The sun., 1897-10-10
THREE BEARs Nv OWE DAY.
4 Great Round-Up OF the Marauders That Had
Boen PiundcrinE Nuaino Bcehivcs.

uecn Plundcrlng MntnO bcehires.
DEpHAM, Nc, Oct. s.-The greatest bear
roundup ever seen in Hancock county has just
come to n successful end ON the side OF Blacks
Mountain, three miles from this village. Bee.
hives have been missed from the orchards and
stands near farmhouses for nearly a month, but
everybody who ought TO know said they Ind
been taken by tho Bangor hunters who had
como out for coons, and falling in their desire
had gone home with honey. Nobody thought
of bears until the open season hogan and tho
boys started out to who would get the first
deer The second day of his hunt for deer Sandy
Gray, 15-year-old boy, was coming down
Blacks Mountain and met big bear face to
face in woods road. He fired heavy charge
of buckshot at the animal and then regretted it
when the bear jumped up and gave chase. 1t
was q three mile run to Dedham village, and
Sandy covered the distance inside Of twenty
minutes, leaving the :bcar far behind in Tom
Dodge's cornficld.
An hour later twenty men and boys armed
with guns, axes and hard cider were forming
Gordon around Blacks Mountain and closing
in toward the summit where the bear was sup
within half mile OF the top the men halted
and sent out Sandy Gray to scare up The bear
received instructions to fire his rifle and make
to the report of gun 3 Which was heard on the
mers Of their rifles and waited for the bear to
come out. While tho Dcdham people were
u yearling cub, bent down a sapling and sluns
the carcass far aloft in a leafy thicket where
away away among % some som IS sprnces al and diva Waited for the
would be able TO have the bear all to himself
Meantime the waiting hunters, having grown
out on a scouting eX;ppeditiop, ;p giving him full
Ellis walked up over the crest Of the mountain
and fired his gun three times to tell the men
posite side and nearly fell over Vera bear that ' was vas
eating beechnuts in a thicket. He shot the
bear and sent the body aloft on a springy, sap,
ling just as Sandy had done. After this he
walked down TO the waiting hunters and In
formed them there no bear on the noun
home. On his way to the village he overlook
sandy Gray, who was skulking away on a simi, m
way they had fooled the rest est Of the party. '
H sanay aSS s0s to the 6p
Of Biacks Mountain. .Above them along the
and carry children into the houses houses as '' if an an
army OF invaders was coming. Doors were
up the road as I the two sonnK men could
Meanwhile the men yelled and shot Off guns
as chcerfully as il ii were the morning OF Jul!
!, and cattle and horses out at pasture tied
double bow knots in their tails and went out
OF sight in clouds of dust.
"
rifles went off near together that they
seemed to- make make continuous report; Then
rushed forward barking furiously. When
Arthur, and Sandy reached the centre Of excite
mcnt they saw a 4o0-pound bear lying dead by
the roadside and about fifty men, women and
children and nearly many dogs standing by
and making all the noise they could.
The two runaway hunters came in for a lot
| of chaff from those who had stayed on to the
end. When they had stood the talk as long az
human nature allowed. the two abused hun,
! tiers offered to bet SS5 that they could go on the
side OF Blacks Mountain and get bear inside
/ of two hours. Of course these bets weres ac.
ceptcd fast offered and then Sandy and
| Arthur said they would make IL $40 for two
bears: These bets were taken greedily. and
| the disgraced hunters started out on an ap
| parently hopeless quest. In the evening when
every body cano to the store to tell what he
! knew about bear hunting there were three
bears hanging up in the ice room and every
boty was smoking cigars and eating candy al
| the expense of the losers Three barrels OF
| hard cider were drank up before midnight, and
the following morning everybody who was
| able got gun and went to Blacks Mountain
! after bears. Though the woods have swarmed
| with hunters for three days no more bears hav,
been found.