The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1896-08-02

THE longer l live up in the timber and
snakes. the more sure ] am that the black
bear at home is about the cutest thing
that walks on four feet. OF course, / don't
know about the wild beasts OF other lands:
The precautions a black bear Will take
against surprise are remarkable, and the
affection that an old man bear shows for
Nine. Bruin and her cubs trudging along
at her side. when family affairs have be-
come desperate by reason OF a hunting
party on their trail. is sometimes touch
ing. | could sit here and. tell you for an
hour OF the times | have watched through
field glasses a male bear standing guard
while the female and her cubs curled up
and slept. The foxiness of a black bear Is
best shown when IL knows IL is pursued
A bear chase is often long and tiresolne
work. for when a bear finds that he IS
tracked he will pick out the most tangled
and impossible places he can reach. lie
will often lead the hunter twenty miles
over mountains and through valleys where
the brush and briars are harassing. and
the swamps almost inaccessible TO man,
while bruin will shuttle along with MS
clumsy gait as rapidly as if he were on
the best Of roads. once followed a she
bear over thirty miles in one day and a
moonlight night. 1 never knew such Il
cute beast as she was. She would hide be-
hind rocks and powders as well as any
boy seeking escape. and run fast when she
last she got away by lodging into some
heavy chaparral, and L was too tired 10
follow longer. Bears have such a humor-
GUS air about them that L have often feit
almost sure they were chuckling to them
selves as they led us footsore tramps over
stony wastes and through sage brush, ana
finally disappeared from our view.
THE HUNTERS OUTFIT.
"a bear hunters outfit is simple. A good
dog-which is mighty scarce-a breech-
loading. double-barreled shotgun. that will
carry a charge of buckshot to kill at thirty
yards, or a rifle, if he is an expert, heavy
boots. thick trousers. and a shirt. "A light
hunting ak in a belt. a pistol, and a long
bladed knife for emergencies, will equip a
man who goes out after bears. If the
hunter is anxious to be put to feel some
riskiness, and to know a little of a true
hunters life, let him manage to have
bruin get scent of him. Then the bear
will take a course 20 follow. which will
require nerve, wind and a tough skin.
When the snow is deep up on the mount
aims, a bear chase is generally slow and
tedious. The bearskin is worth most as a
seller when taken in the winter, so we
never miss a chance at getting a bear at
that season. With a light fall of snow and
a fresh track, however. there is no sport
so exciting, and even an amateur hunter
will find himself going miles on a good,
stiff trot, so wrapped is he in the chase.
1t Is no hard matter TO XIII a bear If the
dogs understand their business after bruin
is brought to bay. for he Will give all his
attention to the dogs that are yelplng
around him. while the hunter stands off
and fills him with lead. But there are
times when a bear will brace himself for
a light from the word go. and then If the
hunter doesn't kill at the first fire, he Is
hands as he ever dreamed of. No story OF
a bear fight that was ever told can be
much ahead of the actual incidents that go
with a fight, If it is a good one.
"A bears love for honey is known by
everybody. and bears of any sort will do
more to get a taste of honey than for any,
thing else. Many a time my partner and
i lave lain in the brush or behind some
bowlder and watched how keen a bear
Especially a she bear) can scent wild
honey 300 or 400 rods away. We have seen
a bear climb a bee tree as accurately as
a professional honey gatherer. Bruin Is a
most patient beast when he scents honey,
and / have never known one TO give up
the chase, until he got his fill of honey
or went down to death. When the bee
tree is found. the bear begins to look for
the place where the honey Is stored. He
gives the tree a thuInp with his paw every
few feet, until he strikes the hollow place.
Then it is the work of a short time for
him 10 tear away the wood with his sharp
claws. until the rich stores of honey are
laid bare. and he feasts to his hearts
content.
I'm the cold weather/that visits the lofty
mountains even in semi-tropic California,
bears usually house themselves in small
caves or openings in and under the ledge
of rocks. where it is dry: but if the winter
is not too cold they frequently come out
and are easily tracked through the snow
lney usually select TIC SOulHtlH ldCc VI al
mountain for their holes and dens, and
always above snow line. have never
known them to hibernate below the snow
line on the mountains. The general BELIEF
and that belief must be correct, for bears
certainly do not store anything for winter
coon; and as they do not move out of win
ter quarters II the weather Is severe or
snow very deep. they do not forage dur
ing the winter. Whether they subSist on
nutriment obtained by sucking their paws.
as some hunters say they do. l cannot
say; but l do know that when they go
masses of fat. Their fur is very dense.
and then is the time to obtain bearskins
Of the best quality.
BEARS DOGS.
There is nothing a bear. even a power
full, savage grizzly, hates more than a dog.
A little yelping cur will even rouse bruins
ire. while d big hunting dog will cause a
bear to brace itself for a fight at first
sight. i have seen bears when held tight
in a powerful steel trap. and suffering Sc
verely. forget all about their pain and rave
and claw in impotent rage when a dog
came in view. Few dogs are foolish
enough to go beyond the opening of a cave
where a bear has been scented. or to pitch
into q bear that has turned for fight. A.
full-grown bear with his dander up can
warn OIL HAIL IL uOLcU VI Tic DiSStSl uOSS
if he can protect his rear. A fair blow
from a bears paw will knock a dog sense
less. if il does not kill him.. A year ago
a party of young Englishmen came over
the range where my partner and L were
hunting. They had several expensive and
very good dogs. and a she bear killed three
of them in as many seconds. At sight OF
men a bear will make every effort to get
away. As a rule bruin will never fight
man unless forced to, and then il Will be
war to the death. a she bear with cubs.
when followed closely. will keep her cubs
ahead of her and bring up in the rear 10
she will try TO brighten off her pursuer by
making a great show of fight. She growls,
shows her teeth, tears the bark from trees
and ~scatters ii about with much fuss ana
noise. and will make herself as fierce as
possible in many ways. That is another
sign of the bears cuteness. II the enemy
presses and there is no help for 1t the
a drop of blood to shed In defense of her
young: the cubs. meanwhile. will huddle
together n short distance off and whine
and cry piteously. In chasing a bear. eN-
perienced dogs aid the hunter and do much
toward checking the speed OF the bear
until a chance TO shoot occurs.
1.-The strength OF black bears is indeed
wonderful. but that of grizzlies is almost
beyond belief by persons who have never
had proof of ii. | have seen black bears
frequently carrying the carcasSeS OF pigs
that must have weighed over seventy
pounds several miles across a mountain
side OF sharp rocks TO their lair, and |
have heard bear hunters tell of having
seen COWS knocked down as IL by a thun-
derbolt at one blow of the forepaw OF a
black bear. Three summers ago / spent
the season in the coast mountains up in