The Philipsburg mail. [volume] (Philipsburg, Mont.) 1887-current, 1888-01-12
BEARS IN PENNSYLVANIA.

BEARS IN PENNSYLVANIA.
Plenty Of Sport for Hunters in the North
ern Tier Of Counties.
s'The cutting away of the timber"
says an observant and experienced woods
man, a man who has surveyed and
hunted in Pennsylvania g northern tier
of counties for many years, ''has natur-
ally been followed by the appearance Of
vast acres of various kinds of berry
bushes huckleberry, bear berry, and
Others the fruit of which forms the
favorite provender of bears, and on which
they thrive as on nothing else. And, while
giving way to these prolific and tooth
some bear pastures, the clearing away Of
the trees does not disturb the character
of the dense swamps. in the confines OF
which the animals find safe places for
bringing forth and rearing their young;
and the rocky lodges, with their ravines
and caverns, still remain as of old, and
there the bears find winter lairs as secure
and comfortable as they were when tho
forests grew above them. Bears have
soitudes and impenetrable places, but
they don't require that such spots shall
be provided by forest depths. Swamps
and rocks are all they ask, if the contigu-
GUS country only provides them with
such sustenance as they like. Of course,
if cultivated farms take the place Of the
woods, the bear has to 60, but it will DO
many and many year before the noun
tain regions of northern Pennsylvania
will have such face put upon them.
There are as many bears in the northern
were fifty years ago, and fifty years from
now their descendants will be waxing fat
on the huckleberr;es, scrub oak acorns.
and occasional sheep and pigs just a
saucily and just as numerous.
If man is hunting bears for profit it
is better to trap than to hunt them, but
the sportsman who seeks bear for pleas
9re and exciten,ent-and there is usually
bruin-follow the trail with gun and dog.
A bear hunters outfit is simple. He
wants especially good dog. If the
hunter is an expert he will carry rifle,
but double barreled shotgun that will
carry a good charge of buckshot to kill
at thirty yards IS the best for the average
sportsman. Heavy boots, thick trousers,
a light hunting ak in belt, pistol and
a long bladed knife for emergencies are
sensible things to accompany the hunter.
if they are not absolutely essential.
Dogs are the natural enemies Of bears.
A dogs yelp is the signal to the bear for
a fight. Few experienced dogs are fool
ish enough to go beyond the opening Of a
tn 1r,1,So1, honp hos hnx,v, %oA
and to pitch into bear that has turned
for fight. A full grown bear, with his
dander up, can ward off half dozen
dogs If he can prevent an attack in the
rear. A fair blow from bears paw
will place any dog in condition that
will rob the subsequent proceedings of all
interest to him. At sight of a man,
though, bear will make every effort to
get away. As q rule, bruin will never
fight man until forced to, but when he
does engage in such battle it will be
war to the death with him. A she bear
with cubs, when closely followed, will
keep her cubs ahead of her, and bring up
the rear to protect them. If she is pushed
closely she will try to frighten off her
pursuers by making great show Of
fight. She will growl, show her great
teeth, tear the bark from trees and scat
ter it about with much fuss and noise.
and will make herself as fierce as possible
in many ways. If the enemy persists in
his pursuit, and she cannot elude him
and get her cubs out of his way, she will
turn and fight as long as she
has a drop Of blood to shed in
defense Of her young. The cubs,
meanwhile, will huddle together .
short distance away, and whine and cry
piteousiy as they await the gage OF bat
tie. In chasing bear experienced dogs
greatly aid the hunter. Without q good
dog the trail may be followed from SUM-
rise until sunset without the hunter once
getting sight of his coveted game. The
dog harasses the bear. bringing it to q
standstill and keeping it there by skillful
until the hunter comes up.
The sportsman who is anxious to bo
put to his mettle while bear hunting has
only to let bruin get scent of him at tho
start. Then the bear will take a course
to follow which will require nerve, wind
and q tough skin. When the snow is
deep a bear chase is slow and tedious.
With light fall of snow and fresh track,
however, there is no sport so exciting,
and even an amateur hunter will find
himself travelling miles on a good stiff
trot, so wrapped up will he be in the
chase. It is no difficult matter to kill
bear if the dogs understand their busi-
ness after bruin is brought to bay, for ho
will give all his attention to the dogs that
are yelping around him, while the hunter
stands of and peppers him full of lead.
But there are times when bear will
brace himself for fight from the word
&c, and then if the hunter doesn't kill
at the first fire he will be apt to have
about as lively time ON his hands as ho
could well dream of. No story of bear
fight that was ever told can be much
ahead of the actual incidents that 90 with
q fight. If it Is good one. A bear chase
is often long and tiresome piece Of work.
for when the game finds that he Il
scented he will pick out the most tangled
and impossible place he can reach. He
will frequently lead his pursuer twenty
miles over mountains and through val
leys, where the brush and briers are
harassing and the swamps almost mao.
cessible to man. while he will shuttle
along with his clumsy gait % rapidly and
easily a. II on tho hasb of roedk.-0s
New Yeek Can.