Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1896-03-19
PREBLE'S FAKE BEAR HUNT.
Got Up as a Joke on Greenhorn
Hunter ellison.
It Yielded Unexpected Fun to Such IN
Extent That Dave Ramsy Had to Go
out Into the Open Country
to Laugh.

nor a sign OF bear had been seen in
the vicinity Of Rose Lake, Pa, and con-
Sequently the killing Of big one near
there one iay made great surprise
in that coiAer of the hcmlock belt.
There we're also circumstances cen
nected with the killing Of the rear that
made il still moro notable.
Doc Preblc lives at Rose Lake. He is
q 2OC-pounder, good-natured, and cs-
pecally fond of a practical Joke. Some
weeks ago party OF sporfsmen came
TO lose Lake to spend few days after
partridge and other small game, which
IS abundant tlereabouts. Among them
was slim young man from Pittsburgh,
named Gill ,on. Young ellison was en-
tirely unsophisticaied as hunter, and
was probably the grecnVt Individual
about backwoods things ever seen in
that locality. He soon became game
for mlschieyous natives who filed him
full of hair-laising bear and wildcat
Stories and other tales of life in The
woods thereabouts. ellison accepted
everything he heard in good faith, and
oecame fired with desire to kill
bear. Having been told that he was
liable at any moment to come face to
face with Il bear or catamount, Gill
son followed the advice of Doc Preble,
and every time he vent into the woods
he strapped ii hunting AK at his side,
carried biz knife. and kept one bar
rel of his gun heavily charged with
bucksh0t. The r,st of tie hunting
party themselves enjoyed the fun the
natives wer' having with ellison, and
did not interfere.
Soon aftei there was iall of snow
in that locality, and Doc Preble con-
ceived the i,lea o. getting up bear
hunt for young G'llson's benefit. Put
ting on his rubber boots he made tracks
in the new snow from one big laurel
patch to another one mile up the
mountain ana from that one to third
one nearly two miles away, on the edge
Of Billm'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, anu remarked in a nonchalant
way that from the tracks he had seen
in the snow up along Lyes 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 tronble to rout
him ont, | guess" said Doc, IF any
one cared to 60 out and risk it."
ellison WIZ all excitement at once,
and declared that he would go, for one,
The rest Of the party, suspecting there
was a joke in it, said he might go If he
wanted to, out that they hadn't come
out there 70 be clawed and chawed
ind mussed up by bears, and would
stay at home. So Doc Preble told Gill
son that he would 60 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 tracks TO him,
The three started out carly the next
morning, ellison 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 choppng axes and rife, and
revolvers in their belts.
We'll find him tough customer"
said Doc Preble to ellison. "Ilis foot
print measures nearly IA inches, and
the biggest bear ever heard of around
here before made a tract, only eight
inches long. There's liable to be some
blood split before night, and it won't
all be hears blood, either"
ellison was inclined to weaken when
he saw the tracks in the snow, and
asked PrebIe why they couldn't trap
the bear first and then kill him. but
Preblc and Eamsy laughed at him, aud
told him they didl't bag their bears in
that way. ST. the uasophistlcated hunt
er braced IN and vent on.
n mad laid out TO have heap of fun
that day sad Doc Prenle, telling about
1t afterwarc, according 10 the pro-
gramme had made This was TO tramp
ellison up and dawn those hills and
among the laurels for four or five miles,
trailing the alleged bear, and all the
time loading him with the danger there
was in the rush of t ferocious bear from
a laurel patch to anyone who might
stand in his way; then for Ramsy,
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 II the bear vas worked up to the
widest pitch of fury over being dis
turbed, and was going out of that
swamp witt! 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 II dt the FIRST sound of the dis
turbance in the laurels.
Everything worked first-rate. When
we got TO the last laurel patch | was
putting and blowing like a tired horse,
and was about as near pushed as any,
one could be, but ! thought of the fun
| was having. and the more was going
10 have. and said nothing. but just went
off to one side and shook my sides.
Hes in here sure. and if there amt
breakers ahead. can't read bear signs,
said Dave Ramsy.
81 unhuckled nv rpyolvers md laid