Daily Republican. [volume] ([Wilmington, Del.]) 1874-1890, 1884-01-11
HUNTING BLACK BEARS.
6sne Exciting Exploits In the
PennsIy yaU1a Woods.

IDO1O LAGbubDS AAPsvhs~ s&s
PennsIy yGOia Woods.
tOlena (Ps.) Cor. N. Y. SUM-
Hugh Glen, barney Morgan and
William Gibbs. all employees of the
Williams Lum Der Company in Forrest
County, left the mills n few days
since TO walk In to their lodging camp
Ave miles back in the woods. On their
way they stopped TO rest at high
ledge Of rocks, over which their path
led. While they sat there smoking
their pipes they were surprised to sec
a large bear walk leisurely out from a
hole in the rocks almost beneath their
feet.
Hugh Glen drew his revolver and
az If to rs-snter Its den. The two other
men drew their revolvers, and n voIley
Of pistol balls met the bear. This dis
charge was Immediately followed by the
appearance on the scene Of another
large bear, which was followed from
the hole by two halfgrown cubs. These
rein forcements for the first bear were
more than the mbermen had counted
on, and, aathe bears were disposed to
show fight, and the rough and rocky
ground would prevent them from max
ing much head way If the bears chose to
follow up retreat, they concluded 70
defend them selves.
The pistols we're OF small caliber and
not calculated TO make much impression
on the tough hide Of bear. But their
chambers were emp,ied against the
two old bears, the cubs taking up posi-
tiOns on safer neutral ground, from
which they watched the contest. The
pistols seeming oDly TO spur on the old
bears, the lumbermen had recourse to
the small rocks with which the spot was
sirewn. by pelting them with these
they succeeded in preventing the bears
from scaling the ledge, but made
small progress toward ending the fight
Finally, the three men raised a stone
that required nearly all their strength
to lit 1t az high as their breasts. One of
the bears rushed up toward them, and,
a. lie was some six feet below them,
they hurled the rock upon his head. 1t
crushed his skull and killed him. The
second bear was killed in the same way.
One of the cubs was killed by shooting
it through the head with pistol ball,
the weapon being held close to its body.
The other one Was captured alive and
taken in o camp.
Both deer and bear hunters have had
unusually fine sport in this part of
Pennsylvania this season. One Old
hunter, Hugh Jordan, of Kettle Creek,
says he has killed nearly fifty deer in
Elk, Forest, Potter and Warren Coun-
ties since October. A Philadelphia
sportsman named Charles Calder killed |
three bears in one day in the Kinzua
region last week. He was chased by |
one of them and obliged to climb tree
70 escape from 1t, the tree being too
small to enable the bear TO follow him |
1t was badly wounded, and walked
away and died in the woods a few feet |
from where the hunter was perched in |
the tree. He did not know the bear |
was dead, and remained IN the tree un.
til the cold forced him to leave it, when |
he discovered the carcass lying behind |
a large log. The other two bears he shot
dead in their tracks.
The same day an oil well driller
named Bannister shot bear two miles
from the shanty where he was boarding.
The bear turned upon him and he drop. |
ptl MS puu anu ran lOT ubIle. ne |
reached the shanty but few feet ahead |
of the bear, which was killed by others
at the shanty.
William Dunn and James Walker
shot and killed bear and catamount
in Rrookstone swamp, Forest County,
on Wednesday last Baily Dawson, at
Little Brokenstraw. killed two cata-
mounts, and captured "a family of three
kittens. Three IA year-old boys, John
lirier, Jimmy Bray and Samuel DIN y
were surprised in the Kinzua woods by
a she bear, having with hera half grown
sub. The boys killed the bsar with an
srmy musket with which they were
hunting foxes, and captured the cub
alive
Uncle Jake Hamersley, In spite OF
lis seventy years, Camped for two
Heeks on Kettle Creek In company with
simon Piouts, also nearly seventy.
They have hunted and trapped u ese
woods annually since 1880. Uncle Jake
as the following record of the game he
las killed since hc began to hunt, all
killed with the same gun, single bar
el manufacturing rifle. Ii was made
II Wheeling, W. Va over sixty years
go, by gunsmith named Long
Three hundred and six deer C. this
eason). 1913 bears q this season., 40
atamounts, 5 e!ks, Is wolves, 8 pan.
hers, and more than 800 foxes.