Rock Island Argus., 1899-01-07

BLACZ DEAI: CUB OF YELLOWSTONE PARK.
ere unarmcd excepting for large ak, a
couple of feather collars and several pieces
of rope, the first thing done is to get rid of
tho mother bear, who scented tho hunters
long before they SAW her or her little ones.
That ia not n difficult nor dangerous task,
but very ludicrous one, full of fun and
excitement. AS usual thing, one of the
hunters climbs u nearby tree and, armed
with n long pole. which was cut by his
companion while he climbed the tree, pro-
ceeds to dislCdge the mother. This he does
by prodding her in the sides with the pole,
which is cut long enough to reach from
one tree to tho other. The first punch or
two usually causes the old bear to hug the
limb of the tree upon which she rests all
the tighter, and during the time she rends
the air with a peculiar grunt, made by pro-
truding tho lower lip several inches and
forcing the air from her lungs through the
half open mouth. The cubs are not long in
scenting danger, and they, tCo, grunt and
growl, rolling their beadlikc eyes from
side to side in terrcr, hunching their soft
backs in their endeavors to cling to the
tree all the moro securely.
a few vigorous punches in the sides soon
cause the mother to shift her position
from limb to lin b. grunting and snarling
ali the time at n great rate. 1t is often the
case that sho will seek refuge on the op-
the man with the POLE That necessitates
his companion cutting pole for himself
and climbing another tree on the opposite
side, from which position CT vantage he
continues the jabbing process. The bear is
between ''the devil and the high sea, " and
after climbing from limb to limb, only to
receive vigorous rrcds in the ribs and
back, soon gives up the unequal fight, and
with n grunt, evidently n signal TO her
rv hot
scraping off the loose bark in tho descent
until almost TO the bottom, when she gives
a leap, striking the ground with u thud
and grunt and goes scampcring off in
the forest, probably never to return, leav-
ing her young up the tree, which at her
departure rend the air with their peculiar
and heart appealing cries.
Then comes the difficult and no less
amusing task of capturing the young.
This takes time, often consuming an hour
or more, but always with the same result.
The men arm themselves with long ropes.
with n slipnoCse at one end, and climb
neighboring trees. The capture by this
time has resolved itself down to the ability
of the men to throw the moose over the
heads of the crying cubs After the dis
appearance Of their mother the little fel-
lows curl themselves up in ball, placing
their heads between their front paws 1t
is impossible to do anything until the si-
lence OF the forest gives them a feeling of
reinsurance and they poke out their heads
10 view the situation. 1t is then that the
hunter quietly and dexterously drops the
moose over the unsuspecting projecting
head and with quick jerk draws it tight
ly around his neck. The other end of the
rope is quickly drawn over n limb and
poor Mr.. Cub is drawn from his perch, the
tightening moose shutting off his wind.
He is drawn up sufficiently to clear the
limb upon which he rested, and then he is
lowered TO the ground, kicking and
squirming in inidair, uttering gurgling
sounds from his wide open mouth. The
man on the ground soon has a stout leath- |
er collar around his neck and in n jiffy he
is tied TO "a neighboring tree, where he re- |
covers his breath and yells all the louder |
during the repetition of the scene attend |
ant upon the capture of his mate.