Warren sheaf. [volume] (Warren, Marshall County, Minn.) 1880-current, 1898-03-03
A Bear on a Toboggan.
-. By Paul Pastnor. .-
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Nh7HEN I was boy Of 16, Fred
w Brace, Charley Robbins and my
self, all chums, and all about the same
age, lived in little back-country town
in the northeastern part of New Hamp-
shire. We were farmers boys, and,
like most boys and men of bacllwoods
communities, enjoyed going hunting
occasionally, when farm work and
school permitted. Game, both large
and small, was plentiful, and it was
no unusual thing to find deer, bear,
or wildcat. hung up in front of the
village store as a proof of the skill or
bravery Of some local Nimrod.
There was considerable rivalry
among the boys of the village, to see
who would be the first to win distinc-
ton by killing bear. Only one young
fellow had succeeded in doing this be-
fore our day, and though he was now
married and had family of very small
boys Of his own, the glory of the deed
still chung to him, and lie was even then
accorded a certain measure of honor by
his fellow-citizens, as "the man who
killed a bear when he was 1872
1t is hardly necessary to say that
Fred Charley and I were wild to emu
late the deed of Mr.. Byron Potter, as
his name was, and so share with him
the distinction of having been "the
champion boy hunter of the country"
Mr.. Potter, being no longer a boy, his
mantle, CT course, ought to fall upon
somebody who was. And the glory of
it seemed ample enough for three of u.s.
So when Charley Robbins came run
ming breathlessly one winter morning,
to tell me that one of his fathers sheep
had been carried off in the night by a
bear, and that Bruins tracks could be
plainly seen crossing the pasture in the
direction of the woods, the first thought
that occurred to both of us, after
Iningling all our exclamation of excite
ment and delight, was to go and tell
Fred, and get him to join us in an all
days hunt for the marauder. Before
either of us had tasted bite of break
fast, we hurried to Fred's house, and
confided the glorious news to him.
The opportunity had come for us to
distinguish ourselves. We agreed that
we would have that bear, or perish in
the attempt.
In those days, mothers who lived in
the country did not forbid their boys
going to the woods with guns, s'for
fear they might get hurt" Even with
a real, live, sheep-killing bear in the
background, our mothers were too we'll
used to baciWoods customs and stand
ARDS of manhood to suggest or suspect,
danger for Us; so they put up our
lunches, and with smiling confidence
'bade us bring home some bears steaks
for supper. =. - Z :'''' - -
":hs Soon as we could get our. break
fasts, we We're off with our shotguns,
heavily loaded with buckshot, over our
shoulders. Fred took his toboggan, a s
he said, "to bringathe bear home on"
and as things turned out It was very
Lucky that, he: did. We also had Mr..
Braces big deerhound Dan, who was
AZ excellent bear dog. ~ Lam went
ltfh4erings or ahea d through the SHOW;
and wasn't long after he struck the
bears trail, back of Charley's house,
before the old fellow was baying on
the scent with an geagerness that made
the blood race in our veins.
The snow was over foot deep, and
we: had 10 trouble in blowing Bruins
well-marked pathway through the
woods. The dragging carcass, of the
sheep made quite a wide furro1w,,
splotched over,rnow and then with
blood. ...-..-
a. Right over the top of tsLittle Sad
dleback" went the bear, and down into
tile valley beyond. Here, through a
deep ravine, flowed Stony brook,
dear to the hearts of trout-loving boys.
BY the time we reached the brook
old Dan was barking so madly, quar-
ter of mile below us, and high up on
the opposite bank, that we rightly
Judged he must have either brought
Bruin to bay, or found the animals
den. Hurrying down the. bed of the
brook as fast as we could go we came
in few minutes to place where there
had been a landslide. The loosened