The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1894-11-03

Pennsylvania. Plenty of Parboiled Fish
in One of the Ponds Made 1t Interesting
for Bruin.
Black bears feasting on parboiled fish
is one the seQuels to the recent fires
that ragged in the lumber districts Of
Central Pennsylvania John McCurry,
who lives near Driftwood, tells of this
strange incident in backwoods life:
A terrific fire had swept over a low
lying district about half mile from the
Susquehanna river, devourii;g the fallen
hemlocks and nuderbrush with fierce
ness that was startling. The second day
after the fire. when the ground had be-
come cool enough to allow traversing.
McCurrv started into the burned district
to look after some bark piles. He fol-
lowed a deep ravine for mile or more,
when his course changed !, and he made
his way in the direction of the river.
III May last when this stream overfowed
it's banks and twenty feet of extra
water deluged the narrow West Branch
valley, it formed lakes and ponds where
before had been dry land. In one par
ticular spot, which was much lower
than the surrounding county, being nat
urally sN alnpy, the river water made a
pond from two to four feet in depth.
This water was kept quite fresh by the
constant accession made by strong
spring in the negh borhood. The pond
was hemmed in on all sides by
rhododendron, swamp hemIock and
water birch. In addition to the interest
attached to this pool because of it's very
odd formation was the fact that it con-
tanned fish. Lumbermen who stood by
its edge on several occasions saw the I'M
mistakable movements of quite large
been carried in with the strong sweep
of water during the May flood and were
caught in the pool when the water re-
coded. The men who saw the fish de-
clared that they were carp of large size.
This pond was directly in the wake OF
the recent forest fire, and it's borders OF
hemlock and birch fed the flames in
their mad race across country. AS Nc
Curry neared the pond, but before he
was in sight of It, his attention was at
tracted by low growing. much like the
noise made by s dog when gnawing
bones. Climbing up from the depths OF
the ravine, McCnrry, who was now
within fifty yards of the pond, was sur
prised' to see two monster black bears
busily engaged devouring something at
the waters edge. One of the pair was
. "
ments, for he kept up a constant chat
tering as he chewed at some white look
ing object which he held in his fore
paws 1t was some time before McCurry
could determine what the BEARS feast
consisted of.
Suddenly one of the black fellows
made lunge into the water and waded
carefully across the pond to where some
thing lay floating on the surface. When
Bruin picked the object up McCurry
saw that it was a fish. The old fellow
waded back to shore and began devour-
ing his prize. 1t was some time before
the bears had gotten all they wanted
This done, however, they shambIed off
across the burned district in the direc-
tlon OF greeuer lands. much to the cha
grim OF the young wo odsman who aside
from small ak was unarmed
when the bears had departed McCurry
made bold to investigate the cause of
their attention to the pond. He found on
the. surface of the little lake several dead
Ssh. The water was decidedly warm and
the true situation soon presented itself
to him. The forest fire had heated the
water in the pond to such degree that
the fish died and fioated to the top. The
bears in their meanderings discovered
this feast of fish and helped themselves.
Another incident of the recent forest
fires in the Pine Creek region is related
by Sam Campbell, who works in the
woods near Blackwell's Sam was one
of a crew of men sent out to shack fire.
Eight fire with fire., and he; declared
that their experience was most thrilling