Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1886-02-27
THE LAST BKAR OF THE "a

THE LAST BRAR OF THE oATsKrLL RANGE.
Until within very few years bears have
been often seen in the Catskiil mountains
near the two heads of the Delaware river
fall, when berries were ripe and corn in
the milk. And occasionally they lost their
pelts, for we have some hunters of the old
stock left.
But they are rare visitors now. About
thanksgiving We had light fall of snow,
barely enough to make an excuse to start
sleighs to running
One crisp morning, about that time.
young VIII Papino, living two miles east
OF stamford, and directly under the steep
est part of Old Bear Mountain, now mis-
named Utsayanto came tearing into town
to tell the sportsnen that huge black
bear was playing and tumbling about in
the snow near the foot of the mountain.
just above his fathers house.
Jerusalem Such q hurry and scurTy
you never saw among the shooters of the
town. ] had the sciatiea, and could not 90.
SO Dell Warner, one of Our best shots, got
my forty-hye calibre Sharp's rife and
jumped into the cutter with Billy Ives for
driver. Billy carried tremendous old
Queen Anne, with twenty-four No. buck
shot to the load.
Erskine Seeley, keen sportsman, and
the owner of the best dog in the county,
doubled in with Aruna Maynard, and Mr..
Green mated with Harvey Wood, another
OF our noted shots, and away they started
after Bruin.
There was not much time lost getting
there, and sure enough, when the party
got to Papino's, up the hill nearly half 8
mile. near an old hay barn, the monster
was seen.
The shotgun men were not quite so anxi-
Gus to close up when they saw the huge
black beast slowly walking about near the
edge of the woods. 1t was debated whether
shotguDs were just the thing for bear-hunt-
ing This gave Deli Warner the start. He
shouldered the Sharp and, backed by the
valiant Ives. started up the hill.
He got within about four hundred yards,
set his sight for the distance, and as the
bear had stopped playing and seemed to
watch the party, he knelt down, took deliber-
ate aim. and. to use his own classic Ian
guage, let silver"
The bullet struck the snow Just under
bruins nose, and must have knocked his
eyes full. for he wheeled around and around
as if pretty mad
Without rising Warner coolly put in an
other 45100-500 cartridge, and, allowing
for windage, let drive again. This time
Bruin got it hot, and as all the sportsmen
were on the run up the hill to join Warner
yelling at every jump, the bear hmped of
toward the woods, turning once in a while
as if it thought of fighting it out instead OF
retreating.
Don't let him get away, Dell p shouted
Seeley.
No, for goodness sake. no r cried May
nard.
Not if Ned S rifle is worth snspip said
Dell, and ne got rest over the shoulder OF
Billy Ives, and as the bear mounted a
shelving rock he fired his last and fatal shot
The bear rolled over and over down the
rock, and when it reached the bottom il
was STILL
Just then an old settler, Carlos
Van Housen, who was woodchopping on
the mountain, came tearing down through
the woods with his ak on his shoulder and
fire in his eye. He got to the bear Just as
Warner and the rest came up, and his
voice could have been heard mile when
he yelled
What in sheol have You been shooting
my Newfoundland dog for?n
Dell stood like one suddenly struck with
lightning. be looked sadly down at his
prize and asked the old settler if its life was
insured-ifit was not, he would pay for it.
And that is the last bear seen in our
range.
LIFE IN A SNOWFLAKE.
Some imaginative and wonderfully
learned German scholars tell us that every
snowflake is inhabited by happy little be-
ings. who begin their existence hold their
revels, live long lives of happiness and de-
light, die and are buried. all during the
descent of the snowflake from the world OF
clouds to the solid land These scholars
also tell us that every square foot of air
possesses from twelve to fifteen millions OF
more or less perfect little beings, and that
at every ordinary breath we destroy mill
ion, more or less, of these happy lives The
sigh of healthy lover is supposed to
swallow up about fourteen millions. They
insist that the dust, which will, as all