The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1902-11-16
NO NEW BEAR SKIN
AT LAST WRITING PRESIDENT WAS
STILL TRAILING.
EIGHT DOGS STAY WITH HIM,
BALANCE of PACK GET DISGUST
ED AND QUIT.

President Has Hard Luck I'm Narrow
ly Missing Shots-Comes Upon the
Game COrnered by the Dogs, But,
Even Then, Fails to Get a Glimpse
of the Benr-Last Bear Chased Was
Believed to Weigh mt Least Four
Hundred Pounds.
Smedes, Miss. Nov. 1s.-No fresh
bear skin had been hung up to-day
at the camp on the Little Sunfiower
up to 4:30 o'clock this afternoon. At
that hour the President. Mr.. McIlhen-
ME and Holt Collier were still out in
pursuit of bear which was started
early in the morning, but the remain
der of the party had abandoned the
chase and twenty of the twenty-eight
dogs had struggled back to camp COM
pletelv worn out.
The President had hard luck to-day;
twice he narrowly missed a chance for
shot. The pack split almost after
leaving this morning, Holt Collier. with
half the hounds. followed the trail of
one bear down the river. and nothing
had been heard of him at
4 o'clock. The other bear went
in the opposite direction and gave the
President, the other members of the
party, and the rest of the dogs merry
chase. He was a big fellow and kept
well ahead of the dogs. He was cut
off several times and threshed up and
down the brush over an area of about
four square miles. Once Mr. Dickn-
son and Maj Helm heard him close
by, but they did not get a glimpse of
him. At one stage Mr.. Foote. who
was with the President, heard the dogs
quartering through the woods above
them, aOnd by hard riding he and the
President managed to reach a cut off
ahead of the pack. They waited
and Mr.. Foote felt certain that the
President was at last to have a shot,
but they were too late. In about FIVE
minutes the dogs swept by in full cry.
within thirty yards of them, but Old
Bruin had passed before they got
there.
Two hours later the President had
another unfortunate experience. The
dogs were by this time playing out
rapidly. owing to the excessive heat.
hut five of them had hung on and final
ly brought the beast TO bay in dense
thicket. The President and Mr.. Foote
heard the dogs fighting him. and got
within 100 yards of the row on their
horses. There they .dismounted and
went In. but the bear evidently heard
them, and tanning off the dogs, turned
and fed before he awas sighted. The
fact that he disposed of the dogs so
easily indicated that he was a large
and strong brute. and this was proved
later when he went into the Identical
water hole where the first bear was
bayed yesterday.
Secretary Cortelyou and DR.. Lung.
who were in the thicket close by, heard
the splash, but the animal did not stop
and neither of them got up in time for
a shot When they examined the
queer, half-human footprints where he
went in, which measured eight inches
across, the experts declared that this
indicated that he was very large, prob
ably weighing 400 pounds.
The only member of the party who
bagged anything was Judge Dickin-
son. He caught string of trout in
the Sunflower after lunch. Tomorrow
there will be no hunt, the dogs Will
be rested and the pursuit Of bear will
be resumed Monday.
The bear killed yesterday furnished
meat for the camp last night and to-
day.