Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1888-01-06
DIR. NELSON'S BEAR.


A Little Incident that Happened in e
Dorado Many Years Ago.
A correspondent of the Placer Republican
tells the following story of an encounter
that DR.. H. w. Nelson, of this city, had
with grizzly bear in early days. The
genial doctor has always been noted for his
proves with the gun-whether fowling.
piece or rife-as well as for his professional
skill. Says the writer:
! For the following incidents 1 am indebted to
| Z. A. futile and q. w. Apologize, two of our
| most respected pioneers and prominent citizens.
| whose fund of memories and power of narration
are uhequaled. The scene of these by-gone
| happenings is sometimes in Placer and some
| times in FL Dorado county. To illustrate the
ease with which full-grown grizzly can be
Killed when struck in the spot where it will do
the most good, the following incident is given .
In the autumn of one of the early fifties DR.. H.
W. Nelson, now a prominent surgeon in the city
OF sacramento, but then practicing in Green
wood, was out quail hunting. He had double
barreled gun loaded wi h the proper charge for
tnat KIND OF game, and no other weapon
tor was making his way uD a rayine, in
narrow trail boTdered with dense chap
arral, when suddenly band of hunters
from the nelghboring mining camp of
Georgetown made their appearance on the hill
above him IN pursuit of large bear. Some of
the party saw him and shouted a warning that
the bear was coming down the ravine and for
MIN to break for dear life. The doctor was
equal TO the occasion, however and coolly
shouted back to " let him come, am ready for
him He had theory, based upon some pre-
NlouS Investigations of the anatomy of a bears
head, that charge of shot in the end of a griz-
zly's nose must reach the brain and prove fatal
C0olly cooking his gum he awaited events. In
moment or two the bear appeared out of the
brush, not over fifteen feet away. and on catching
sight of the doctor reared UP for a charge The
latter has often since aVerred that when the
bear erected himself upon his hams he appeared
to be at least twenty feet high Never for an
instant losing his presence of mind the doctor
took quick aim and lodged the contents of both
barrels in old Ephraims snout, and he tum-
bled over as ignominiosly slain as was Goliah
with Davids pebble.
Substantially the above recital of the
doctors grizzly bear encounter is correct,
but is lacking in details. 1t was away back
in "a, according to the writer's recollec-
ton of the story, SIS told by the doctor one
moonlight night In October, 1884, as he re-
hearsed some of his early experiences and
adventures to an attentive and interested
group of sportsmen while seated about
blazing log fire in the hills few miles be-
yond Latrobe, Ell Dorado county. 1t APP
pears that the doctor had been out deer
and quail shooting, on the day preceding
that referred to in the above story, in COM
pany with a number of friends from the
vicinity of Greenwood, and coming across
a rattlesnake that challenged his right of
way along path in the chaparral, he shot
the serpent's head off The echo of the
explosion had scarcely died away among
the ravines before he heard a shout of
alarm from his companions little way Off
Looking in that direction, the doctor saw
commotion in the chaparral and soon dis
covered that he had flushed" huge fe-
male grizzly bear and two good-sized cubs.
One of his companions took a crack at the
mother bear, but missed his aim, and the
savage beast turned and ran across ravine
in front of the doctor. 1t happened that
the latter had an ounce ball in one of the
barrels of his little fourteen gauge quail
ing gun, and as the bear crossed an open
space he aimed for her neck and let CO.
For once the doctors aim deceived him,
for he saw the bullet raise a cloud of dust
IN the hillside beyond, having missed the
creatures neck by less than an inch.
The grizzly and her cubs made for a
bunch OF BRUSH and the hunters made for
a group of liveoaks up near the top of
neighboring hill. The doctors brace of
pointer dogs had followed the bears into
the brush, and it was expected they would
soon emerge and pilot the pursuing beasts
direct to the hunters roost in one of the
trees. But the bears did not show up, and
the doctor and his friends returned to
Greenwood and related their adventure.
Their story was listened to with consider
able incredulity, but finally Dr. Nelson
succeeded in securing the promises of
number of gentlemen to 60 out with him
on the following day in search of the bears
Next morning the little party of bear slay-
e-s set forth. 1t was composed of DR.. Mel
son, John Gleason (who now resides on
one of the islands in the lower Sacramento
river, Dave Wyman, w. H. Page, VIM.
Harris, John Nesbit, Captain A. A. Stod-
dard, DR.. Sherman for whom Sherman
Island was named) and one or two
others. Arriving at the spot the doctor
sent in his dogs. After waiting for some
time a terrible commotion was heard in the
chaparral, and presently the old bear
emerged into small opening about fifty feet
from where DR.. Nelson was standing. She
stopped Just long enough to crush one of
the pointers with her fore-paw, and the
doctor saw his chance. He was standing
on the hillside above her, and as she turned
quickly from the dog to make break for
its master, the doctor turned loose his little
weapon, which was loaded with two allo-
pathic doses of buckshot. These he ad-
ministered hypodermically at the base of
the bears brain, and she fell dead almost
at his feet.
1t was the doctors first experience with
a wild bear, and he was the hero of the
| hour. The little mining village of Green
| wood was hardly big enough for the bear
slayer that night, but the doctor was voted
the freedom of the city" such as it was
He still owns the faithful little muzzle-
loader that did such excellent execution
thirty-odd years ago, and whenever the
| doctor shows up with it at a turkey shoot,
even to this day, the proprietor of the
range generally manages to have some one
send an urgent call for the doctor to attend
| the sickbed of a patient some distance
aWay