Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1896-02-22
PREBLE'S FAKE BEAR HUNT.
Got Up as a Joke on Greenhorn
Hunter ellison.
1t yielded Unexpected Fun to Such an
Extent That Dave Ramsy Had to Go
Out Into the Open Country
to Laugh.

! For more than five years not bear
nor a sign OF a bear had been seen IN
the vicinity of Rose Lake, Pa, and con-
sequently the killing of big one near
there one DAY made a great surprise
| in that Golfer of the hemlock belt.
There were also circumstances cen
nected with the killing of the rear that
made it still more notable.
| Doc Preblc lives at Rose Lake. He is
a 2OG-pounder, good-natured, and cs-
pecially fond of practical Joke. Some
weeks ago a party of sportsmen came
| to Rose Lake to spend few days after
partridge and other small game, which
is abundant whereabouts. Among them
was a slim young man from Pittsburgh,
named Gill.on. Young ellison was en-
,irely unsophlsticated as hunter, aad
was probably the greenest individual
about back,voods things ever seen in
that locality. He soon became game
| for mischievous natives who filed him
full of hair-raising bear and wildcat
stories and other tales of life in the
woods thereabouts. ellison accepted
everything he heard in good faith, and
became fired with a desire to kill
bear Having been told t!.at he was
liable at any moment to come face to
/ face with a bear or a catamOunt, Gill
son followed the advice of Doc Preble,
and every time he vent into the woods
he strapped a hurting ak at his side,
carried a by knife, and kept one bar
rel of his gun heavily charged with
buckshot. The r.st of tie hunting
party themselves enjoyed the fun the
natives wsr. having with ellison, and
did not interfere.
Soon after there was fall of snow
in that locality, and Doc Preble con-
ceived the idea Of getting up bear
hunt for young Gillson's benefit. Put
ting on his rubber boots he made tracks
in the new snow from one big laurel
| patch to another one a mile up the
mountain ana from that one to third
one nearly two miles away, on the edge
of Billct's hollow. There he struck the
old bark road and returned home by
it. Toward evening he went to Barnes
boarding house, where the hunters were
/ stopping, ana remarked in d nonchalant
way that from the tracks he had seen
in the snow up along Lye's mountain
that afternoon the biggest bear that
ever had wintered IN that district had
come in and coiled himself up in some
laurel patch over that way.
1T wouldn't be much trouble to rout
him oft, 1 guess" said Doc, "if any
one cared to 60 out and risk it,
ellison was all excitement at once,
and declared that he would go, for one,
The rest Of the party, suspScting there
was joke in it, said he might go if he
wanted to, put that they hadn't come
out there To- be clawed and chawed
and mussed up ny bears, and would
stay at home. So Doc Preble told Gill
son that he would go with him, end
Dave Ramsey, Barnes boss chopper,
and an old hear hunter, said he would
| go, too, Do" having confidcd the secret
of the bear tt acks 10 him.
The three started out carly the next
morning, Gibson with both barrels of
his gun loaded with buckshot and his
AK and big knife really at his hand.
Preble and Ramsy each carried double
bitted chopDing axes and a rifle, and
revolvers in their belts.
well fine him a tough customer"
said Doc Preble to ellison. Ills foot
/ DT1nU measures nearly II 1hCHSS, <iAAd
the biggest bear | ever heard of around
here before made a tracli only eight
inches long. There's liable to be some
blood split before night, and it won't
all be bears blood, either"
ellison was inclined to weaken when
he saw the tracks in the snow, and
asked Preble why they couldn't trap
the bear fiji ST and then kill him, but
Preble and Kamsy laughed at him, and
told him they didss't bag their bears in
that way. So the uasophistlcated hunt
er braced ND and went on.
II mad laid out to have a heap of fun
that day" aid Doe Preble telling about
it afterwarG, according TO the pro-
gramme had made. This was to tramp
ellison up and down those hills and
among the I;.urels for four or five miles,
trailing the alleged bear, and all the
time loading him W it'll the danger there
was in the rush of 9 ferocious bear from
a laurel patch to anyone who might
stand in his way; then for Gamsy,
when we came to the laurel patch
where we had agreed that the bear
had stopped, to go into the swamp and
| rout him up. making tremendous hub
bub. and bowling and snorting and yell
| ing. as if the bear vas worked up to the
widest pitch of fury over being dis
turbed, and was going out of that
swamp with a rush to carry trouble to
the first one he came TO. ellison hav-
ing just been posted at a point on the
edge of the patch and assured that the
bear would certainly come out there,
so he could shoot it; and then to see
ellison break for the nearest tree and
get into it at the first sound of tie dis
turbance in the Iaurels.
Everything worked first-rate. When
we got to the last laurel patch l was
/ putting and blowing like a tired horse,
and was about as near pushed as any
one could be. but I thought of the fun
| ord +1,o mora I croinor