The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1886-09-30
HUNTING BRUIN.
How It Used to Be Done in vir-
ginia-
The veneration Shown for a Bear Dog in
Olden Times-A Case Where
Rifle Was Tolerated-Bruin in
Court.

Olden Times-A Case Where the
Rifle Was Tolerated-Bruin in
Court.
ssThere be bears and bears" We are
familiar with the power and habits OF
the polar bear through Arctic voyagers,
and we have some notion of old Caleb,
the grizzly of the West, who can over
come any animal in fight except the
true king of beasts, wild stallion. The
black bear of this country is not consid-
cred so terrible, though fiercer than the
brown bear of Europe, but he is an ugly
customer in a fight. He mainly feeds
on mast, of which chestnuts and beech
nuts make his favorite diet, but he does
not d;sdain pork as a change, and, like
his European cousin, he is passionately
fond of honey. He roams wild, what
there is left of him, through the noun
tain ridges and spurs of West Virginia,
Eastern Tennessee and Kentucky, and
may be found sometimes in the adjoin-
ing States. Bear-hunting is a common
sport among the m~ountaineers. 1t diff
fers from the hunting elsewhere in its
methods, and is less direct than among
the Arkansas cane-brakes or north of
the federal line. The mountaineer
takes an ungenerous advantage of the
brute, though his mode, should he not
have a firm step, a keen eye and a
strong Lrm, involves some personal
risk. Reduced to its proper shape, the
sport is bear-baiting, with a fatal result
to the bear. They say that the Norwe-
gian peasant meets the white bear face
to face, and when he rises to his hind
legs stabs him to the heart. l doubt
the story, but the man who attempted
to treat the American bruin in that way
would speedily find himself without
clothing, and would lose more flesh than
he could well spare. In some places
they shoot the bear on sight. In West
Virginia, on a regular bear-hunt, the
use of a rifle is forbidden, for an evident
reason.
fers materially from the Appalachian,
or Blue Ridge. 1t is not a rocky back
bone, but a huge elevated plateau, on
parts of which may be found, beneath
the leaf mold, great beds of pebbles,
very like the single of the sea-beach.
1t is broken by occasional gaps and
fringed by numerous speers, irregularly
~subdivided, whose narrow valleys
(.sbottoms," in the v%ernacular) are
threaded by innumerable water courses,
that mainly make their way through
the Mississippi to the gulf, a portion
only feeding streams that enter the At
lantic on the east. Except near the
larger streams, where the plundering
woodlands axe has had play, these
heights are well clad with trees, and a
man standing on a summit ridge may
look upon pillows of foliage in an ocean
of verdure extending until lost in the
distance. Alarge portion of these trees
are MISUNDERSTANDING on the rocky
tops, oaks and hickories on the slopes,
and walnuts and beeches in the fertile
bottom-lands. In particular sections
the trees produce a larger crop of mast
on off years, and to these flock count
less hosts of wild pigeons, and with
them the black bear, who, next to
honey, delights in chestnuts and beech
nuts, and, failing these, feeds raven
ously on the bitterer acorns. On these
he feeds and fattens to his hearts con-
tent. and then, when the winter sets in,
seeks the seclusion a hollow tree OF
small cave affords, and sleeps off the
effects of his gluttony. At times, how
ever, a restless old he-bear wanders all
winter. He is known as a traveller
and satisfies his hunger mainly on hog
meat. He thus becomes a nuisance tc
be hunted down, not for sport, but as 8
punishment for decimating the herds o.
swine.
The hunting, whether a sport or not
is generally done with the aid of dogs
These dogs are usually ours or mon
grels, trained to the business. They
must not show too much pluck, or mus
tempeH 1t with discretion. The ferociou.
and p<rsistent bulldog is valueless here
He saizes the bear and will not let go
Brujn embraces him with those terrible
arms o. his. and squeezes him to death
The dog of the vicinage, taught b,
some wounds. nips his foe and at ono
lets go and retreats, while one of hi
fellows repeats the process, always OF
the flank or rear. and so the pack kee]
bruin busy unt1 the hunter, knife il
hand, has a chance to stab him unde
the shoulder. This is always the of
and not the near, shoulder, for on tn
AiAl1c tOuCh buO grew ain VI buO UCd
on that side swings around as thoug
hung upon a pivot, and the claws swee
down with terrific force. 1t s a livel
piece of work while it lasts, and it usu
ally lasts some time. The yelpS of th
dogs. the growing of the bear, and tn
comments of the hunters are excitin
enough to fire the most used-up spects
tor. 1t will be readily seer why the us
of the rifle is prohibited. A dog migf
be shot in the struggle; and to kill
trained bear-dog is a crime among th
m-ountaineers next in atrocity to hors'
stealing.
Nor is the sport without some DANCE
to the huntsman. When the bear
pursued, if he hears the yelp of dogs Q
his track, he makes, if possible, for tt
tangled .laurel-rough," as the almo
impenetrable thicket of rhododendror
that spread under the hemlocks in tt
swampy bottom is termed. The stem
and boughs of the rhododenrons al
crooked and tough, and the gnarle
roots rise out of and above the blac
soft peat below, requiring care to avo
being tripped up. Should N of tho
projecting mantraps catch your fee
down you go, and, if near the bear, Il
animal is apt to turn his attention
you in a very feeling way. While Il
bear and the dogs are fighting over Sc
eral square cards of the thicket and Il
hunter looking out for a chance to &
10 his fins work, keeping Ls eye
~ hssse es1 o. hss tsss ~ tae san