Democratic Northwest and Henry County news. [volume] (Napoleon, O. [Ohio]) 1894-1905, 1894-06-07

ty. Excursions, we'll armed and alert,
have gone in search of him, but so far
without success. The bear is credited
with the slaughter of three full-grown
sheep and two lambs right within a
stones throw OF the village. Re-
turns have not arrived from interior
points.
Nothing proves that bears are still
in existence in this region better than
the fact that bear meat is occasionally
served in some of the little taverns
along the widest mountain roads in
the upper parts OF Sussex and Warren
counties. On going over the Blue
Ridge at the uppermost end OF the
State some weeks ago, your corre-
spondent stopped for dinner at one OF
these wayside inns. The host served
plate of meat, savory in odor and
tender in looks. AS he put it in front
Of his guest, he said:
"See how you like this meat. l
doubt whether you ever tasted any
thing Of the kind, but it is favorite
dish with us mountain people,"
Whether the guests appetite had
mountain, or whether the dish itself
was really all it was cracked up to be,
1T certainly satisfied rather fastidious
palate. 1t had 9 favor somewhst
Stronger than beef, yet it bore quite
a similarity to it, After fully testing
its quality, the query as to what it was
started the landlord off at once.
''That is bear steak, sir. IL was cut
from a bear caught right down the
road a piece. You passed the spot on
the way up. and you must have walked
over the animals foot prints. That
was four days ago. My boy shot him.
If you had time could show you den
or two Of bears within mile of this
house, and could spin you bear yarns
by the hour OF course bears are on
the decrease, and in the past few years
they have dropped of greatly. Yet
there are q few old sportsmen from
the center of the State who come up
here every fall on a bear hunt.
They always get at least a little
game"
Among the characters of upper New
Jersey is an old hunter who goes by
the name of "Rattlesnake Pete" be-
cause for years he made a living by
killing the deadliest of snakes and
selling their skins, and also selling
berries. He lives over in Sussex
county and is getting well along in
years. He has killed a great many
bears in his time and has had numer-
: Gus adventures with the tough quadru-
, ped, more or less thrilling in charac-
ter. Some OF his stories were published
in the New York and Philadelphia pa
pers about ten or twelve years ago.
} Possibly some OF his unpublished tales
may be worth narrating later on.
r ''Pete" says there are mighty few
bears left in Jersey, but those that are
: he considers very sly and very ferocious.
| The old man prefers talking about
snakes. His face lightened up percep-
l tibly the other day when he was asked
( about the present condition of the rat
t tlesnake market.
> "Why, bless your soul, sir" he re-
3 piled, "there's heaps of reptiles left
3 yet. It's true they don't go after you
r so much as they used to, but if you
2 track 'em down you can find 'em, and il
5 you stir 'em up you will discover they
are as lively and bitey as ever. My
daughter, sixteen years old, killed q
, fellow with thirteen rattles just before
1 Thanksgiving. She heard the varmint
call. They call three times you know,
mister, before they spring on you and
bite. You always want to look out for
the third call 1t means death purity
quick if you don't hustle on right away.
y Well, my girl she waited till the second
q call. Then she snatched up the big
9 stick we alters carry when we are in
9 the thick woods, and running behind
i the snake, hit him whack. The old
+ sarpint turned on her quicker'n blazes
. but she was there, too, and fetched hin
i another. That settled the business
4 He wriggled, as they alters do, till sun
$ down, and then he died stone dead. I've
. got the crtter hung up in my house
/ longside the hide of big bear that
killed some years ago the ot'3r side o
} the ridge, almost opposite the Delaware
. water gap. The rattle was one Of the
biggest and finest ever saw"