Alpena weekly argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1871-1893, 1883-04-25
A Bear Hunters Peril.

winter for sixty years hunting bear
and dear. His favorite story is the
one which gives his experience with a
whole family of bears and threef
days snow-storm in the wilds
Mexican county twenty-five
years ago. He had been hunting,
with very little success, for several
days when, near the head waters OF
Sugar Creek, he came upon signs Of
bear. With provisions sufficient for
himself and dog for two days, he
started for a rocky ridge. Along the
south side of the ridge a ledge of
rocks twenty feet high, and crowned
with gnarled growth of dwarf ever
greens extended for nearly a mile.
The ledge was broken into wide seams
in places, and in others shelving rocks
protruded and formed caverns or cav
tiles that extended back in the ledge
from ten to twenty feet. BY the time
the Indian and his dog reached this
part of the ridge the snow had fallen
to a great depth, and was still falling
heavily. The seams in the ledge and
the mouths of the caverns were here
and there almost closed by the snow.
At the mouth of one of these, how
ever, Jacobs discovered the inevitable
indication that a bear had sought re-
fuge within-the presence of a small
depression in the snow, as if it were
being melted from the under side.
This the Indian knew was caused by
the breath Of one or more bears lying
inside with their noses toward the
opening.
Jacobs knew that no bear would
make its appearance OH the outside
until the storm was over, and the snow
was so binding that he concluded it
would be better to wait until it had
ceased falling before making an at
tack. Jacobs sought the summit of
the ledge, where he made snug place
of shelter for himself and dog by
roofing over with hemlock boughs a
large crevice between two huge rocks,
and closing up the front of the open
ing in the same way. Late in the
night of the second day the wind
commenced blowing gale, and con-
tinued blowing all night and the
greater part of the next day. When
it ceased Jacobs made up his mind
that the storm had also ceased, and
that he must lose no time in finding a
way out of the position, for he was
shut in by drift the depth and ex-
tent of which he had no means OF
knowing. Fortunately, the position
of the rocks around him had confined
the drifting snow to the inclosure
thus formed, and Jacobs emerged into
the open space beyond after tunneling
about forty feet. The wind had swept
the snow almost clean from the slope
of the ridge and in patches from the
foot Of the ledge. Jacobs had a good
view of the cave where the bear had
taken shelter, and was preparing to
go down, smoke the game out, and
kill it, when he was attracted by the
yelping Of his dog, which had been
running about after emerging from
the snow tunnel.
The Indian hurried to the spot and
there discovered a large she bear
standing on her launches, defending
two cubs from the dog. She was furi-
Gus with rage. Jacobs stepped around
from behind clump of dwarf cedars
in order to get a better sight of the
bear, and in doing so stepped on a
small stone that was hidden under the
snow. The stone turned and the In
dian fell headlong within ten feet of
the infatuated bear. His gun fell from
his hand, and before he could recover
it the bear sprang toward him. The
bear paid no attention to the dog,
which harassed it from behind, but
seemed determined to make an end of
the hunter at once. Jacobs agility
enabled him to regain his feet, how
ever, before the beast was upon him
and at once began to retreat, suppos-
ing that the bear would remain with
her cubs and attack the dog. With
fierce cry, however, and followed by
her cubs she fastened on after Jacobs.
Owing to the steepness of the ridge,
the Indian did not feel that he could
safely engage in hand-to-hand fight
with the bear there, so he concluded, if
she pressed him, to drop to the bottom
of the ledge, where, if the bear leap
sd after him, he would be on good
footing, and could bring to his service
tactics that had never yet failed to
give him the victory in fights of a
similar kind. The bear followed him
closely, and as he turned near the
edge of the ledge to let himself down
and drop, his right foot caught in un.-
der a root, and the next instant he
was hanging head downward over the
rocks. The bear leaped to the ground
below, and before the Indian could
draw himself upward or release his
foot he saw with dismay that the she
bear had been joined by huge mate,
evidently the bear Jacobs had set his
watch for. The position of the hun
ter apparently nonplussed the bears
for moment, for they both stood
motionless looking up at him. Then
suddenly they both started toward
him. AS his head hung within easy
reach of them, the Indian saw at once
that it would be torn off in short
metre unless he could disengage him
self. BY great effort he drew him
self upward by pressing his hands
against The face Of the rocks, when
suddenly the root broke and he fell
hcadlong in the snow beneath. His
unexpected appearance at their feet
seemed to static the bears, and they
both rctreated several steps. At that
moment also, the two cubs appeared
at the top of the ledge, with Jacobs
dog fighting them. Their cries were
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