Morning journal and courier., 1885-09-28
A MAINE BEAR HUNTER.
Amid His Bear Traps He Describes
 His Pursuit.

From the Lewiston (Me) Jorrnal1 I found myself hobnobbing with bear hunter in the midst of his traps the other
 day. The hunter was Enoch R. Knapp, who
 lives on Bear river, in the town of Newry.
 from a spur of the White Mountain chain
 and empties into the Androscoggin at New
 ry The bear hunters house is 8 neat cot
 tage at the base of Bear Mountain, around
 which the river runs. The road winds
 among steep hills and thickly wooded noun
 tains till it seems to lose itself, and to lose
 you in the bargain.
 This mountain has long been known as a favorite resort for bears. The farmers in the vicinity do not try to keep many sheep. One of them went up on the mountain with yoke of oxen to haul out some timber not long ago. A very large and hungry bear ap peared on the scene and rushed at the cattle with mouth open and eyes full of fury. The oxen snorted and started on wild gallop down the steep mountain. The farmers judgment was as good as his cattle's. He had nothing with which to defend himself and he had to think lively to devise a way of escape. He did amusing but brilliant thing. Running between the oxen he caught hold of the ring in the yoke and dangled there until the oxen had carried him to the fOOJ or the mountain ana out or the rcacn or the bear. The old growler jumped and snarled around the oxen's Hanks and tore their hides, but could not reach the man be- tween them hanging on for dear life.
 MT. Knapp has a blacksmiths shop oppo- site his house, where he makes bear traps and shoes horses. His traps ingeniously made of iron and steel and one of them looks like two stout wagon springs with Q pair of jaws in the middle. These jaws are bands of wrought iron with great steel teeth riveted into them. When the jaws are opened and caught under the stout steel springs you see trencher in the middle of the machine. The object of the bear hunter is to induce the bear to step his fore foot on that trencher. The least pressure lifts the catch and the jaws fly together with crush ing force. The teeth in the jaws make this kind of 8 trap bear-killer as well as bear catcher.
 Your bear hunter must use considerable craft Said Mr. Knapp: "I usually build a cubby-house in the woods of old stumps and decayed branches. I sorter pile 'em up around, you know, and leave little opening for the bear to go in after he the con. l sarn and his curiosity is excited. l catch some suckers or other kind of fish in the riv | CT and hang 'em up in the cubby. Then ! try to fix the trap so that the bear will have | to step on the trencber if ho gets the fish. A bsar never steps on q log in his path, but all | ways steps over it. usually fx the trap on the tother side of log or branch, so he will | be pretty sure to step over the log and into | the trap. A knowing old bear won't go into one of these cubbies. Sometimes after try | ing to catch old sheep thief in this way | and not getting him, l have caught the old | fellow by hanging a string of fish in care- less way on Q tree, as if left there accidental | ly by some sportsman, and putting the trap l underneath. Sometimes find track where | a bear has q habit of fording Q brook. I | take away the stone in the brook which the bear steps on when he crosses and put the | trap in it's place. When the bear feels after | the old and familiar stone his forepaw is caught in the trap. Some bears have learned 1 to smell 6 trap, so we have to kill the smell. | We do that by daubing it over with lard and
 beeswax. have twelve traps and visit 'em | twice week The bear is usually caught by the forepaw. He don't live more than ! twenty-four hours after the jaw closes on | him as a general thing. In warm weather the pelt would soon spoil if did not get it pretty quick after the critter died. The fur | is in the best condition when the bears are
 housing late ill the fall. Then it is as nice
 as Merino sheep's wool. get eight to fif-
 teen dollars apiece for my pelts. The bears spend the winter in the lodges about here or | under the stumps. Since we had that hurri- l cane that blew down many trees there
 have been lot of cosy places for bears | around here"
 The skin of bear, caught the day before, ! decorated the ba1n door of the Newry bear | trapper.