Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1890-05-09
SOME OF BRUINS HABITS.
AN OLD HUNTERS INTERESTING
TALK ABOUT BEARS.
Why They Have Such n Clumsy Gait
Their Tactics in the Chasc-In-
crcasing in Number.

Their Tactics in the Chasc-In-
crcasing in Number
eff man is after bears for profit"
said an old Sinnamahoning Qcnn. hum
ter, who is posted on all tho ways of the
woods and their inhabitants. ''it il better
for him to trap them than to hunt thcm.
n bear hunt Is generally long and tire
some picco of work F.; but, with n light fall
of snow and fresh track, there is no
sport so exciting, and even the amntcur
hunter will find himself going miles on n
good, stiff trot, unmindful of fatigue or
obstacles i'll his way, so wrapped up will
ho bo in the chase. When u bear finds
that ho is being tracked hc will pick out
tho most tangled and as nearly the most
impossible places he can reach. TO fol-
low him requires nerve, wind and Il
tough skin. A bear thinks nothing Of
leading the hunter chase of twonty
miles or more over hills and through val
Toys, where tho brush and bricrs nrc most
harassing, and tho swamps almost inac-
cossiblo to man, while the bear will shut
flo along with his-clumsy gnit MS rapidly
as If ho were on tho best Of roads.
"It isn't likely, by the way, TINT any
ono ever told you why ii wns that the
bear has thnt peculiarly clumsy and np-
parcntly painful gait, although you have
doubtless wondered why it was. Incvcr
heard tho reason, but knowing that. it
must DO an anatomical one, .ppssafinis
vostigatcd tho skeleton of heafs
and found that the cXplaeRt tisnS, ~ IA; 8
awkward locomotion WIS
In the first place, tho bear b ~ mo nia8iejss
in tho shoulders to kcops4 I'M Sh9H5f, III
bones steadily apart, as is usiiSi isss )jfaais,
and consequently when tho bear moves
his foro legs tho shoulder blades work or
slide loosely OH the sides. Then agnin,
tho bear has his ankle joint in his hind
legs plump on tho ground, or it is rather
part of tho hind foot. This structure
gives the first joint of the hind legs n
bond in the opposite direction from That
which it hos in the legs of other animals.
This loose and queer rigging OF tho joints
of the logs and shoulders gives the bear
that peculiar wobblo or shuttle with
which he makes his way Tho broad
base which the foot of the bear
forms, howeyey,i 'giBesasit aasss, steady
and securc"7ssfiltGtdf lulIst ttss gbas the
appearance iaS Mgr tsgg VI Tho
peculiar - sdIl the
hind feet is what ensbl ise hear 10 get
up on these fcet 80 fea ~! hs,ti ,slatntSiu
secure position WkilessiHs dses iiifs FOR fore
paws in grasping or striking with his
! wcll-known facility and effectiveness. II
is the absence OF claviclcs in his shoul-
ders that gives the bear the grcatIhugging
power of his fore legs, which is not only
of the greatest service to him in climbing
but in dealing with his enemies. In fact,
| if he had the usual claviclcs he couldn't
climb tree at all, and the bear dog
would not need to stand in fear OF that
terrific embrace.
"Dogs are the natural enemies of bears.
A dogs yelp behind him is signal to
bruin for fight. Few experienced dogs
arc foolish enough to go beyond the open
ing of cave or hole where bear has
been scented, or to pitch into bear that
has turned for fight. A full-grown bear
with his dandcr up can ward of half a
dozen. good dogs, il he can protect his
rear. A fair blow from a bears fore paw
will place any dog in position that will
rob tho subsequent proceedings of all it,-
tercst to him. At sight of mhn, though,
bear will make every effort to get away.
AS n rule, he will never fight man
unless forced to, and then it will
be war to the death. A she bear with
cubs, when closely followed, will keep
her young ones ahead of her, bringing
up the rear to protect them. Ii she is
pushed closely, she will try to frightcn OF
her pilrsuers BY Masking great show of
fight. She will growl, show her teeth,
tear tho bark from trees, and scatter it
about with much fuss and noise. and
make herself as fierce as possible in many
ways. If the enemy presses. and there
is no help for it, the mother bear will
fight as long us there is drop of blood
to shed in defence Of her young. The
cubs, meanwhile, will huddlc together a
short distance off, whining and crying
piteously. In chasing bear experienced
and intelligent dogs greatly aid the hun
ter, and do much toward checking the
flight of the bear. 1t is no hard matter
to kill bear if the dogs understand
their business after he is brought to bay,
for he will give all his attention to the
logs that are yelping around him, while
the hunter stands off and fills him with
lead. But there are times when a bear
will brace himself for fight from the
word go, and then if the hunter doesn't
kill at the first fire he is apt to have
about as lively time On his hands as he
ever dreamed of. No story of bear
ight that was ever told can be much
ahead of the incidents that go with real.
good fight.
"The trappcr is the man who gets the
most bears. There is no better trap than
the old-time heavy steel trap, properly
I anchored. When bear finds himself
last by the leg in one of these traps he
will mako every effort to get to some
rock, against which he will pound the
trap in efforts TO smash ii to pieces and
free himself. These traps arc sometimes
fastened by a long chain to small log,
ar,I fo fri =