The San Francisco call., 1904-12-26
VILLAGERS
DROW ned
BY BEARS
Starving BFuteS Raid
Coast Towns OF
KamChatka.
The Harold Dollar Brings
Account OF War Between
Men and Beasts.
Inhabitants of One Settlement Kill
100 Animals in a Day and Ship
Their Pelts on Steamer.

Captain NJ. II. Thwing Of the steamer
Harold Dollar, which returned yes
terday morning from the eastern coast
of Siberia with a very valuable cargo
of furs. tells of an invasion of the cities
and villages on the east coast of the
Kamchatkan Peninsula by hundreds
of starving Siberian bears. The fero-
cious animals, driven from the noun
tains by hunger, made their way to the
inhabited regions of the coast and for
days kept the natives in a state OF
semi-seige. In Ustakamchatka, a
small town near the city of Petropau-
lovski, one hundred and fifty of the
savage brutes were shot in a single
day, as they roamed among the houses
in search of food.
During this day, which was the worst
of ALL only one of the natives ventured
to leave his house, and he was attack
ed and killed by the bears. After the
brutes had been killed or driven from
the village, the body of this man was
found partly devoured near his house.
The hungry animals even tried to tear
their way into the houses and but for
the fact that the natives. who make
their living by hunting, were we'll pro-
vided with fire arms, many human lives
would have been lost.
In Petropaulovslxi. which is a large
sea port on Avatcha Bay on the the
southeast point of the Peninsula of
Kamchatka, four bears were shot In
the streets in one day and a young
cub, captured alive, was brought to
San Francisco on the Harold Dollar.
For days there was ritable reign of
terror in the city. The school was
closed, and women and children re-
mained in their homes, while bands OF
-f-~I,%
and day hunting bears among the
houses.
Many of the smaller towns and fish
ing villages along the coast were at
tackled by the starving bears, but at
none of these places was the number
killed SO large as at Ustakamchatka-
Captain Thwing at his home in Oak
land yesterday gave the following ac-
count of the invasion of the bears, the
skins of many of which are now packed
in the hold of the Harold Dollar, await
ing shipment to London:
These bears live in the range OF mountains
which runs through the center of the peninSu-
la of Kamchatka, and they live for the most
part salmon which they catch from the
rivers and streams AS nearly as I could learn,
the natives think the salmon did not far
enough up the rivers this year for the bears
to lay in their usual store provisions, and as
the winter came on the animals were driven
by starvation TO seek food on the sea coast.
While the steamer was at Petropaulovski
the bears attacked number of villages along
the coast. and at Ustakamchatka hundred
and fifty shot in day from the win
dows of houses. These bears weigh about 900
or 1000 pounds. and when hungry are very
savage. The skins of nearly all the bears that
were killed at Ustakamchatka were sold to the
company. and were among the cargo brought
to San Francisco on the Harold Dollar.
A rumor was started on the water
front yesterday that the Harold Dollar
had been chased and fired upon by
JaUanese cruiser on the homeward voy-
age, but Captain Thwing ridicuIed the
story. He said:
We left the Siberian coast on December 10.
and did not even see a ship of any kind until
We were within sight of the Golden Gate In
fact did not any vessel whatever after
two days out from Seattle on our
voyage TO the coast of Siberia.
l have idea where the story of our being
chased by japanese cruiser originated, un-
less it told by some member OF the crew
as joke. Had any Japanese vessel chased
should have been captured, for the
Dollar is not a fast ship. and had we been
caught the Japs would have got a rich prize
for cargo OF seal. sable and sea otter furs
| Is valued at about $500. .0OO.