The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1891-10-22
FOB OUR YOUNG PEOPLE
INTERESTING SUBJECTS FOR
THEIR PERUSAL,
Bear Hunting at Night Iu.,av
Fingers--A Friendship Calen-
dar--The Rain Pool by the
Way--Manliness.
Bear Hunting at Night.

century many of the counties of the
state of New York that are now thick
ly settled were more or less a wilder
ness and largely infested with bears.
The hardships of the settlers at that
time in clearing the land and raising q,
subsistence were increased by the raw
! ages OF these animals on the pip.stve,
sheep-cot and grain fields. With due
care the sheep and pigs could be pen-
ned against these nocturnal maraud
ers, but oftentimes whole acres ofcorn
were nearly devastated.
At that time it was customary to
hunt bears in the same way that rae
coons are hunted at the present time
Parties with guns and trained dogs
| would scour the cornfelds in the vicin-
ity in the evening and if the dogs
scented the bears they usually ran
still until close to the game. When
the bear started for the woods the
| dogs nipped his heels, which would
cause him to take to the nearest tree
possible. Small dogs were preferred
to large ones, as they We're better at
lodging among the standing corn and
| pumpkin vines when the bears turned
and made a short dash after them as
they often did.
Some sixty or seventy years ago
| there lived in the Wilds OF Schoharie
| county person noted for this STYLE
| OF hunting. He was named Elijah
Dibble, but better known as Uncle
Lige He and his dog had slaughtered
more bears than all OF the rest of the
hunters for miles around. This was
not altogether owing to his superior
merits as a hunter, but his faithful
little cur never failed to place bruin
up the tree and kept him there until
his master arrived. a ~
One DAY early in autumn several
youngsters from twelve to sixteen
years of age while out blackberrying
discovered unmistakable signs Of
BEARS work in a cornfeld. They
visited Uncle Lige to agree upon a
night when he would go with them
and give bruin hunt. The old man
was 10th to go with the youngsters,
tearing when he needed their help they
might be found wanting. When the dog
gave tongue Uncle Lige usually pushed
on after and it was required of his
attendants to fire the resinous torch
carried for the occasion and follow the
hunter as soon as possible with the
light to enable him to shoot the game
before it left the tree and made for the
distant mountains, as it was a diff
cult matter for the dog to tree them
the second time. The lads made great
promises of courage and Uncle Lige
finally consented.
When evening came all were on
hand, making renewed promises Of
being heroes if necessary.
The night was dark and favorable
for game. When they arrived at the
field the dog was started out and all
remained silent. After waiting some
time the dog began to give tongue sharp
and furiously, which In a few seconds
turned to cries of distress. He had
come upon bruin suddenly and press
ed him with such eagerness that the
bear had turned and caught him and
was hugging him with a Vengeance.
Uncle Lige rushed to the rescue OF
his dog and called to the lads to light
the torch and come quickly. Instead
of lighting the torch they dropped it
and ran for lille. Uncle Lige pushed
on and soon came to the bear, which
was still hugging the dog. Taking aim
as we'll as he could in the darkness he
made a lucky shot and bruin rolled
over dead. Fortunately for the dog
he was too small for the bear to bring
his pressure to effect and the dog was
not seriously injured.
Uncle Lige soon gathered fuel, struck
a light and commenced skinning the
bear. After some time he heard the
would-be heroes calling from dis
tant hill, "Uncle Lige! Uncle Lige
Have you killed him? eyes" the old
man replied. They soon came up pell-
NELL, each one telling which part was
his, to which Uncle Lige replied, "Not
a particle of this bear will either of
you get. I'll teach you not to run and
leave me when my dog is in bears
clutches" The old man was as good
as his word and did not give them a
Slice
For years after that hunt was a
standing joke at their expense, a re-
ference to it being all that was requr-
ed to silence one Of the party. N. E.
Homestead.
A Friendship Calendar,
l have found, lately, very pretty
and simple way to surprise ones
friend on her birthday or at Christ
mas A-sa
The article is called a Friendship
| Calendar and a foyv 1vnr1c will ~, G, ~,