The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1888-02-29
A WEST VIRGINIA BEAR-PEN.

A WEST VIRGINIA BEAh-SEN.
How a Shrewd Old Farmer Makes Meat of
the Animals That Try to Rob Him.
From the Cincinnati Enquirer
After an excellent breakfast Uncle
Jimmy led the way to his bear-pen,
which found to be large room built
of logs, notched and fitted strongly
together, with a roof and floor of the
same material. Before we reached
the pen it's occupants had scented us
and began to give vent to yells and
that shrlll, whistling sound peculiar to
the black bear. The nearer we APP
preached the more excited the animals
became, until the noise of their yells,
snorts, whistlings, and scratchings
drowned our voices. The pen con.
tanned nine animals, six full-grown fell
lows and three which were about half
grown, "two-year-o Uncle Jimmy
said. A basket of corn, scraps from
the table, and bucket of milk thrown
and poured into troughs put q
quietus to the fearful racket, and in u
short time only a satisfied grunt or
low growl and cuff administered to
some venturesome fellow who trying to
purloin toothsome dainty from his
neighbor were the only sounds which
broke the silence. After 1 had gazed
at the nine great, fat, apparently con-
tented fellows for time L said:
"How in the name of goodness did
you get them? You don't raise them,
do your"
"No, of course not. Bears are too
thick about here to bother with raising
them. We caught them all in traps"
slow do you do it? The trap Grip
pies them, doesn't it? And none of
these fellows appear to be injured in
the least"
I'VE use the regular bear-trap, with
the teeth filed down. The jaws close
on their legs with such force that the
bear can't release itself, but the bones
and badly bruised often, of course, but
that soon heals up, and as to how we
get them here you'll probably see for
yourself before great while"
what are you going to do with
them?"
"Fatten them, and then kill them
and sell the meat-that is, oil we don't
use or give away. There's one thing
you don't know about bears, perhaps.
They are easily fattened when kept in
close, clean quarters. And then, again,
we think that when we raise corn and
other stuff for bears we might as we'll
have the bears, and most of these fell
lows were trapped near the corn
fields or the pig-pens."
"When do you do your hunting and
trapping, principally?"
Generally during the winter sea-
son, of course, hunting is carried on,
but as for trapping we catch them any
time during the year that they annoy
us. That big black fellow" pointing
to the largest bear of the lot, "was
caught in the middle of summer. He
had made several raids on the sheep
and hog pens and carried off several
fine animals, and 1 determined to trap
him. To kill him would be only
waste of good material, as they are in
variably poor in hot weather, SO we
looked around and learned the route he
took in going and coming-they almost
always travel over the same route going
and coming-then we set trap on
both paths, selecting narrow places
which the bear could not get around
very handily. The next morning we
had this fellow fast enough by one fore
paw. He was poor as q Methodist
preacher, but he was full of tight.
Then Sam (the oldest boy and L got
our pole and chain-but come down to
the house and 1 will show you how we
manage them"
Then Uncle Jimmy led the way to
the house and took down long,
smooth hickory pole, about eighteen
feet long, with a chain attached TO the
middle. The chain had moose at the
end. kept open by small stick, some
what less than two feet long.
I'VE took the pole and chain, and,
holding each an end of the pole, man
aged to drop the chain over the bears
head. The rest is generally easy
enough. The bear fights, of course,
but it don't take long to choke him into
submission. Then the traps jaws are
slackened and his foot released. Then
comes the trip to the pen. With Sam
at one end of the pole, myself at the
other, and Frank behind with Q pitch