The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-12-12
INCIDENTS OF 4 BEAR HUNT.
An Aii-NIEht Chase with n Final Appearance
OF Isrutn ms q Navigator.

vi ~
BRADLEY, Nc, Dec. ~1O.-Babcock, the bear
hunter Of Bradley, took a tramp through Sunk
haze Meadows after Thanksgiving, partly for
tho purpose Of digesting his annual roast tur-
key, but chiefly to shoot an uncommonly bold
bear that has been robbing tho boo houses and
despoiling the sheep pens ever since the ground
began to freeze.
Babcock has tho reputation of knowing tho
habits of.bcars, and judging from the tales that
had come to him. he believed tho SunkhaZe
visitors were no common hears. Ordinary bears
have moro fear than cunning. They are all
right when they get started on q foraTA. but they
will starve nearly to death before they can get
up courage to undertake a scrioui, job. The
Sunkhazo bear was different. For four nights
in succession he had visited: Eric hevenseller.s
been set for him were fired off and sprung very
night, and the bear still roaned at large, appar-
entity enjoying the fun. Babcock argued that a
common,bear wouldn't dare 10 act In this way $40
gain so cool a demeanor when contending against
odds a bear must have had some previous train
ing among men, such as q tame be ar would get.
Therefore Babcock asserted that the Sunlhaze
animal was a bear that had escaped from cap
tivity and was now employing his superior edu-
e snsnnnto aga t ihs' Newcomer eMe sner to- b % "a NJ pa FaiIS; ne
dangerous cub he had once owned and that had
nearly ruined HIM. although he did not say so.
for fear of alarming the neighhorhood.
The first night Babcock pitched his tent in
the meadows he burned n gallon and a half of
llDlHsbtN, JlSl W ahhouLSo bDNb. ~ Hho lhcLC
and had plenty of sweets for anything that dared
70 come and get hem. The mex. night he
through thisss a" the. meadows, and tfhaS put out his
coons and a lean skunk were all he got for three
days: IT, The b ,r1 fourth rth,o mT m r s,i ne , found hso1 wild
he knew a bear will swim, a mile in ice-cold
water for the sake of catching q fat goose. In
jury beyond a broken leg, he anchored the bird
Off in a wide swamp that was oyerfiowed, and
took xs np his R RfRst IN Eod dss'l Snde Of al E III %nds * naises
until midnight. calling to IT'S mates and plead
Wien it had quiotel down a little and was
gi'king at passing Ing fra fragments of drift s.4tt:
bear. Soon after:this the goose gavea prolonged
h0nS and h, Tsn5 under sreS HIS Tae rIde At At the the ZANE sane
spot in the centre Of the swirl.
After descending from the tree to recover
his besr he plunged waist deep into the cold
wounded otter and see the bear swimming hand
over hand for the other side of the swamp.
where the sunkhaze stream winds through the
meadows, and Babcock, being. as wet rs he
he could run faster than The bear could swim.
No sooner was no near enough to shoot than he
n nnd ewSen aG he i ssd e Sno across %s' he IL ses around
for the bear, and saw that the animal had re-
s sGFiRsd Of to m sns Senss t i1sf' would I@fa s iSile"s done e
credit to expert checker players. Instead of
s Ssar You'd reiu DC, B Br shS T led Bsb ss an t Hne Q tho
watery meadows for four hours, plunging him
into the stream whenever he got too near for
safety. and causing him to say words which
he hoped he had forgotten.
The electric lights of Old Town, reflected
from the dark clouds to the meadows. furnished
Babcock sufficient illumination to keep track
of the bear until about 8 o'clock, Then a brisk
wind spri,ging up from tho northeast; brought
Oh n snowsqual, which shut down n lid of dark
ness over everything. By this time the chase
bogs OF Milford, which have been converted
into a great lake. Here in water above his
knees Bebcock waded from knoll TO knoll and
darkest he heard the bear cry ,'Oof! 0of!' close
10 his BACK, and turning. fired into the middle
of the sounds. The flash OF the rife showed the
white tea.h and green eyes of the bear a few
| feet away, after which another layer of dark
ness was put on, SO Babcock couldn't see his
own nose Again just as a steel-gray streak OF
dawn showed in the eastern woods, Babcock
heard a scratching sound, like a big animal
climbing a tree. He fired at this, but got no
answer and saw nothing.
1t was some time before Babcock could get
his bearings and start for home: When ho
had found the right course and had followed 1t
for twenty minutes OF so, the clouds hted SO
looking in the direction of Greenfield he saw
something that brought on q worse attack Of
profanity than any, he had ever had. The
SO the children of Old Town could go skating
| anywhere. After this a heavy rain had fallen.
lifting the Ice ;so and freeing 1t from IN the G grass n nnd
broken 1t up in large sheets, which'had slipped
over one another, forming foes two or three
feet thick. On top of one of these foes; which
WAS half q mile away, was the bear tapping
himself and making his toilet in approved bear
fashion. As Babcock gaZed the wind rose. and
taking the bear for a sal carried Sdh the noe far up
The following night, while Babcock was in
0ld Town bpying rum and gnlnine TO cure a
1 nf nTnnRRIlnF'l hnAltVnA