New-York tribune., 1889-12-22
SHOOTING A BEAR.
WITH SOME EXCITING ACCESSORIES

| Win oOME EACIIlNG ACCESSOKlES.
Spring Brook, Penn, Dec. 81 (Speclal-To the
hunters and lumbermen OF this wild region Thanks
| giving Day doesn't amount to much unless somebody
puts up live bear TO be shot at This year Hiram
Cole of the best-natured hunters and trappers
that ever got the best Of the wary fouroocd fellows
In the spring Brook woods had the good luck to trap
a 400-pound bear not far from Monument Creek, q
few days before Thanksgiving lie caught the big
beast In log trap that stood on two sklds and he and
Mark Lathrop hltched ox-team to the skids and
hauled the maddened animal out TO the clearing and on
over to Coles place. The trap so narrow that
the bear couldn't nOunce around at all and by the
| time tley got to Coles barn the imprisoned animal
| frothed at the mouth and furious. But that
| didn't make bit Of difference to Cole and Lathrop.
They had handled many a live bear before. and they
unhitched the and made ready TO get the bear
out Of the trap and put him in strong pen where
they could keep him well until the day for the shoot
ing match rolled round.
While they fastening slipping nooses on the
bears legs. the oxen nibbed grass by and paid
no attention 10 what the men doing. In letting
The bear back out of the trap, the rope slipped from
one Of his forelegS He took advantage OF this in
twinkllng. and made mad dash for freedom running
directly toward the faces Of the gentle oxen, which
stood with their noses to the ground Cole and
Lathrop had hold OF three other ropes that were at
tached to the bears legs, but the not
weghty enough to keep the bear from plUnging ahead
and when he got within few feet OF the he
gave vent to an angry grOwl That startled the
and with tails up and heads lowered. they beloved
like everything, sailed into the bear with their horns
and stopped him. For few seconds they hooked the
bear at pretty lively rate, forced him back upon his
launches, and made him with rage and pain.
While this going on Cole and Lathrop had a
chance to wind the ropes around the tops of couple
OF fence posts and they did so in short order BY the
time they had fastened the ropes the bear dealt each
Of the oxen blow or two on the head with his
powerful paws, and the usually quiet cattle suddenly
became demoralzed. In instant they turned tail,
kicked up their heels, beloved frightfully. leaped
the fence and like racehorses across the field
The yoke kept them together, and in their wild flight
they ran foul of a tree and were thrown in a heap.
That cooled the oxen down good deal and Lathrop.
who had given chase to the scared fugtvcs, caught
them and drove them back to the barn. Cole took
care Of the bear while he attending the cattle
The animal tried hard to yank his legs loose. but the
ropes held him, and then the got rcinforcemens
and forced the bear into the log pen, where they
fed him until Thanksgiving Day.
1t is customary in many of the baclwOOds neigh
borhoods to shoot mark for the bear that is to
be won by superior skill with the rifle but Cole and
Lathrop decided to set their bear up a KNOLL at a
distance of eighty reds from Coles barn. and let the
woodsmea blze away at him at twenty-five cents
shot. More than OF wildwoods marksmen met
dt Coles place on lhel were
all eager TO take hand in the match and by the
middle of the forenoon the sport began The bear
roped and chained in the pen. and it took dozen
of the nearly hour to march the bear TO the
top Of the knoll and chain him to a stump.
Then the firing began, and after each shot man
named Krace Bush, who stayed behind big stamp
not many yards from where the bear until he heard
the rifle crack, out to if the bear had been hit
BY moving piece Of blue cloth he notified the marks
.l,,i i.o ham bnIf phaI nd hp
thirty four times in succession Hcswas to nutter
red rag as soon as bullet hit the bear but the marks
men saw nothing Of Bush's red rag, and one after
another dropped out of the contest and declared that
the bear was too far away to be hit. a few of the
more pucky ones stayed in for awhile longer and Bush
continued to move the piece OF blue cloth. The last
man gave up the ifty-third shot, and the match
was ended for the day Bush hadn't nuttered the red
rag once the entire crowd hurried to the top of the
knoll to see what in the mischief the reason why
some one hadn't sent a chunk of lead into the bear.
Before they started the general opinion was that
the distance between the shooting point and the big
hairy mark more than hundred rods. but
several of them paced it,, and after giving due allow
ance for the deep vne that they had to cross to get
where the bear was they to the conclusion that
IL was only about eighty rods. Investigation showed
that the most Of the bullets had struck to the rght OF
the bear and the mystery became deeper all the time
Why did we all aim TO that side OF the markl' they
asked one another, but none OF them could tell Not
ieaden pellets. and the crowd tramped back to the
house and asked Cole to explain it.. lie said 1t was
nneer and he intimated that the wind might possibly
have had something to do with their failure to hit
the bear Then the gang Of shooters scattered to
their homes They not at all satisfied with their
davis sport but Cole and Lathrop, who had taken In
Si1 25 put the sound bear back in the pen and felt
pretty good - , -, ~, ,h h,,o, H.,
pone wide OF the mark leaked out. There Is always
n nowerfl draugt of air In the deep ravine, no mat
ter which way the wind blows and the fact was that
hen the bullets struck that current OF air they
blown 10 one side OF straight line and didn't strike
,rbere the marIsmen expected they would. Several
~ the disappointed rinemen heard Of this. and
tbev auicky asserted that Cole and LathrOp knew all
ahc the swift OF air I'm the ravine when they
nnt the bear on the knoll The latter denied and
set the bear at the same distance In an
ther direction.
So the next day nearly all Of the msrksmen met
there again. and the bear taken out and fastened
,o stump exactly eighty rods from the shooting point
The same signals used as before, and the same
amonnt was paid for each chance at the bear. Two
marksmen missed him. and then Lenke GraSsfeld
stenned up with his Winchester rifle and sent bullet
~ foryfour calibre whzzng toward the bear: Pretty
soon thcy behed the red rag hutterng In the breeze
for The first time. and then they saw Bush running
toward them at the top OF his speed lie covered the
eighty rods in quick time. and he brought the news
that Grassfelds bullet had hit the bear In the head
md killed him instantly.