Cameron County press. [volume] (Emporium, Cameron County, Pa.) 1866-1922, 1901-07-25


some fallen trees, he fired. 1t was
doe, and it ran away bleatng like a
lamb, and soon laid down and died.
Coming down to where the doe stood
when shot he found, behind big log,
buck whose back had been broken by
the ball and was dragging its paralyzed
hind parts along as best it could, while
still further on was a fawn shot through
the bowels. 1t was no particular credit
to Roma though, for he had seen only
the one he shot at. 1t was case OF
pure chance. But he killed seven more
that day, which was the biggest days
achievement.
One time, somewhere in the neigh
borhood of Keating Summit, Bona and
one Horace Stiles hunted a week on a
strife, not wager really, but the one
who killed the greatest number of deer
during the time was to have the best
buck the other killed. Bona says
Styles was some years younger than he,
and was accounted an exceedingly
lucky hunter, if the term can be APP
piled to hunters. Bona scored 81 and
Styles 20, just as close as it could be
and not tie.
Bona once had Jeff Brown of Wilcox
send to the factory and get him the
barrel, lock and trimmings of Win
chester, Al calber and % inches long,
at a cost of over S35. He stocked and
sighted it himself, using for the stock
piece of black walnut taken from the
last tie that was laid when the Union
Pacific Railroad was completed. He
obtained the wood from an engineer
on that road, to whom it was given as
souvenir The engineer had taken to
drinking, spent all his money and
parted with it to Bona for 81, after
having refused $50 for it. With that
gun at ten rods Bona once planted ten
alls in the same hole in tree Cut
ting the wood away revealed ragged
mass of lead well stuck together by the
force of the impact.
Tired of hunting in Pennsylvania,
where game had become scarce, Bona
relinquished the chase, and went to
the region of the Carbon coal mines
in Wyoming and engaged in watching
snow sheds on the Union Pacific Rail-
road. While there he killed two griz.
lilies, a number of black bears, several
OF the kind called crabeaters, many
antelopes and few deer. Questioned
about killing the bears and grizzlies, he
cident. He ''iust shot them, that'sall.n |
least 1000 deer, and in one season
made score of 102. He shot his last |
deer four years ago. His eyes are
good, and so are Ruben's, and they can
still hold a gun as still and sight as
we'll as anyone. In his S0th year Reu- |
ben was present at turkey shoot at
Belfast. In this instance they paid
certain sum for a shot, but not at the
turkey using a mark instead of the
live birds employed in the old days.
Ruben asked one of the crack shots of
the place if he would let him shoot his
gun once. The request was granted.
After asking some questions about the
gun, it being one with which he was
not acquainted, Rube fired and, to the
astonishment of the crowd, drove the
nail in the center of the mark. They
did not want him to shoot any more
Nor did he want to. He had secured a
good fat turkey at very reasonable
price, and at his age did not care to
risk his reputation for a shot which
might possibly have had slight ele-
ment of chance in it.
The writer we'll remembers in the old
days of the Christmas and Thanksgiv-
ing turkey shoots, when the live birds
were put up, how Bona and Rube used
in sight the word would 90 round the
crowd that the enterprising manager
would lose some money on them, and
he did, and soon felt that he would like
to bar them from shooting.
But Bona's reputation as a fiddler is
scarcely less than his fame as huter.
For go years and more he has played
that wonderful instrument. The elder
people of the upper Genesee remember |
him well, having often danced after his
music, when they were young of
"Money Musk" ''Virginia Reel" |
"March Four" "Pop Goes the Weasel" |
and other dances of 40 and 80 years
ago. His violin has been the sweet |
solace OF many an otherwise lonesome |
evening while camping out and to-day |
he can weld the bow and finger the |
strings with dexterity which is surpris-
ing for an otogenarian. Last winter
he played for private dancing party |
in the neighborhood of his old home. |
He lives now in Kane, McKean |
county, Pa. His playing is all by note,
and his ear is so good that he was able |
once last winter to play to good satis-
faction for two or three hours with one |
of our leading orchestras.
Bona not only plays the violin, but |
he can make, and has one which he has |
just completed, which he showed the |
writer not long since. Its front is of |
the despised hemlock and back of beau.
tiful blister maple. 1t is of skillful |
workmanship and fine toned instru- |
ment.
JOHN S. MINARD.