Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1907-10-11
Mistellaneous 3saaing.
BEAR HUNTING 80 YEARS AGO.
David crockett's Experiences Told BY
Himself.

|
| Himself.
The following characteristic chap
ters from the autobiography Of David
Crockett, one of the most picturesque
characters who ever lived in America
tell the story of a series of bear hunts
In the overgrown river bottom Of the
Mississippi some eighty years ago
Besides them, anything which later
hunters may write must inevitably
seem tame and devoid Of interest:
| But the reader, l expect, would have
no objection to know a little ebout my
employment during the two years
while my competitor was in congress
In this space had some pretty tough
times. and will relate some few things
that happened to me. So here goes,
as the boy said when he run by him
self.
| In the fall of 1925, I concluded
would build two large boats, and load
them with pipe-staves for market. So
went down to the lake, which was
about twenty-five miles from where
lived and hired some hands to assist
me, and went to work; some at boat
building, and others to getting slaves,
worked on with my hands till the
bears got fat, and then I turned out
to hunting, to lay in a supply Of meat
I soon killed and salted down as many
as was necessary for my family; but
about this time, one of my old neigh
bOrs who had settled down on the lake
about twenty-five miles from me, came
to my house and told me he wanted
me to go down and kill some bears
about in his parts. He said they were
extremely fat and very plenty.
knowed that when they were fat they
were easily taken, for fat bear can't
run fast or long. But I asked a bear
no favors, no way, further than civllity,
for now had eight large dogs, and
as fierce as panthers, so that a bear
stood no chance at all to get away from
them. So l went home with him and
then went down towards the Missis-
sippi and commenced hunting.
A Hunt In the Cane Brakes.
We were out two weeks, and in that
time killed fifteen bears. Having now
supplied my friend with plenty Of meat,
I engaged occasionally again with my
hands in our boat building, and getting
slaves. But at length couldn't stand
| 1t any longer without another hunt.
So l concluded to take my little son
and cross over the lake and take a
hunt there. We got over, and that
evening turned out and killed three
bears in little or no time. The next
morning we drove up four forks, and
made sort Of scaffold, on which we
salted up our meat, so as to have it
out Of reach of the wolves, for as soon
as we would leave our camp, they
would take possession, We had just
eat, our breakfast, when a company of
hunters came to our camp who had
fourteen dogs, but all so poor that
when they would bark they would al
most have to lean up against a tree
and take a rest. / told them their
dogs couldn't run in smell Of bear,
and they had better stay at my camp
and feed them on the bones I had cut
out Of my meat. 1 left them there
and cut out; but 1 hadn't gone far,
when my dogs took q first-rate start
after very large fat old he-bear,
rdc m
camp. I pursued on, but my other
hunters had heard my dogs coming,
and met them and killed the bear be-
fore got up with them. I gave him
to them. and cut again for a creek
called Big Glover, which wasn't very
far off Just as I.got there, and was
entering a cane brake, my dogs all
broke and went ahead, and in a little
time they raised fuss in the cane,
and seemed to be going every way. l
listened awhile, and found. my dogs
was in two companies and that both
was in a snorting fight. I sent my
little son to one and / broke for tother.
got to mine first, and found my dogs
had a two-year-old bear down a-wool-
ing away on him, so I just took out
my big butcher, and went up and slap
ped it into him. and killed him with
out shooting. There was five OF the
dogs in my company. In a short time
I heard my little son fire at his bear;
when I went to him he had killed 1t
too He had two dogs in his team.
Just at this moment we heard my oth-
er dog barking a short distance Off.
and all the rest Immediately broke. to
him. We pushed on too, and when we
got there. we found that he had a still
larger bear than either of them we mad
killed. treed by himself. We killed that
one also, which made three we had
killed in less than half an hour. We
turned in and butchered them, and
started to hunt for water and good
place to camp. But we had no sooner
started. than our dogs took start af-
ter another one and away they went
like thundergust and was out or
hearing in a minute. We followed the
way they had gone for some time, but
al length we gave up the hope of find
ing them, and turned back. AS we
were going back, came to where a
poor fellow was grubbing, and he look
ed like the picture of hard times. 1
asked him what he was doing away
there in the woods by himself? He
said he was grubbing for a man VINO
intended to settle there; and the r2a-
son why he did it was, that he had
no meat for his family, and he was
working for a little.
"Meat For a Year"
was mighty sorry for the poor fel-
low, for it was not only a hard but
very slow way to get meat for a hum
CRY family: so l told him If he would
go with me, would give him more
meat than he could get by grubbing
in a month. | intended to supply him
with meat, and also to get him to as
sist my little boy in packing and salt
ing up my bears. He had never seen
n bear killed in his life. l told him