Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1895-06-13

,,S8a1D/ fSgS5I1 serts, after several
&'s$51Xs.oM personal experience
bHijIgSzalgAlsbU ~ es with the Alaskan
@33b. 2k1Y - brown bear, that
EGEA1ssS8 this bear possesses
"a SsiFsss54Ty all the courage and
"a flerceness 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 adver-
sary.
"The Alaskan brown bear" he said,
us a huge, shaggy animal, varying in
length from six to twelve feet and
weighing from 500 to 1900 pounds, 1
found him to be an expert fisher, 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 fish go. After
the salmon run is over the animal re-
treats into the recesses Of the hills,
where berries and small game are plen-
tiful. There are some peculiarities Of
the Alaskan brown bear that make him
more interesting than the grizzly.
found that the northern side Of Kenal
peninsula, bordering the shores Of
Cooks inlet, Kadiak island and the
Alaskan peninsula, as far west as Uni
max island, is the stamping ground for
the Alaskan bear. Among other things
he does besides fishing and occasionally
chewing up hunter, no is great
roadmaker for this part of Alaska.
Not only are the banks of the streams
trodden 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 in jour
neying across the country, as they in
varlably lead to the best feeding places
along the streams, and form the best
routes to the hills. The northern limit
of the brown bears habitat, so far as
i could learn, is as yet undetermined,
but have seen them in the interior as
far as latitude 81 degrees and they
probably range still further. The main
land Of Alaska adjacent to Unga strait
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 go alone.
A companion is almost as essential as
a gun, II possible a man we'll ac-
quainted with the peculiar habits Of
this animal should be engaged as a
guide. Good bear dogs would be 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 as far west as Port
age bay, and the hunter must be ex-
ceedingly careful how he enters the
heavy thickets which cover the river
bottoms, for the bears frequent this
kind of ground, and If aroused or
wounded will unhesltatingly attack"
Alaska has in the last few years at
tracted the attention Of hunters as a
somewhat unexplored country very rich
in game. A hunter who has spent
some time there recently chasing brown
bears writes several Of his expert
ences to the Seattle Telegraph.
GAIU firut bo ro,,a UrrilI,
one Of these brown bears was start
ling experience for me, and l have al
ways thought equally so for the bear.
We had been working up against
strong current Of the Koowak river all
day, and toward night pitched our
tent at the base Of high bluff forming
the right bank Of the stream. While
supper was being prepared l climbed
the bluff to get look at the country,
and was walking along with my gun
carelessly held in my left hand. The
top Of the bluff was densely covered al
most to the edge with spruce and alders,
and the underground was so thick that
1t was impossible to see more than a
few feet through it. Ahead Of me q
cluster Of rocks offered temporary
place to sit down and enjoy the view,
and made for 1t. Just as l reached
the nearest rock tremendous shaggy
animal arose apparently from under
my feet, and Immediately recognized
in him the brown bear, of whose
ferceness the natives had been telling
me for weeks. My first instinct was to
shoot, and probably would have done
30 had my gun been in my right hands
but the first motion l made the bear
reared on his launches, and was so
formidable looking that l concluded to
wait and see what he intended doing.
After a moments hesitation, during
which he turned his head from side to
side and licked his chops in most sug-
gestiVe fashion, he dropped on all fours,
and, with wonderful quickness, turned
and sprang out Of sight in the dense
underground. When / returned to
camp and related my experience Tab
tah-rok, my native guide, assured me
that the bear must recently have con-
cluded heavy meal, or otherwise he
would have attacked me-"
The Stomach Yawns