got behind a
| dry goods box and Hatch held on to the wagon
tongue. The bear stood up on his hind feet
| with both fore paws full of blue flannel cloth
| ing, and the police held council of war on the
wagon tongue. Finally they all got hold of
the wagon and hauled it to the lookup, the
bear following, and then they gave the French
man his liberty and three dollars if he would
take mis- bear and get out of town, aud the last
| they saw of him he was going toward Win ma
locked arms with the bear, laughing, aud the
| police went to tailorshp to see ii it would
| cost much more to mend their clothes than it
would to get n new suit. Now they get to-
| gether evenings and talk over the bear bust
ness, and Hatch asks them why they did not
| chloroform the bear, and use some Judgment.