Savannah courier. (Savannah, Tenn.) 1885-1979, 1888-11-01
GOOD BEAR STORIES.
interestingly Told by an Old and
Experienced Hunter.
His Varied Encounters with Bruin Dur
ing the Past Twenty Years - Lucky
shot Of y Philadelphian A West
erner's Use of the Lasso.

hunter of Bear Creek. Every winter
for twenty years he has spent several
weeks in the pursuit of bruin with dog
and gun, and during that time he says
he has run down and killed forty-seven
full-grown bears. Mr.. Burdick was
born in the upper Lehigh region in
lS44, and since he became of age he
has lived in the neighborhood OF Bear
Greek. He is a broad-shouldered six
footer, with bushy brown whiskers
and thick, curly dark hair, and he
looks as though he possessed muscular
energy enough to take an ordinary
sized bear by the paws and fling it over
his head. Like nearly all sturdy back
woodsmen, he has nature that is kind
and gentle, he is great talker when
you get him on the subjects of hunting
or life in the wild woods, and he has
had some experiences that are very in
teresting. In talk with the writer a
few days ago Mr.. Burdick said:
I g few times have run down bears
that were as cunning as foxes when
they found that the dogs were close
upon them. Five years ago last win
ter Charley Bently and l had set day
to start bear in Buffers Swamp. The
snow was not more than seven inches
deep, and following a bear all day was
not as tiresome as it generally is in
midwinter. A very pleasant gentle
man from Philadelphia had been shoot
ing pheasarts in the neighborhood for
a couple of days, and he heard about
our proposed bear hunt and wanted to
go nlong. He said he had never seen
a bear in the woods, expressed a desire
to get glimpse Of one, and declared
that he didn't believe he could shoot
one If he saw it. We thought so, too,
, and we told him we would be glad to
have him go with us. He had a tip
top rifle, and he was on hand when we
got ready to start at daylight.
"Old Dash, the dog that we ALWAYS
took with us when we wanted to have
a right lively hunt, was in fine trim
that morning. No bear ever got the
best of him, but he died natural
death two years ago, and / haven't
had as good bear chaser since. The
Philadelphian was as clipper as a
lark over heprospect of seeing bear
before he got back, and Charley and
lfelt about as good as two men could
feel. We reached the swamp along
toward nine o'clock, and it wasn't
half an hour before we had found a
bear track and put old Dash on it.
Then We suggested to the Phiiadeiphia
ii,an that, for awhile, he had better
stand on a big pine stump that over.
looked that part of the swamp where
old Dash was then working, and Char.
ley and went to different sides of the
swamp and waited for old Dash tc
hustle the bear out.
'All the forenoon the dog raced ur
and down the swamp and failed to start
the old fellow. Not one of us had got
sight of the bear during all that time,
but we knew that he had not left the
swamp, and so we felt encouraged to
wait a little longer. A little while
after noon the Philadelphia gentleman
came down to where was standing
and said that he didn't propse to stand
on that stump all day, and that he
couldn't see much sport in hunting beal
in that fashion. He was brave man,
ana he said he was going down to the
other end of the swamp and see if he
couldn't get a shot at the bear. The
dog was then barking down that way,
but supposed he would soon drive the
bear back toward where l was, and
told the man SO. But he had got un.
easy and little out of patience, and
off he went
..In the course of twenty minutes
heard his gun go off, and l ran dowr
there as fast as could. didn't sup
pose that he had fred at any thing
but was afraid that he might hav,
stumbled into trouble and shot hi.
rifle as a signal of distress. / yellet
and asked if any thing was the matter
and he shouted back: I've killet
him. That was all he said, and ther
tramped into the swamp and fount
the Philadelphia man leaning agains
a sapling as cool as you please. Blu
he was the proudest man ever saw
for he had really found the bear an,
killed it with single shot, The bea'
had tramped past the top of big tre'
that had been blown down, and whel
he had got five rods or so beyond it h
rose up on his hind feet faced righ
about like a soldier, and walked bacl