The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1899-09-01
STRAWBERRY BEAR.
JACK GlLPATRIcK NOW FLAVoRING
A BEAR WITH VANILLA. ALSO.

A Maine Man Who Makes a Modest
Fortune Each Year In His Mind
by Preparing Bears for the Metro
politan Markets.
AS soon as a Maine man finds out
that he can produce something which
city people want and are willing to pay
for, he becomes so devoted to his spe-
cialty that he overdoes the business.
For two years the New York Sun has
made casual mention of Jack Gilpat-
rick's efforts to add checkefberry and
strawberry flavoring to bear meat by
feeding the live bears on an exclusive
diet of berries. In 1897 he sold a
checkerherry bear for 65,which elated
him so that he resolved to form a
checkerberry bear trust to control the
worlds markets. Last year, checker
berry navoring not being in demand,
he modified his plan, selling one pure
strawberry bear for $40 and another
that was about half-and-half, for $25.
This year he has made a speciality Of
plain strawberry bears, and is now
raising them under contract for de-
livery in Boston.
As few strawberries get ripe In
Maine before June 20, fitzpatrick fret
ted because the season was cold and
backward, giving him only a short
time to put ON the finishing touches.
One day when he was standing outside
his log cabin feeding his bears on
strawberry jam and wondering if he
could afford such Injuries, George
ColemaQ, who drives soft drinks cart
from Bangor to supply the country
soda fountains, hauled up in his yard
and asked for dinner. Fitzpatrick
doesn't run hotel, but when he look
ed at tae long, fiat cart and saw the
iridescelt array of tin-capped bottles
he resolved to lay himself out and
provide a dinner that would compel
ColemaU to call again. He was nearly
an hour in cooking and dishing up the
courses. While Coleman was eating
and prasing the food Fitzpatrick Slip
ped out the back way and calling his
pet bears to the rear end of the cart
gave them all the strawberry fiavoring
they could drink. On his way back
the next day Coleman stopped again
for dinner and complained about the
boys of Amherst and Aurora, who, he
said, had been stealing his soft drinks.
If they'd take ginger ale or birch
beer" said he, Il wouldn't have felt
so bad but they he'd to go and guzzle
down my best strawberry extract,
which is worth 80 cents a bottle"
While Coleman was telling of his
losses the three bears came from the
woods lolling out their tongues and
making frantic efforts to get at the
cart. AS soon as the two men went
into the camp the bears helped them
selves to whatever they liked on the
cart, uncapping the bottles with their
teeth and drinking dozen bottles of
strawberry and vanilla flavoring. They
opened several bottles of beer and gin
ger ale, but did not seem to relish
either.
The cart made one or two trips two
days later, when the bears levied on it
for toll both ways. Coleman con-
ttnued to complain about the bad boys,
to bring a detective from
Bangor. Fitzpatrick was so sorry over
Coleman's losses that he furnished
.wo dinners without charge, whereup-
IN Coleman, not to be outdone in gen
eroslty, presented to the hunter six
bottles Of flavoring extracts, all of
which went to the bears as soon as the
cart was out of sight
Fitzpatrick quit walking on the
side of the hill to see how the green
Strawberries were getting along. What
ever time he had to spare from his
bears he devoted to writing postal
cards to his patrons. One card which
he had lately mailed reads as follows:
Dear Sir; One bar is ripe enuf to
pick and smells jest like a strawberry
shortcake, being seasoned clean thro.
p. S.-Do you want nnything of a
vernilla bar? l hev one that has got
more vernilla inter him than a soda
fountain. You can hev him this week
for 10 dolls. The price is going up rite
erlong. Ans. JACK,