The Portland daily press., 1897-11-30
THEY WE'RE BOLD HUNTERS.
A Fisherman's Story of Prospect Harbor
Bear Hunting Trip.


Prospect Harbor is just'"now the scene
of bear hunts galore and yesterday some
of the fishermen who hail from that port
were telling of the latest attempt at bear
hunting at that place. The story as told
by one of the fishermen was something
like the following:
"There were four persons in this bear
hunting party I, am telling about who
though they did not exactly shoot bear
themselves, saw man who had and
managed to make the people of Prospect
HARDER believe that they had been the
heroes of the adventure. The members OF
the party were retired shipmaster, re-
tired merchant, meat peddlar and a
keeper of lighthouse. These men do
not know great deal about bear hunt
ing, but they started out determined to
bring home bear if possible and keyed
up to the proper pitch so as to make 1t
dangerous for any member of the bruin
family to come in their way. Having
been away several days. the fisherman
continued, "this party of hunters were
utterly discouraged. They had seen no
bear and had not even shot rabbit. 1t
would never do for them to go, back to
Prospect Harbor without bear, for few
days before another party of hunters had
set the village people wild by bringing
home bear weighing 1853 pounds and
a fat deer besides. On their weary tramp
homewards the party decided to visit
Biackwood mountain and see il they
could not get some trace of q bear in that
vicinity. After several hours more of
weary tramping the bold hunters again
changed their minds and decided to 60 to
the Trunk Lake hotel for the night in
stead of camping in the woods. They
arrived there and found q feast of veni
son awaiting them which they made short
work of. While they were at the table
Ben Harvey's wife came rushing in, out
of breath and wild with excitement. She
said that her husband had shot bear in
the woods and wanted help to get bruin
out of his den. The bears den was three
miles through the woods and some of the
bold hunters were 10th to leave the
bountiful spread on the table to go to
Harvey's assistance but finally they
mustered up courage and all but one of
them set out with Mrs. Harvey as
guide. On arrival at the bear S den the
Prospect Harbor hunters bought the car
cass before they had seen it or would help
Harvey get it out Of the hole. Having
assured themselves that the bear was
their meat they went to work, and after
several hours of toll managed to get him
back to the hotel. The bear weighed four
hundred pounds and it was pretty hard
work for the three men to drag him
through the woods in the dark. When
they reached the hotel they found their
companion there waiting for them. The
moment his eyes rested on the bear his
hair fairly stood up on his head and he
posted himself off to send word to Pros
pect Harbor of the great success the hunt
ing party had met with. Ills Prospect
Harbor hunting party set up all night
making up story to tell their neighbors
of how bruin came to his death at their
hands. When the story was we'll learned
by all they went to bed and the next day
started for home as fast as pair of
horses could carry them.
"The whole village was out to meet
them when they came in shouting we
don t kill cubs, we don't kill cubs, thus
referring to the bear which the first Pros
pect Harbor hunting party had brought
home This first hunting party having
viewed the bear and found it was much
larger than the one they had captured be-
gan to chaff the returning hunters about
having returned home with SO little
game. We brought home a deer, said
they, where is your venison?'
''Then the returning hunters were
made to tell the story OF their bear hunt
over and over again until at last some Of
the hunters began to remember things
which the others could not remember and
others began to forget things which the
others could not remem Der and others be-
gan toforget things which their Gam
panions knew all about. In this way
concluded the story teller, Prospect Har-
Dor got at the truth about the bear hunt,
but now every man old enough to carry a
gun in that town is planning on going
bear hunting and if they meet with the
good luck of this party of hunters l have
been telling about they will feel salts
fed"
MAINE CENTRAL.