Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1892-07-22
BOLD OLD RANGER.
rms vETgRAN BEAR HAD 10 rEAR
or NAN on GUN.

44IS w etoNN 0ss - ~ -
or NAN on GUN.
n, We - rsszsr e 90 CsaAs.asy
and was ra.sss asa DrssAsa - IN
Br,,,a Dspesaasieae-Hssv Al Osss
- sa.As-Esrner sauyer's vev.
..The boldest, most impudent bsaEs 70
be found anywhere are the bears o.
Maine. said sportsman who has
hunted al kinds Of bears but polar
hearx .sThe Maine bear doesn't care
snap for = man, and that is rather queer,
for the bears must know that there u .
big bounty on their scalps. Beam
know everything. When ] say that
the Maine bear don't care . snap
for a man don't mean that he u any
more apt to tackle man than any
other bear is. but that he will 50 into .
mans harnyard after a calf, or sheep
or a pig, into his orchard after apples.
into his cornfield, or into his yard and
knock over the beeskips for the honey,
although the man may be standing not
three rods away with gun at that
This brazen iinpudence on the part OF
the Maine bear is what makes him such
a terror to the farmers in that state, and
it more than anything else led to the
putting of price on his head. 1t has
also led TO the invention of many de-
vices for destroying the bold marauder
nv the farmers themselves.
The fayorite one of these is the trap
gun. This is simply an ordinary gun.
charged heavily with buckshot. baited.
and placed in a corntield or other place
where the bear is likely to pay visit
with foraging intent. The bait and gun
are so arranged that the instant the
bear touches the former the latter Is dis
charged, and i'll nine cases out OF ten the
quantity of lead bruin receives IN his
head and face loads aim down SO effcctu-
ally that when the farmer goes out In
the morning he finds the bear dead, and
the carcass is a more valuable crop to
him than anything any two acres OF his
land could yield him, for the bounty, and
the hide, and the meat ought to repre-
sent forty or fifty dollars in cold cash to
the agriculturist.
The country around Bangor, ssy
within twenty or thirty miles, IS the
most prolific bear region ever struck.
The bears seem to rise up out OF the
ground and look at you as you pass by
without a protest. The last time ! was
over there the people in the vicinity OF
Maxtield were all broke up over the
wicketlness of tough and cunning old
| bear, whose exploits had won him the
name of Old Ranger. lie was u great
orchard thief, and had escaped from no
end of traps. and it was estimated at that
time that if he should drop dead just
then and his weight was taken, not less
than ten pounds of his avoirdupchs
would be represented by lead that had
been shot into him any time within the
five years then past.
1.-The whole of Peuobscot county knew
that bear, but he deiied the entire popu-
lace until IA farmer named Sawyer got
so mad one day over some especially ag-
gravating depredations the old bear had
committed on his premises that he took
his biz moose gun and swore that he
would 90 ont and lay Old Ranger low
before he came home again or die in the
ATTEMPT. But Sawyer. after following
the bear three days, modified his oath a
LITTLE and came home the third night to
sea his family. Some time during the
nj.llt he was awakened by Il noise, and
he recognized in it the voice. or rather
lungs. of Old Ranger blowing i'll the
orchard.
with great caution Farmer Sawyer
awol,e his farm hands and stole to some
Of his neighbors and got together a
small army of men. Armed with guns,
axes. pitchforks and other weapons. and
carving dozen lanterns, the hostile
forces surrounded Old Ranger i'll the
orchard, and for the first time i'll his life
| the tough and willy bear found himself
| in corner. There was only one outlet
| to the woods from the orchard, and that
was guarded by eight men with guns,
| including Sawyer with his moose gun.
THE display of lanterns had evidently
| dazed Old Ranger. for there was nc
reason why he couldn't have got out of
| the orchard and away into the woods
| before he was surrounded. But ht
| didn't. and when he at last discovered
| the danger he was i'll and made a break
for the path, he had to run IA desperate
! s,antlet. He received a shot from each
one of the eight guns. including Sawyer
moose gun, but he ran the gauntlet and
kept right on for the woods. In spite OF
| his wounds the tenacious old brute LED
| the host of armed farmers a lively chase
| of nearly three miles into the woods be-
fore they came up with him. Farmer
| SAWYER was in the lead of the forces
and was suddenly brought mp all stand
| ing by roar and a snort and frightfu
swapping of teeth not far ahead Of him
Lanterns were held up, and there
not twenty feet ahead, stood Old Ranger
| his back against rock and showing {
defiant and terrible front. By the ligh'
of the lanterns Farmer Sawyer gave the
bear both barrels of his moose gun, ant
Old Rangers race was run. The big
bear was dashed to two stout poles ant
the great carcass was borne into Max
field by the triumphant hunters. Wher
the people of the village heard that Ole
Ranger had been killed sleep was giver
over for the night, and daylight found
the populace still rejoicing over the
| downfall of the dreaded marauder. OLD
Ranger weighed AGO pounds. New
| York Sun.