The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1890-04-30
TIE MAN HIS UNCLE KNEW.
He Caught Bear on Fish-hook, and
Landed Him Scientifically.

Landed Him Scientifically.
HdnimoRdsDorf Special. Yew York sun.
II had an uncle once who knew a man
that caught a bear on fish hook" said
Judga Ben Wright, without the least provo
cation, in toe Fairchild house the other day.
Nobody had never been thinking of bear.
Fish hooks had't been referred to for at least
an hour. Consequently, Judge Wright's re-
marx was SO startiing that silence as dead
as Bath, nine miles away, fell on the house.
Even Tneed Ross, the landlord, couldn't find
a word 70 say.
| That's all rightln CALCULATED the Judge,
evidently interpreting the unwontd silence
to mean that there was feeling abroad either
not complimentary to bis veracity or to the
reputation Of his uncle for the same,
| that's right He caught the bear on FISH
nook, this man my uncle knew did, and not
only caught it. but landed i'll The man
| VINO landed that bear was Philander Crock
er, ana he did it over on the Wyhee Greek,
In Potter County, Penn, where they pasture
| thelr cows on wild leeks and make Dutter
that tastes like bull beef and onions There
are only two things that Potter county brags
| on. One is because she joins the town of
| Moodhlll. in the garden spot Of old Steuben.
The other is bear.
IF none of you have never been over on
Ine Wyhee Creek you've missed a heap
a hundred feet high it is tearing through
hurried feet deep. Ny uncle used to say
| that he believed nature had made that creek
| on purpose for hook and ladder companies
| TO have picnics on. Whom you fish the
Wyhee you want TO spend day or two bid
| ding your friends aud relations good-by be-
lore you go. for the chances are that the first
man tnat greetS you when come back will
be the Coroner. But the trout that plow
the depths Of Wyhee'S chasm. and scramble
| up her cataracts are worth the risk At
least than's what Philander Croker thought
the day he Went out to try his luck for trout
| and landed the bear.
AT one place ON the Wyhee, though,
| where there is rocky basin twenty feet or so
| IN diameter, the shore on one side isn't more
than live feet above the water, and on the
| ether side is lower still, and slopes back
| gradually Tor quite ways At the head of
| the pool the water comes pounding into it
from the top OF a precipice, wall of rock
| twenty-five feet high. The pool at the foot
Oh the fall boils and foams just as any re-
| spectacle water might be expected 70 do
after such a tumble as that If any one
should happen to fall into that basin he'd
naturally pull for the side where the sloping
shore Is, for he couldn't get out any other
way The water in the basin is deep enough
to drown herdshell Baptist
wen, Phllander knew that the basin was
TO 1t. he had light rod and line, and the
trout bit so fast that he didn't take time to
put EN- into his basket as he took 'em of his
MIN on the bank. He mad thrown maybe a
dozen back when he jerked one out of the
| water That happened TO be little one. and
the force of rod sent it flying back, still fast
on tne hook. Philander followed the trout
with his eye, and what did he see but
whopplng big bear sitting there on its haun-
ehes, with its mouth wide open, waiting for
the trout to drop in. As none of the trout
Pnl!ander had caught were to be seen. he
made up his mind that the bear had been
sitting there and taking them in as fast as
they were chucked back. The little trout
on the hook dropped plum into the bears big
mouth, and the mouth closed on it like a
trap. Mechanically Philander gave his rod
a twltch, and quicker than LIGHTING that
pears mouth flew open again, and out of it
came a howl that made the echoes in those
rocky glens sound like Fourth of July cele-
bratlon over in Wayne Township. Philan-
der had hooked him, and hooked him we'll.
Then 1t happened to occur to him that
| ne wasn't nshlng for bear, and had no way
to carry this one home after he landed it.
but he didn't calculate to lose any of his line
| or brak his rod, and to he began to play Mr.
| Bear for all he was worth. But the bear had
an idea that ne wasn't going to fold his arms
and be reeled in and done for like cold
DAoouou nSl, ana So ne made grand rush
for Philander. He got to Philander but he got
| there to sudden. Philauder Jumped one side
and kerplunky went the bear overheard
In the BASIN By the way the reel whizzerd
Phllander knew that he still had the bair.
The bear came to the surface putting like a
porpolse, and Philander reeled in the slack
OF his line and got it taut on MIN, Just as if
he was playing big 'front.' The hook was
beep IN the bears tongue, and whenever he'd
make brake for the other side Philander
| would stitfen the line, the hook would get in
| its work and the bear would howl and swim
In to loose the line. Now, mind you, that was
| only slx-ounce rod, with a fine silk line.
but phllander played that bait SO scientific
| ally, my uncle said, that he worked him I'D
right under thees falls in spite of his fighting
and efforts to gett the other side, and man
| euvered him about SO skilltully In and out of
| the catract that the bear weakened and
weakened, and: at last, after an hours fight.
turned over on his back, and giving kick
or two and farewell howl fioated down
into the still water as dead as a poisoned
| pup. That's the kind of fisherman the
man my uncle knew was.n
The suspicious and uncomplimentry
| silance remained unbroken for some time
after the Judge ceased. Then some one dis
turbed it by asking, in tone that was skep-
teal:
| How much did that bear weigh?"
MY uncle is responsible for that bear.
| sir" replied the Judge, "a d [ am RESPONSE
BILE for my uncle. don't know how much
the bear weighed, but 1 weigh 1872 pounds,
sir, netm