The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1900-05-29
BEAR AND DOGS INAFIGHT


The attention of people who happened
to be on the streets of Glenwood Springs
Wednesday afternoon was drawn to a
party of three worn out and weary hunt
erS who rode into town ACCOMPANIED bv
ragged out, and. like their masters, ap-
peared to have seen some very hard ser
vice the last day or SO. But what seemed
10 interest the people was an immense
bear pelt of the silver tip family. The
hunters were A. S. Baxter, who is known
all over this part of the state as an ideal
The other hunters were Charles Baxter
and John Halford.
When the hide was hung m If was
found to be feet 8 inches across from
front paw, to front paw, and s feet
inches IN length. The bear balanced the
scale at 91S pounds and the hide alone
weighed seventy-five pounds. For this
id De- yer feiuseu an OIIer OF S1oO. An
IMPRESSION OF the paws Of the animal was
taken in plaster of paris at the taxidermy
establishment and is quite a curiosity. The
front paw measures II inches in length by
inches in width and the hind one III
inches by Z inches Mr. Baxter, whose
fifteen years of experience, as a hunter
mas brought to his notice animals of all
KINDS, size and quality, says 1t is without
a doubt the largest bear ever killed in this
part of the country. He was an old vet
eran of the mountains and is at least Is
years of age; possibly 20.
Ihe party of three, on horseback. and
with ten trained hounds and a pack horse
started out last Sunday morning more to
exercise the dogs themselves after a win
ter $ rest than With the expectation of
seeing bear. as they could hardly be ex-
peCleQ out OF their winter holes vet in the
deep SHOWS of the higher ranges AS the
party Travelled in a northWesterly direc-
ton from this town on a gradual rise the
warm. spring climate of the valley soon
gave place to the cold and frost of the
higher altitude.
On the second day out. the party while
P1ceance Creek, which flows into the
White river and passing through dense
underbrush. in which it was hard to see
the trail of any animal the
hounds suddenly became alert and
leader OF the pack, gave a cry which
pack The hunters, who had pass
ed over the tracks without see
ing, them. Immediately turned back
and dismounted to investigate By
held in leash they soon came to
tracks and trail Of the beast proclaimed
him to be Old Sachem, the patriarch of
the mountains whose tracks had been Of
ten seen from time to time for the last
six years. but who had proved himself
too cunning for those who cared to risk
followed the trail for about eight miles
until the signs became so fresh that they
knew they were not far behind The trail
had led them across creek bottoms up
steep gulcheS and mountain sides, and
over snow fields from two to five feet
deep The snow crust bore up the hunt
ers and their horses, while frequently and
in many places the big beast they We're
following had broken through and thus
made his course a very hard one. The
horses, too of the hunters were about
tagged out and the horse that Charlie
Baxter rode had given out entirely and
his rider was left behind.
When the signs showed the nearness of
the bear the whole pack was loosed and
away they went in full cry. which made
the mountains ring. The two remaining
hunters slowly followed on horseback at
a slow gait and as best they could.
1t WAS not many minutes before the
hunters from rise heard the hounds
about a mile away in a dense grove OF
willows and small qual<ing asps at the
head of Cow Creek in Book cliffs, baying
! the bear which. from the noise made
was more than holding his own.
The fact that there were no large trees
| rocks or other cover to retreat to in case
| the wounded brute should make a charge
on the hunters. and the sound of break
| ing willows and the crash of falling sap
| lings would have struck terror to tbs
heart Of less brave men than our hunters
As it was, Jack seemed to have no stom-
ach for the fight. while Steve, knowing
| by the sounds OF the yelps and cries thai
| his dogs were getting the worst of it and
Deihg hlllSa; cocke4 ms gun anu VENT e
/ into the thicket. The bear and the dogs
/ had cleared a space of about fifty feet
! and were so earnestly engaged that they
| did not see Steve, while Steve. seeing his
dead and wounded dogs lying about ano
| the unequal fight going on, thought II
| time if he wished to save any of his
| hounds, to take a hand in the affair
| Bruins pre-occupation gave Steve his op'
/ portunity and he took careful aim at the
! heart, knowing his own life would not Dc
| worth much if he simply wounded MIN
| Just as Steve pulled the trigger the oeal
| gave quick movement anu the DdlA Ell
tered his flank, ranging toward his head
The shot, though proved fatal and
| the huge brute tumbled forward on his
| head to the ground Immediately ne wa:
| completely covered by the dogs. although
| he dug deep burrows in the ground viii
his immense claws. and in his deatl
I struggles broke willow bushes and sap
lings as large as a mans arm like pip'
/ stems. he never regained his feet agar
| and in a very short time he was dead.
The bear was found in size well up t
the tales told of him at numerous CAM
fires.
While one stroke of his claw had crush
ed in the head Of Babe. the leader of tn
hounds and half tore his head from hi
body, another blow had crushed the rib
and disemboweled Old Bill, the next bes
dog in the pack. Others were terribly
/ mauled. This was A great loss to Steve
as he valued both dogs at over 500 apiece
| 1T was almost a miracle Burdocl
Blood Bitters cured me of a terrible
breaking out all over the body I an
very grateful" Miss Julia Filbridgc