The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1907-10-17
HUNTING FOR BEAR
Incident of Pioneer Life in the
Vicinity OF Sank Centre.
TOLD BY OLD SETTLER
Former Resident of StedrnS County
Writes EntertainingIy From the
Sunny South
Especial to The Herald

HALE'S MILL, VA, Oct. 10,
Mr.. Editorials you kindly gave space
in recent number of The Herald to
my proposition OF occasionally pub
fishing some of my hunting incidents.
l will now relate an incident that came
near being fatal accident to one of
my good old neighbors.
In my boyhood days, here in
Virginia, soon became quite expert
in the use of rifle, and reading the
life Of Daniel Boone, as we'll as hearing
the old first settlers OF this section of
Virginia tell of their experiences hunt
ing, l longed to live in land where
game was plenty and intended some
day as Horace Greedy said to $50
Vest
About that time the war came up.
81 went cunning" over three years.
In the Spring of '65, as wrote before,
l landed at Sank Centre. l secured
good Harper's Ferry rifle, had the
sights changed to the plan of a close
shooting squirrel with moulds to run
bullets. They run IA balls to the
pound. l had, while in the army,
secured some 80 pounds OF army balls
and probably ten pounds of powder, a
thousand or SO of large caps. Most of
the lead l had run over into bullets.
A large proportion of these balls l got
out of rebel cartridge boxes captured
at the battle of Mill Springs that I
logged along with me in baggage. At
Jefferson Barracks, Mo-, got small
chest made that took my munitions
of war" to Minnesota in. q have that
little chest here in my room as 1 write
tonight.)
Army practice, hunting game-and
since l returned here four years
raiding Moonshiners that was war in
miniature, having charge of Revenue
Division of four counties as Deputy
Collector, altogether has given me
long, if not an interesting experience
of powder-burning l killed many
deer and some bear. Now to the
promised incident:
One Of my neighbors on the west of
my homestead was William Moulton.
He had grove of timber and brush
land. The larger timber was burr-oak
and poplar with plum bushes, hazel,
etc. In the fall of 1865 [ shot my first
bear in the edge of that grove up a
burr oak, in company with Boney
Bailey.
Some years after Mr.. Kelsey settled
near the same locality. His widow is
one of your esteemed citizens, Mrs.
NJ. E. Kelsey, and the reason select
this episode is because her husband
was the neighbor l referred to at the
beginning.
One fall about the middle of Sep
TENDER the rumor got out that large
cinnamon bear had been seen in the
Moulton Grove. Tom Vessey's wife
was sure she heard and saw it. Mr..
Moulton one evening in hunting his
COWS came upon it. So l thought
would seek his bruniship. 1 put .
heavy charge of powder in old "Bull
Rum" and two or three large balls
'rammed home" and Don Quixote like
l set out to seek adventure. 1t was
plum time. Mr.. Moulton saw the
bear eating plums.
l reached the grove about 10 a. m.
and as the wind was from the east
took circuit to the west side, IS all
hunters we'll know one must face the
wind.
On the east of the highland OF the
grove on the eastern edge, was dense
grove of plum bushes, and every fall
thew were full. this particular fall