Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1886-12-16
LIVELY FIGHT WITH A BEAR.
1t Began with Guns and Ended at Close Quar-
tiers with a Knife.
New York Sun

1t Began with Guns and Ended at Close Quar-
tiers with Knife.
New York Sun.
RALsToN, Pa, November 28.-In this
wild region of Lycoming County game is
abundant, and as the season has fairly
opened many thrilling adventures in tie
forest are already reported by hunters.
Chef Myers, proprietor of popular sum
mer hotel at this place, has the reputa-
ton of being one of the most success sfuI
deer and bear hunters in this part of the
State, He says he has already killed
thirty bears and about sixty deer, and he
is not an old man yet. Re has a large
room in his hotel, the walls of which are
lined with the dressed skins of bear and
the antlers of deer, where he entertains
his sporting friends. 1t is an interesting
place, and besides the trophies of the
chase dis played on the walls it contains
half a dozen rifles and all the parapher-
MALTA for hunting. Chef has just had
lively adventure in the woods with a
bear, and, meeting him last evening, he
gave me the particulars.
Il tell you We had pretty exciting
t1me-I mean Tom Jones and myseIf-in
the great forest up Rock Run. Tom and
bear. When we arrived on the ground
we encamped for the night in an old log
hut that had been used bylumbermen.
The door of the hut was not very strong,
but we fastened it the best way we could,
and laid down to sleep, wrapped in
buffalo robes. About l O'Clock in the
morning was awakened by crashing
noise, and almost instantly big bear
1HO L
the door and was in search of forage.
Tom was awfully skeered, and tried to
play 'possum. But [ knew that wouldn't
do, so jlst rlz up, seized my rifle and
banged away at the bear. / only wounded
it in the neck, and with a howl of pain
it dashed out of the shanty and disap-
peared in a hemlock thicket But we
got it at last, and a red-hot time we
had"
Glow was it,"
"Why, the next morning, after par
taking of hasty breakfast, we started in
pursuit. We tracked it by the blood
fully mile, when it disappeared in a
thicket of briars and underbrush near
the creek. [ knew it was not safe to fol-
low too closely, for wounded bear, if
cOrnered, will fight fercely. Finding
high stump [ stationed Tom on it with
orders to watch closely while I went
around on the other side of the thicket,
about half mile, to drive the bear back
so that Tom could shoot it. In less than
an hour heard cracking of the under
brush an | knew that the bear had scent.
ed me an was movin'. kept quiet for
ten minutes, when suddenly Jones fired
his gun, an I knew he had got into biz
ness. | went to his assistance Just as
fast as my legs could carry me, an [
didn't git thar minute too soon. The
bear caught him an was tossin' him
about like foot ball. When he fired he
was so excited that he missed his mark,
an the bear rushed on him, knocked his
gun out of his hand with one paw and
seized him with the other.
II succeeded in killing it, but it took
some desperate work. The bear was
dreadfully riled an couldn't shoot for
fear of KILN Jones, took a survey of
the fight, an SEEM the danger Jones was
in jist, dropped my big hunting knife, an
attacked the bear. Seeing me, it dropped
Jones an came for me, displayin' as fine a
set of teeth as you ever saw. struck it in
the neck with the knife, but at the same
time it struck me with its paw and knocked
me about twenty feet | was up again
in an instant and ready for fight. The
bear came at nae and we grappled. It
tried to seize the knife with it's teeth, but
failed. Then it caught me in it's arms an
jist as it was DRAWN me to it's buzzum I
drove the knife into it's heart, an with a
deep groan it let go, rolled over an died
in five minutes. My hunting shirt was
badly torn, an was covered with blood
an bruised about the body. Had it not
been for my tacklin' it as I did Jones
would have been Rugged to death. He
was considerably hurt as it was, an bad
ly scared, too. When he recovered we
skinned the bear an dressed the carcass.
On getting it home that evening we
found that it weighed 215 pounds"