The sun., 1899-04-23
BEAR TRAPPING IN MAINE.
CUsHMAN'S sTAND-UP FIGHT WITH
BRUIN IN a SYI-FOOT RING.

or Death Bruins Winter Sleep Over.
SHERMAN Me-, April 14.-In the autumn.
| whom the law is off on moose and caribou ana
| deer. Sherman is q favorte starting point for
city sportsmen In search OF game. For the
men who live here the year round there is an
other hunting season OF which the city sports
man knows little. This season runs through
May and part Of June. and is the time when
the professional bear trapper has his innings.
There are number OF these trappers In Sher-
man. and they are making preparatons for
the sprinR campaign against the bears The
blacksmith has his time fully occupied for
several weeks to come with orders for bear
traps. for making which he gets $40 apiece.
All the old horses in the neighborhood have
been bought up. and instead OF being turned
into sausages for city consumption will be
used for Turing bears to their destruction.
After they are purchased these horses are
loaded with as many bear traps as they can
carry and driven back into the woods to the
neghborhood where the trapping is to be done.
The traps are distributed as nearly as possi-
BILE where they will be wanted and then the
horse is shot and the carcass left.on the ground
TO attract the bears. Already some venture
some bears are coming out OF the dens where
the winter was passed. and when once they
6nd horse they are likely 10 camp In the i'm
mediate neighborhood as long as there is any
thing left to eat. or until their careers are
ended In steel traps.
The young bears como out earliest In the
spIih lhey aIe ho' d" Eoou ~ ias'ihs 40 'ne
| old bears. and they are not 30 wise. The old
bear knows two things. which Information he
| has acquired more often than not at consider
able risk to his precious hide. One is that un-
| til the suckers begin running up the brooks
| there Is little food to be found in the woods
| aside from that provided bv persons whose
motives do not arise from sympathy with hun
cry bears. The other thing known to the old
campalgner is that his tracks VIII snow In the
snow and NAV NAV put the hunter on his trail
90 III 'he oiNsht spl'nE ud's' mheh 'he pae'ei-
| Ing drops OF water from melting snow and ice
play a merry time on last years fallen leaves.
and the brooks are swollen ana the ret 1rnlng
| the desire to be out and takes another suck ON
tho nows which have done him GOOD serv,ce
for four months or more of enforced dleness
II the bear is a female the chances are che
has cubs with her in the den to amuse her and
| help fill in the time till she can travel abroad.
| The females, so trappers declare bring forth
,hoi- ro,nc d,r,n, hih.-na,ion n. ,,onr a..
| their young curing nioeTna'ion' as many as
three at birth. and 1t is ono OF tho odd facts
OF natures economy that they are able to
SUBTLE the cubs Tor sevprsl nonths without
| Wv ~ " .,
partakine OF any food themselves. II the cubs
W. ~. ao,har ~ h.or >, ~ ~ on, h,, ,1nar'
they M w ar. born they are e no larger than M kittens
and they are satisfied with an extre mely small
amount of nouris hment.
| When the first come out they are ulump and
well conditioned. but a few weeks rustiinG
nd at ths Season makes them thn as grey
| bounds They develop ravenous appstites
in NO eSDd0p to re: the
still prime. for they have not lost their glossy
winter fur. and the ira apper's harvest time has
the open market. and SIS more can be counted
on for each bear Killed from the bounty which
lars from 1 a:few week Weeks WORK. and an such sum uT
fort until the bear-traprine season comes
| around again.
locality FOR his uniform GOOD fortune :" 'Iis In
catching bears is John Cushman. who makes a
business Of trapping bears, and does nothing
sportsmen on hunting or fishine trips His
headquarters. when in the woods. are on Ka.
OF Names s highest mountain peak. The side
neAt his camp is Vertical clitf Tor l. 800 40 feet feet
Which caribou u can descend T from M their favorte W
feeding grounds on the tabeland above. 1t is
' ps1 T Ss Fl them To
them off. no M after what direction they take on
staring; p; IT,, avail ,,r. ,r,ru u.n .so,,,
40 Years Old He is Very gritty and detHrmined mined
and also extremely Gutck in his Ism motions. % TO o
| this LAST oualitv he owes his escape from lao
Grafton and perhaps death in the grasp Tut Of an
enraSed hear fbe Incident bapnened VI last ",i
spring year ago Cushm an remembers the
hears and he captured three which matted
him $50 The close shave with the last bear is
| nf minor imnortar ce and only cnmas in 40 10
incident ~ Ihe narretve Ne vas IN camn nI al AZ
| Katabdin. aka AT the time and was aione
HIs homs was tbi,tv niIss ayav nj Tho noar r
est ,iana occHpisd nv hMman beinSs ' ~ wbinb
he nd tDowieSos was I a Rogsrs II irn,har
camn over ON The river n, noint annmt haIf
WaV 70 his bnme His nnlv wnannn vas "a a.
calibre double. action revolver with " fye,inch f r
barrel bnt he had Killed n praat mnnv
trapped be,is Win IL and had perfect conn.
danna IN Ire nf1"acr ~ ~ ~ 'e''ee' .on'i
The arst tran tbat he visited v,s gone ,na
follnwine mn the tral Tor ten minnies ME be fonnd
tba henE Tina animal i.v a,t en- bis "S Sa IN
some thick brush and Cushman 20 got S Within him six
ING TO Get at the hunter the bear law f6ere re SIN.
pidly REGARDING him. Bruin had tangled the
rhain crnnected with the c'og nronnd q trea
and Td' nrohahTy cHulJnt have reacbeI
Il he had aried but the fan iliustrntes how ens.
nasion rmsbman draw ~ had win a' hia Is ps rs
v"lver between the bears eyes and ni tren , and
| WV - - Aio Shihioh