The Savannah morning news., 1901-12-17
BEAR HUNTING IN ARIZONA.
A Man and His Two Sons XIII Nine
teen in Two Days.


oaks and the acorns lie thick in the
upper ranges of the White Mountains
and the Mogollons, the juniper berries
are ripening rapidly and the bears of
Eastern Arizona are in prime condi-
ton.
Cattlemen from the eastern part of
the Territory declare that the country
is overrun with silver tip, cinnamon,
and black bears, many more than have
ever been seen in that locality since
the advent of the white settler.
For nearly ten years there has been
very little rain in the lower portion
of the White and Mogollon ranges,
and the bears have been forced into
the higher mountains, only venturinG
down for an occasional fat calf or d
tender lamb. This year, however, has
brought much moisture to the lowland,
and the bears are fiocking into the
, shelter of the valleys, where the Winter
SHOWS are light and where the young,
fat stock, together with a perpetual
supply of pinemast and juniper pro-
I vide a -wele9Ine relief to the -hiberna-
ton habit, so necessary in the bitter
cold of the mountain crests.
Old Joe Scott drove into Globe last
Tuesday with the skins of five silver
tips and fourteen black bears, the re-
suit of a two days hunt in the eastern
part of ella County by himself and
two sons. Scott was one of the earliest
settlers in the White Mountain coun-
try, and for fortyfive years has run
| his cattle on the wide ranges of the
! foothills. He can count 5000 animals
in his herds, and he estimates that not
less than 1000 more are running wild
! in the dense brush of scrub oak, which
reaches far up the sides of the noun
! tains and is nearly impenetrable to all
! else but wild animals and the thick
skinned steers.
The heavy rains of the late Spring
! and early Summer have put in opera
ton creeks and springs which have
! been inactive for a decade and have
! brought out the cattle feed in a manner
that has made fatted calves and bulky
yearlings. 1t has developed the acorns,
the beech nuts and the juniper berries
and created a paradise for bears. Two
| weeks ago SCOTS COW punchers
| brought in the news of the slaughter
of half dozen calves and several
half grown steers. Bear tracks showed
| the character of the fnarauders, and
| the old rancher, with Abe and Harvey,
his sons, both locally famous as crack
| shots and expert ropers, set out in
pursuit.
With a pack of hounds they We're
| soon on the trail, and late in the after
| noon came upon an immense female
silver tip. with two cubs nearly half
grown. The three had beaten off the
dogs and stood at bay in a narrow
arroyo. The three first shots brought
down the cubs, and the dogs soon
finished them, while the old bear, with
bullet in her shoulder, rushed the
| party.
The impetuousness of the onslaught
| of a cornered and maddened Arizona
| silver tip has it's equal only in the
attack of of the larger grizzly of the
| north. Somewhat smaller than the
| grizzly, the silver tip is proportionate-
| ly lighter and much shiftier on it's feet,
| and a wounded and furious female
! handles herself like a mountain lion.
Harvey, the younger boy, was nearest
| to her, and she bowled him over like
| a ten pin, one paw ripping out the
| entire side of his coat and shirt. AS
| she turned on Abe, the old man sent
a bali into her side and closed in with
his six-shooter. In an instant she had
| Abe down. and only his activity saved
his life. Ducking his head under her
| jaw. he escaped crushing In the mas
sive molars, and she tore a piece from
his sleeve. Old Scoot was emptying his
| IeNOlNeT lnlO nef breast, ana Sne rOllQ
over with three holes in her heart.
Later in the day the dogs jumped
five small black bears. freeing them
! after but short chase, the quarry
being fat and awkward, from high life
in the juniper and oak scrub. Four of
them fell an easy prey to the hunters,
and the fifth one. halfgrown female
was cornered by the dogs. and then
roped and tied to sapling. Such fight
/ Il he gI, l,oF
necessary finally to shoot her.
The following day a large male silver
tip was killed after a hard fight in
! which he crushed two of Scott's best
hounds. His mate took refuge in cave.
A green wood fire smoked her out, and
she came with a rush, falling fifty
yards away. with four holes through
her body. Nine more black bears made
| up the final bag, in what is perhaps
the largest number of bears ever killed
in so short time by three men.
Scott sold his skins for $500, and be-
| lieves that the bear business, under
| present conditions is much more pro-
| fitable than cattle herding in a bear
region.
He has put an extra force of COW
| punchers with his herd, and by fire.
| quent trips into the timber, together
with poisoned carcasses and traps, he
hopes to save his young beeves and
make record catch of bears. While
| the acorns and berries last the bears
| are not likely to make heavy depreda>
| tons among the cattle, except for an
occasional calf or two, but with food
scarce Bruin does not hesitate to
attack large game and has been known
| to pull down a full-grown steer Such
instances, however, are rare, and only
occur when the younger animals are
scarce, for a mountain steer
fights with the strength and agility
! given him by almost constant climbing
and rustling for feed.
Harder game however, than a WELL
| grown steer, is a COW with a calf to
| protect. On the Moore range, in the
Tonic country, recently "Bin" Head,
| one OF the herders came upon a scene
| OF the fiercest kind of a fight between
| a large COW and a cinnamon bear. The
! latter had attacked a calf and pulled
| II down. AS Head came around a small
butte, the mother charged the bear.
With long horns low, she struck the
brute fairly in the front, and the two
! rolled over ana over The calf, I'M
hurt, arose and ran away, and the COW
was on her feet as soon as the astonish-
ed and angry bear was up. Again she
| charged. and this time Bruin closed
| his teeth In her neck With claws in
her shoulder, he pulled her to the
| ground, but she tore loose, and retreat
| ing a few yards launched herself in
another attack, seemingly harder than
| before Head, 200 yards away, could
| plainly hear the crash as she struck
the maddened bear squarely in the
! Ffan-