El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1900-10-15
AN EXCITING
BEAR HUNT
Story Of an Experience Not
Very Far From
Here.
IN .THE SIERRA MADRt
The Gear Had the Whole Camp Up In
The Trees, and One Brave HUNT
or Had a Fall From Which he
Has HaaoIy Recovered Yet
Funny and OtherWl-e.


Madre mountains between Casas Gran
des and the west coast. has many good
stories to tel of his hunting experien-
ceS in that country. His GOOD fortune
in bagging big game gives him sood
cause to- be proud but the doctor en-
joys best the humorous side OF life ana
- is the stories that have a humorous
point that he likes to tell the best. One
of these is about a recent bear hunt
in which he participated and Is as FOL
lows:
Yes. | have had several encounters
with bruIn in that wild country when
"A man goes out after bear he takes
his life i'll his hands. so to speak, but
after the battle is over and you nave
won there is feeling of pride over
the conquest that hangs with you the
rest OF your days and you never tire
of telling of the experience. Ana IL
seems to me that there is always more
fun attached to bear hunt than any
other kind. | guess ii is the excite
ment of the risk that the bear hunt
er takes and the grotesqueness OF Mr.
Bear himself as he ambleS through
the bushes in his attempt to get away
before he is shot or as he shuftieS back
towards the hunter after he has been
wounded. Let me tell you right now.
old Bruin doesn't look so awkward in
the latter act as in the former.
in the Sierra Madres about half way
between Casas Grandes and the boun-
Diary line. We remained in camp there
two weeks and always had plenty OF
fresh meat. and a great variety. too.
such as deer antelope and wild turk
ey. and right now I'll tell you | had
some Of the most delicious wild turkey
to eat in that camp that | ever tasted.
Up until the day on which the eNper-
fence I am going to tell happened moth
ing of dangerous character had cross
ed our path TO make our camp life eX-
citing. except some six foot rattle
snakes getting into our beds. but to
kill them was not exciting sport
Just at break of day one morning
one of the men. whose turn IL was to-
attend to- the camp that day went out
a short distance from camp 10 gather
some small brush with which TO start
the fire and in "A few minutes came
running back eXcitedly telling that he
saw Il bear. Before We could recover
from our surprise he had grabbed his I
gun and started out. BY this time l
the bear had come TO the edge of the |
timber and was smiling the air with |
his nose turned toward camp. The man |
hurriedly fired two shots at him with |
out taking any special aim. He just
wounded ole Bruin enough to make
him mad and with a roar he made
for camp. IL is needless to- say that his
assailant was also making for camp.
just a few feet in the lead of the bear.
We all grabbed our artillery and made
for tall timber. some of us half dressed
and the rest in their nighties The
bears desire to explore a white mans
camp was meeting with no resistance
whatever until we had all either found
trees to climb or bushes to hide be-
hind. Another member OF the party
and myself hid behind clump of
bushes ready to give the enemy d
broadside as he passed by.
Another OF the party. young
Mormon from Coionia DiaZ, assembled
a small sycamore tree that stood di-
rectIy in front of the tent in which
he was sleeping when the rumpus COM
merceI. There he sat. perched in al
most the tiptop of that tree. his shirt
tail Topping in the breeze and his long
hai- standing as nearly straight up as
possible. But the bear was still paying
his respects to the man who had first
molested him and as they passed by
the tree in one of their several circuits
around the camp. the pursued cried
out to the man in the tree. Shoot him.
Charlie. or I'm a goner' But Charlie.
in his hurry to get up the tree had
dropped his gun at the foot of il. He
took advantage of the racing pair be-
ing on the opposite side of camp to
slide down and get his gun. ready to
save his friends life by well placed
bullet as the bear passed again. But
he had not reckoned on his buck |
ager' and when he started TO slide |
down he could not grip the tree suf-
ficiently to let himself down easily and |
he slid down with a frightful velocity |
striking the ground with "a thud that |
attracted the attention of all the spec |
tatorS of the exercises that were TAX
ing place round and round the camp |
] was afraid to shoot at the bear for \
fear the pursued in his lodging from 1
him might get in the way of the bullet |
but at last the leader Thy few iuches;I 1
in the race lead the way past our hid
ing place and I let the bear have the /
contents OF my gun. Bruin dropped |
dead in mis- tracks. When the excite |
ment was over and all the ROSTERS /
had come down from their perches /
some one asked Where's Charlie and /
we all looked toward the tree he hal |
climbed and slid down 80 rapidly.
There he sat still hugging that tree.
just in the attitude he had assumed .
frma. lie was more scared than hurt:
however. and in a few hours l." .-aa
able T. sit down TO = diaae- .f setT
meat VII h the rest OF Us.
In cutting up the carcass we found
that tine attacking party's first shot
had struck the bear in the mouth
Knocked out "a tooth and went out
through his cheek. fhe other had 60
tered ut the right shoulder and passed
completely through his body. coming
out OF his right hip. severiug in its
course six of his ribs as clean a. II
they had been cut with a cleaver. All
agreed that | should have the skin and
have sent il home TO be dressed AMI
will give il place on the floor Of my