The Opelousas courier., 1903-02-21
.rRAPPER CALLS GRIZZLY BEAR DID.
ID, "MOST PEACEADLE OF CRITTERS"
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"a Timely Advice to Hunters Who Wish to Trya ga
Z Shot at the Monarch Of the Western Plains
e9 Best Way to Use Horses For Bait. =: =: "
8 8 8 g g g 60
special Correspondence the New York Tfm~l
special Correspondence the New York Times.l

| the hill, there will be nc { anger of his
getting wind OF the hunter and light
ING out for parts unknown. Having
once found the bait, a grizzly will go
to it four or five times a day, and eat
until he can hold 10 more. and when
not eating he will lie in the nearest
thick timber to it.
BEARS AS FIGHTERS.
at doesn't take Il grizzly long to eat
up a horse. Several years ago a guide
went IN a spring bear hunt with a New
York sportsman. They killed a horse
for bait on the side Of a hill as just de-
scribed, and going to it the next morn
ing found that iTo-thirds OF it had
been eaten during the night. They sat
behind the screen OF pines to watch,
and in less than an hour three fine
grizzlies came ont from the pines and
sauntered up the hill to the bait. The
first shot the hunter fired took one OF
them in the brain, and he sank down
without a kick, while the others sat on
their Launches and gaZed stupidity
around. The next shot Drained an,
other one, and the remaining one, and
the largest of them all. started to run
But a ball through the heart keeled
him over, and sc in less than Il minute
they had three fine grizzlies, all Of
good size and wearing thick coats Of
prime fur.
a bear chase is often a long and
tiresome piece Of work. for when a
bear finds that it is tracked it picks
out the most tangled paths. 1t often
leads the hunter twenty miles over
mountains and through valleys, where
the brush and briars are harassing,
and the swamps almost inaccessible to
man, although the bear shuff1es along
with his clumsy gait as rapidly as if
on the best of roads. | once followed
a bear thirty miles in a day and a
moonlight night. l never knew such a
cute beast as she was. She would
hide behind rocks and boulders as
well as any boy seeking escape, and
run as fast when she knew I had a
chance 10 fire ut her. At last she got
away by lodging into some boulders.
when l was too tired to follow her
longer.
"A bear hunters outfit is simple: A
good up-to-date rife. heavy boots, thick
trousers, a light hunting axe in a belt,
Il pistol. and a Iong-bladed knife for
emergencies. If a hunter is anxious
TO be put on his mettle while on the
hunt, let him give the bear a scent of
him. Then the bear will take a course
which will require nerve, wind, and a
tough skin to follow. When the snow
is deep, a bear chase is generally slow
and tedious. With a light fall and
a fresh track, however, there is no
sport so exciting. and even an amateur
hunter will find himself going miles
on a good stiff trot. 1t is no hard mat
ter to kill a bear if the dogs understand
their business when the bear is brought
to bay, for it will give all it's attention
to the dogs that are yelping around it,
while the hunter stands off and fills
him with lead. But there are times
when a bear will brace himself for a
fight from the word go and tIen if
the hunter does not kill at the first
fire, he is apt to have about as lively a
time as he ever dreamed Of. No story
of a bear fight that vas eve told can
be much ahead of the incidents that
occur during 4 fight il it is a good
one"