The Wadsworth dispatch. [volume] (Wadsworth, Nev.) 1892-1899, 1898-07-13

serve Gives a New York Sportsman a
Dissertation on Bears.
To the ears OF the New York sports
man and Tom Meserve, his guide, lying
On the bed Of evergreen bougbs in camp
on the shore Of M~oosehead lake, came
the scream Of a bear somewhere off in
the dark forest. 1t was a queer sound
that WIS mach like the shrill call Of
d-i-n-n-e-r, with a rising infection at
the end, with which New England farm
wives summon the men from the fields
h TIE MONDAY meal. 1t was reneated
several times ut intervals and came each
time from nearer the camp. The guide
got Up and went out to the maple grove
a few rods away, took down from a
limb the buck tba. vas banging there,
dragged it nearer the camp and hung it
up to a tree within plain sight of the
doorway.
when we know that q bear is prowl-
ing round, it is well to have our ~venison
where we can see it, u he said. He
won't come so ncar the camp, but if we
left the meat out among the naples he'd
be apt to spoil some of it before morn
ing. A bear is Il hungry creature and
will eat about everything, from honey
TO carrion-a stale salt macherel will
draw one farther than anything else
bat be is shy about coming around
camps where people are. You'll soc that
this one will come near enough to find
out that there are people here, and then
will go away"
The New Yorker was for going out
to try a shot at the bear, but the guide
told him that it was of no use.
HE won't come into view anyway, :"
he said, land if you show yourself at
the door he'll not come within rifle
shot. Remember that he can see in the
dark. bat unless you should get a
glimpse OF his eyes you couldn't distin-
guish him among the shadows five steps
away. just listen, and we may hear
aim"
The New York man lay down again
upon the boughs. The scream came once
again close at hand and after that was
heard no more. Presently the guide lift
ed his bead and signaled the New York
er that be should listen. There was a
sound OF cracking twigs and rustling
bushes somewhere outside the open
space i'll front of the camp, but no noise
of footballs. Then came q little sharp
sound of snufing and after that the
noise of something moving through the
bushes again. The snuffings and then
the moving on again kept up until the
bear had completely circled round the
camp, and then the sounds from him
died away. Bruin had found out all he
wanted to know about the camp. decid-
ed that ~venison there was likely 20 come
too high in the way of risk in getting it,
and gone away without showing him
self or exposing his skin to any greater
risk than that of a random shot.
""That's the way with bears" OBJ
served Meserve as the two men lighted
their pipes. "You almost never get a
shot at one unless you catch him SWIM
ming a pond-and in that case you
want to make sure of your shooting Oh
he'll come aboard your boat, which
makes things bad-or run him down
with dogs, which is expensive, for the
more valuable the dog the more certain
he is to get killed. It's only the ours
that will zap at the bears heels and run
away when be turns on them that es-
cape damage in a bear chase, and, once
in sight of the bear, they're the most
useful too. The bear is like what | have
rool ~ olo-hoptc Ho can't hpor tho
sound of q little dog swapping behind
him and keeps turning round to drive
him off and so gives the hunters a
chance to come up.
"There was one bear that stayed
round this shore for years, and he gave
fishermen no end of trouble by robbing
their camps when they were out on the
lake fishing He bothered them worst in
the early spring, when they came up to
the lakes to fish through the ice. 1t was
about that time that the bear would
come out from his winters sleep lean
and hungry, and it took a heap to MI
him up EG was a great traveller, n
before the fishing season ended he would
be heard Of from one end of the lake to
the ether. They could tell that it was
one bear that did TIE business, for THIS
one had q ioog wirl some CT the toes
gone, and the tracks about the camp al
ways showed this marx.
"This bear. ran bis rig MP and down
the lake for ts.rqe years without get
ting into trouble, lie came u grief at
last in Il very queer wy Il man ntn-
ed Silas IG0a3psau. o3Olpir- alone Ell
the east shore Of Tire lt. vas ont On
the ice mindi1g his i.N37 1 Marsh
day and tsltliaB aaY - 5li i3F1
f., -, l.,,., tr..t ia. .s.nE Cd