Cottonwood report. [volume] (Cottonwood, Idaho) 1893-1901, 1895-11-01
DYNAMO re Old II
Biggest Alaskan Bear on Record
Is Killed.
THE MEN TAKE TO The SoOW
Bruin Shakes and Holds the Powder, and
Soon 1t Rains Bear Around the
Mountain.

dick" Willodghly. one of the char
acters of Alaska, the father of the
phantom City" story and a man who
has resided there for many years, was
in the city several days ago. He had
just returned from San Francisco,
where he sold valuable mine, and
was on his way back to the northern
territory. One evening during his stay
In Tacoma he was the center of an in
terested group that was engaged in
listening open-mouthed to the stories
he told of his experiences, says the Led
ger,
Bear" said he, in response to a
question. you bet I've killed bear;
killed the biggest one ever saw with
dynamite. Let me tell you about it.
Some time after I found my mine
reports kept coming to me of bear in
the vicinity having killed Indians and
some white people. One day l was out
| hunting and stumbled onto him myself,
not more than 40 feet away. I had
! 50-calibre Springfield rifle, but i
| couldn't trust 1t that time; the bear
| was too big. He walked off and 1 was
glad of it. I am not afraid of an ordi-
nary bear. / told my partner and he
said if he ever saw it he'd kill it. Well,
he met him one day and didn't shoot,
either. After that we agreed to stay
pretty close together when hunting,
and maybe both of us could kill it. We
never got that chance.
81 knew some of the boys from Jun
eau would be over in the spring, and
then we'd go after him right. Well,
| four of the boys came over in the spring
and put them In one of my houses close
4 by. One day I told them about the
bear One said, Well, I'll see about it,
| another allowed he hadn't lost any
BEARS, etc.; so we didn't bother him
that year. That fall 1 offered $50 re-
ward for him dead or alive, I to have
| the skin.
1T run on that way about four years.
I could hear of that bear every few
weeks and see his tracks now and then.
Once, just after the first snow had
fallen in the valley, I went out and
killed deer. / did not go over a mile
from the house and next day, having
occasion to pass the place where 1 had
cleaned my deer, found my old bear
had been there, so followed his tracks
and he had tracked me to the cabin.
After that his tracks led off up the
mountain. knew where there was a
up pretty close and saw his tracks led
that way.
ut was getting along in the winter
by that time and an old Indian chief
named Bob, and his family, moved
over to one of my huts to be close to
the deer that feed along the lake near
by. There were Bob and three others,
good, strong Indian men. We all had
good guns and Bob had four good bear
dogs. After conference, I, my man,
and the Indians agreed to go after the
bear. We appointed Bob captain and
he ordered the dogs held. We went up
to where thought the bear wintered.
AS we got close the dogs began whining,
and Bob said let 'em co.
1.-THE snow was up to their waists and
being very light, could be pushed
aside. The dogs could make no head
way. So Captain Bob commenced to
back his way up to the mouth of the
cave. The dogs kept right with him,
| and as he got within eight or ten feet
of the hole told him he'd better stop,
| but no, he was brave. The rest of us
were probably 40 feet away. All at
once there was furry of snow, leap
of some large animal in the air. and
| Mr.. Bear was right on top of Bob and
| llC OOSo. L dlOPpCQ my Ill anu ulNeu
| off the mountain and went out of sight
--'nder the snow about Is feet. I la,t,5I.
| still aDcS.+S niT-=-4a apd b,.-----'-- JUS
Veil. / crawled back a ap Is 8 the head of
the hole l had jumped into and yelled,
| oh. boys Two or three stuck their
heads out, having done the same as l
did. Some had a nose peeled, others an
ear, and all were more or less bruised
from our crawling under the snow. We
started off down the mountain and
stopped about 100 yards down. All at
once we saw the snow begin to rise up.
There comes the bear says one; but
no, it was Bob. He had crawled under
the snow for 100 yards. The bear had
killed three of the dogs and scared
mine so bad that he didn't come home
for two days.
when we got home we had one dog
and no guns. The women (squaws)
laughed at us, and said they'd go ur
tomorrow and kill the bear. That even
ing I proposed to Bob that we kill II
with powder. That was lust the thing
So next morning fixed up three sticks
and a fuse and we started up. We got
about as close as we dared to go, an6
; Bob, who was so proud to be our cap
tain the day before, asked who was t
be our captain today. One of the boy:
said:
"'Well, Bob, If I'd been captain yes
J terday, I'd be the same today.
, "'All right says Bob; so my maj
lighted the fuse and Bob started up t.
the cave with it. I climbed up littl
q fir tree, so that could just see the bea
/ lying in the cave and could see Bol
throw the powder. A bear will Away
n fight fire; so when the fuse struck hin
e Mr.. Bear rose up, and such a scrap
e never saw. He shook that powder an
Rugged it, but all at once it went of
and it just .rained bear where was.
told the boys it was all over. Old Bo
went UP dancing and singing.
at got one hind foot that weighe
: II pounds. 1t was IA inches long by ]
in width. l also got piece of hide ]
i feet by IA feet. Now If you ever com
: to Juneau I'll show you that foot. W
carried down $50 pounds of meat an
/ know the most of him was blow
away. He weighed probably 1St
! pounds. Yes, sir; got the reward m.
a self" ~