The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1896-05-13
BEARS ACT AS RAFTSMEN.
Taught by an Italian to Work In Logging
amps and on the River.

-
amps and the River.
Williamsport, Pa, Letter to New York
Press.
Raftsmen have taken advantage of
the high water in the river to bring
down logs to the sawmills. The RATS
that generally come down the creeks
are handled by two men, while on the
river three or four men are necessary.
1t was on the Loyalsock creek, which
has its headwaters in Sullivan county,
and its mouth about four miles below
this city, that the remarkable sight of
bears guiding RATS to the mills was
witnessed last week. Two bears took
one log raft down the stream and a
man and a bear took another. 1t re-
manned for Posi- Punt, an Italian, to
thus put bears to service.
Posi- Punt came to this country five
years ago. Punt decided that to get a
dancing bear to earn living for him
was better than working himself. He
got a bear and began to tour the coun-
try. He found so many cities and
towns in Pennsylvania where the laws
prohibited acting bears" that he
reached Laporte, Sullivan county, with
no money in pocket. Then the italian
was by hunger forced to go into the
woods to work. Punt would not part
with his bear. Together they lived in
| log hut in the lumber camp. Six months
passed when one day the dancing bear
was found at home with two half
| grown bear companions. Punt was
somewhat afraid at first, but soon
managed to ''get acquainted" with the
| new arrivals. He kept the three bears
and, with the aid of the first bear, he
| began to teach the new ones how to do
| tricks.
In the spring Punt had to pilot RATS
! down the Loyalsock creek to the saw
/ ~ AFn4Fr . Inv IN of
trips 1t occurred to him that he might
teach the bears how to guide a raft.
| He no sooner returned to his mountain
Gus home than he started to work.
The bears had been used to holding
the balancing poles with their fore
paws, and the next thing to do was to
! teach them to use it differently. Last
season it was not unusual for the peo-
| pie of louisville to see a raft going
down the creek with two men and
| three bears on 1t. Bruin, as he called
! the first bear, was always kept at the
rear end of the raft, and Johnny and
| Gussie were on the front part.
On these trips the bears were taught
| how to keep the RATS from running
against the banks of the creek, and got
| acquainted with the bends of the
stream. Aided by signs and calls they
became, Punt thought, able to run a
raft.
He did not put them to test until
| last week. They ran the raft success
| fully. The first trip Punt was on the
! raft with the bears ana they did their
work so well that last week he made
up two RATS and started for the west
branch of the Susquehanna river. The
RATS were of logs and started from
| Hillsgrove.
on the first raft Bruin and Johnny
were placed. On the second. which
followed closely, Punt and the bear
Gussie were the pilots. Punt, by cali
ing right" and left" told the bear
at the oar which way to pun or push,
while at the same time mo. / Johnny
and mo. ~ Johnny" told the bear al
the front end of the raft on which side
to use the pike pole.
| At sharp curve twenty miles from
this city a log jam was observed. Pun.
ii hurrledly tied up his raft and, run
ming ahead. succeeded in boarding the
one manned by Bruin and Johnny. This
he also ran to shore and tied up. The
jam was about Is feet high and block
ed the stream. Punt took Johnny
with him to break the jam.
The breaking of jam is n danger.
Gus thing and many fatal accidents re
suit Johnny, with a pikepole, was
sent to dislodge the anchor log. After
many attempts he succeeded.
The Loyalsock creek is about forty
miles long and runs through mountain
Gus country, consequently the bear
were not frightened by men.