Blackfoot news. (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1891-1902, 1895-07-06

i
ferceness OF his
cousin. the grizzly.
and that he has
been hunted so little as yet that he Is
absolutely fearless OF man. and Is for
that reason more dangerous adYer-
sary
THE Alaskan brown bear" he said.
is huge. shaggy animal. varying In
length from six 10 twelve feet and
Weighing from 500 to / 500 pounds. |
found him to be an expert Usher, and
during the salmon season he frequents
all the rivers emptying into the Behr-
ing sea and the north Pacific and their
tributaries as far as the tsh 80, After
the salmon run Is over the animal re
treats into the Tecesses OF the hills.
where berries and small game are plen-
tiful. There are some pecuiiarltles Of
the Alaskan brown bear that make him
more interesting than the grizzly
found that the northern side Of Kenai
peninsula, bordering the shores OF
Cooks inlet Kadiak island and the
Alaskan peninsula, a. far west as Uni
max island. is the stamping ground for
the Alaskan bear Among other yhlngs
he does besides fishing and occasionally
chewing up a hunter. he u i great
roadmaker for this part OF Alaska
Not only are the banks o. the streams
tTodden into good trails by these huge
numbering brutes. but the swampy
plains are crossed In every direction by
paths leading TO the hills The travel
er Will do we'll to follow them Ia Jour
neying across the country. as they In
Yhriably lead 10 the best feeding places
along the streams. and form the beat
routes TO the hills The northern limit
Of the brown bears habitat. 20 far na
| could learn. Is as yet undetermined
but have seen them 10 the interior AZ
far as latitude 81 degrees and they
probably range still further. The main.
land OF Alaska adjacent to Unga stral,
Is full Of brown bears. and. although
somewhat smaller than those found on
the west side Of Cooks Inlet. they are
sufficiently fierce and aggressive.
In dealing with the Alaskan brown
bear a hunter should never 70 alone
A companion Is almost MS essential AZ
a gun. II possible man well &c
quainted with the peculiar habits OF
this animal should be engaged a.
guide. Good bear dogs would b. Of
great assistance, but they would have
to be brought into the country by the
hunter. as there are but few dogs there
There are no trees a. far west as Port.
age bay. and the hunter must be ex.
cesdingly careful how he enters IN.
heavy thickets which cover the river
bottoms. for the bears frequent this
kind Of ground. and II aroused or
wounded will unhesltatiugly attack"
Alaska has In the last few years NJ.
racted the attention Of huntera "a
somewhat nexplorcd country very rich
IN game. 4 hunter who has anon,
some time there recently chasing brown
uears writes several of his expert.
ences TO the Seattle Telegraph.
My FIRST encounter he saya "wl,h
one Of these brown bears was a start.
ling experience for me. and have al.
ways thought equally so for the bear
we had been working up agalnst a
strong current OF the Koowak river au
day, and toward night pitched our
tent at the base Of a high blum forming
the right bank Of the stream whus
supper was being prepared I ellmbod
the blum to get look al the countrv |
and was walking along with INV rum
'arelessIy held In my left hand. The
TOD OF the blum was densely covered nj.
most to the edge with spruce and aldera
md the underground was 80 thick tb,,
: was impossible to SEQ more than
eW feet through H. Ahead Of mo .
'iuster Of rocks offered n temporary
'iace TO sit down and enjoy the view
md ! made for Il. Just as / reached
ne nearest rock tremendous abavgv
nimal arose apparently from under
ny feet, and | Immediately recognized
MIN the brown bear. of whoa.
erceness the natives had been telling
le Tor weeks. My first instinct was n
moot, and probably would have done
mad my gun been In my right band.
NJ the first motion ! made tho boar
cared on his launches. and was a.
looking that concluded n
an and see what he Intended doing
tier moments hesitation. durlng
men ne turned his head from aide a.
DE and licked his chops in most sug. :
sstiye fashion, he dropped on ali fours
nd' with wonderful quickness. turned
no sprang out Of sight in the denso
ndergrowth. When returned n
mp and related my experience Tsb. =
.h-rok' my native guide. assured mo
iat the bear must recently have CON q
uded a heavy meal, or otherwise he =
ould have attacked me"