The Van Buren press. [volume] (Van Buren, Ark.) 1859-1914, 1896-06-27
DANGEROUS KIND OF PILFERlha.
Men Who Intend to Steal Bear Cubs should
Take Due Warming.

Take Due Warning.
New studies of the bears habits are
constantly Being made, some of them,
pursued while the student is being pur.
sued by the animal. being thus extreme
ly accurate and realistic in their eonclu-
sions. One of these is described by
trout fisherman of Otter run, a tribu-
tary of Pine creek, near CANNED, in
this state. He was occupied in fishing
in the former estuary, and while so en-
gagged got bite which his disciplined
experience Immediately identified as
big one. He therefore at once pro-
eeeded. according to local custom, to
hang the fish in the topmost branches
of a neighboring tree. While preparing
TO recover it by climbing the tree, an
other local custom, he heard low
growl proceeding from the underbrush
near by. Listening again, he heard
two growls. The first one proceeded
from a young cub which its ursine
mother had deposited there; the second
one proceeded from another. Both
were on deck and ready for business,
but they were of tender age, and tho
fisherman, leaving his suspended trout
amid the boughs, had little difficulty in
placing one of the cubs under his arm
and starting for home.
There was a narrow gauge railroad
near by with a platform car ana a
steep down grade. and the captor
thought If he could reach it without
being discovered and pursued by the
maternal bear his escape with his
whimpering quarry would be easy and
assured. But that bereaved animal
was prematurely aroused and was al
most upon him when he remembered
that he had in his pocket a handful
of salt and pepper with which he had
intended to sauce his frugal brookside
repast of onions. Without pausing in
his fight he threw these mingled condi-
ments directly into the eyes of the pur-
suing bear, imposing upon the animal
considerable confusion and delay and
just enabling him to reach the refuge
OF his rolling stock, which was at once
started down the hill, fisherman, cub,
trout basket, uneonsumed onions and
all. But the bear, having paved the
saline and peppery irritants out of her
eyes and got her second wind, was again
upon their trail, following the car down
the incline with banks and bowls of
rage, the speed of both being about
equal and the space between them too
narrow to rank as first-class security
But as the declivity presently began
TO fall at a sharper angle the car grad
nally drew away from the pursuing
animal and was soon so far in advance
that the latter gave up the pursuit, and
when last seen was sitting on the cross
ties bowling bitterly and paving the
remainder of the salt out of her eyes.
The lesson of the occurrence is that
eub-hunting is most safely pursued in
forests adjacent to narrow gauge rail
roads with n ready platform car at
hand and steep grade dropping away
toward habitable regions and canine
and chronological reinforcements. 1t
also goes to show that the ursine eye
is sensitive to the most commonplace
table condiments, and that, while under
their influence, its most violent mater
nal emotions may be transiently in
terrupted. These are not very impor-
tant facts, but in the study of bears
every little helps. They widen our
knowledge of the animal trifie. but do
not greatly increase our respect for its
habits. If it had stayed at home and
paid proper attention to its young no
such occurrence would have happened,
and by the time of the autumnal equi-
nox they would have become sufiicient>
ly abe-bodied to defend themselves
against any trout fisherman in the
western range of counties and might
have left Il record for pig-stealing equal
to her OWN. Y. Tribune.