Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1908-05-19
A.BEARING IN ALASKA.
The Solitary Adventure of a Huntsman
Near Juneau.

1t was certain that luck had been
against us, and the spell was not bro
ken till some prospectors whom We
had met in Juneau invited us to join
them in their hut in the mountains
above timber line. Being uncertain
as to the advisability OF such a move,
we decided that one Of us should ac-
cept the invitation and the other
should stay and hunt the creeks for
few more davs. We drew lots and
the Liners.
The country up 'ra., was absolute
ly superb You could look around
for a radiLs Of seventy-five or hun
dred miles at endless chains of snow
covered peaks. Way below was the
salt water cut up into innumerable
bays, channels and inlets. Nowhere
was there sign Of civilization. One
might have thought oneself on the
earth before the appearance Of man.
1 spent three or four days wandering
with gun and field glass. Here and
there we're patches Of grass and cow
slips which had been very recently
beaten down and bore the marks Of
bear tracks and beds. Some Of these
beds looked big enough to have been
made by a cow or a horse, but/no
bears showed themselves till the fifth
or sixth day.
l had been sitting in observation
from point of vantage, when away
below me half mile distant observ-
ed a curious round speck which did
not at first appear to me as anything
unusual, and I gave 1t little thought.
Looking in that direction a few min
from round had assumed an oblong
shape. On examining 1t with my field
glass my heart leaped into my mouth
with excitement when I espied two
good sized grizzlies rolling around in
the grass playfully swatting each
other with their large paws. 1t must
be confessed that faced the idea Of
attacking those animals alone with a
good deal Of apprehension, but knew
that on returning to camp 1t would be
for me to refrain from
speaking Of what / had seen and that
the men would then ask me what /
had done. I could already see myself
sheepishly acknowledging that I had
done nothing and the whole mining
camp roaring, so I chose danger as an
evil less to be feared than ridicule
and started down the mountain to-
ward the bears. They disappeared
from view for fully twenty minutes
while I circled lofty crag and final
ly got within 500 yards Of the spot
where I had first seen them.
The bears were no longer playing
together. One of them stood facing
in my direction, while the other, who
was much larger than his companion,
lay fiat on his belly in the tall grass.
All that could be seen Of him was his
head bobbing up and down as he fed
off blueberry bush. In endeaEoring
to get nearer lost my footing and
slid about fifty yards on a steep slope
covered with heather. I supposed
when I looked again that the bears
would be in full flight, but to my great
surprise and relief they had seen
nothing; the wind blew crosswise and
everything was favorable.
In order to get good open shot at
close range 1 was obliged to crawl
through a growth Of stunted timber
about sixty yards wide, the trees Of
which were not more than sour feet
high. When T arrived on the other
side of these bushes the bears were
about eighty yards from me. The
smaller one now stood qnartering
away and the other was still nearly
entirely hidden by shrubs and long
grass. therefore decided to dispose
of the smaller one first. Ny 1870
rifle was loaded with ten cartridges
when opened fire. AS the bullet
struck him the bear reared on his
hind legs, viciously paving the air and
biting at his wound. He uttered a
series Of low growls, which sounded a
good deal like two mastiffs fighting.
He seemed to be trying to get at an
enemy which he supposed must be
within reach. AS / was hidden be-
hind one Of the small pine bushes he
could not see me, and the idea evil
IDENTIFY never entered his head that
something had been hurled at him
from a distance; the report OF the RI
fe meant nothing to him.
Perceiving that he could not find
his enemy, he took to his heels and
went off diagonally at a mad gallop,
bowling with pain and rage, while
another one Of my bullets hit the face
Of nature somewhere in his vicinity.
By this time the bigger bear was on
his feet, uttering low growls jumping
and plunging through the long grass.
Now and then he would rear up on his
hind legs for few seconds to peer
around inquiringly. Just as he did so
for the third or fourth time one OF my
bullets took him somewhere behind
the fore shoulder, and after tearing
madly around as tne ITst DedT Hdu
done he also began to bolt. Fearing
that I should likewise lose him.,
threw all caution to the winds and
stood up in plain sight at the same
time firing another shot. This shot
was also caught by mother earth, but
it accomplished its purpose in attract
ing the bears attention for instead of
running away he wheeled about and
charged.
The nearer he came the easier he
was to hit, of course, but my shooting
had become decidedly erratic after so
much excitement, and though hit sey-
eral times the bear had not checked
his speed a particle when be was only
fifteen feet away. My knees began to
quake, but / stood my ground never
theless for one more shot To reach
the place where 1 was standing the
bear had to jump into slight depres,
sion of the ground, and as he did 50
he exposed his spine. l fired a part