The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-10-09
SQUIRE SMITHS BEAR HUNT
There Was . Good Deal of Guessworh
About It, but Il WINS Successful.

PORT JERvIs, N. Y, Oct. Sup in Porter
township. Pike county. Pa, the inhabitants ara
30 scarce as to DO able to muster only twenty.
one voters ut an election, and there are not
enough available citizens to fill the various
offices required by the Pennsylvania statutrs
without some Of the male voters being verita-
BILE "Pooh-Bahs." Wild beasts are plentiful.
and in no part OF Pike is game more abundant.
Philip B. Smith Of Porter's Lake is the Justice
OF the Peace OF Porter township and is known
far and near as the Squire n name he has
borne for many years. ever since he was first
chosen to administer the law to offenders in
that isolated section.
OF late Squire Smith and his neighbor.
Horace Van Auken. have suffered the loss OF
cattle from the bears which have their haunts
in the wild recesses Of Porter. The former had
q yearling bull torn to pieces and his best bell
COW mysteriously disappeared later. while Van
Auken's loss consisted of two heifers. Last
week Rudolph Sehoonover. an inyeterate hun
ter OF Bushkil!,, Pa. made his annual trip to
Porte, township to hunt bees. stopping with
latter's young son. Adam, along with him rs a
companion. After hunting a couple of days
fbaey tF seese Which N pr reHiTR t ta h on n9o anE Secgbo9nrnhio2ua r
went home on Saturday. Before going he told
the Squire there was a dead animal near the
lost COW. SO he started to Investigate. Taking
lllS boh hhuIl ultIB W pOllJ gu W ItToU lie ana
Schoonover. had their bee stand, he soon came
strange Jersey heifer. It lay in a poo! Of, dried
dragged sixty feet from where it lay by some
wild animal; Its neck and throat were nearly
eaten out. All around wore bear signs.
same bear Which, Haf had IL killed nts HlH bull I'll and Md' p s%o
haps tho COW. and he resolved on a bear hunt,
About sundown he and his son Adam started
to watch for the bear. as Henry Miller, a neigh
Dor. said Bruin would no doubt come back
again. The clearing was q good mile away.
brother Of Adam was bitten to death by a rat.
tlesnake last year the Squire stopped to take
2 bso eGSs ~ t t9Sk c It the pI by fba Creeping TeeI nGd up nss to
ing cautiously through. Adam saw a black OBJ
jest and asked his father 4 he might shoot.
little lew Where Me'ffS esn see sn th s 9 the G trees. a%'0nsa
After moving q little Adam said he saw the
bear plainly. and the old man told him. when
to shoot. Just then the bear. alarmed. took a
couple Of steps away from the dead heifer and
stepped, into q little open spot between the
reports eohoing on the still night air. and Bruin
ie"!! a de2u d ia mi ' sRaIf / shoot again p" said the
give him your ounce ball. now. II you can
see" and another loud report rang out.
Tn Squire began to climb down towardt the
dead beast. but Adam cried out;
oh. pap. don't 20 do down there till you load
again : he might como to-"
But the old man was out OF ammunition. and
bear to find where he was hit, It was too dark
to skin the bear. so they left the carcass till
morning, On Sunday they brought the bear
creek they found another dead heifer which had
just been killed by another bear. Both the heifers
belonged to Horace Van Auken. The Squire
one hungry beef-killing bear less, shot By
guess by the light OF the moon.