The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1909-12-13
KILLS FIVE BEARS
IN FIVE MINUTES
Easy to Kill Grizzly With 0ne
NOTHING LIKE WAITING
Wright upsets Preconceived Notions
With Reference to Animals Vim
dictlve Fierceness and Mar
velous Endurance.
NOTHING LIKE WAITING

II and Its maker interested me, cost
me many exertions, brought me I'M
counted disappointments and, finally,
figured in the most successful encounter
ever had with bears"
William Fl. Wright, naturalist and
grizzly bear hunter of Spokane, who
has spent a quarter of a century in
western forests studying what he calls
"the noblest wild animal of North
America" made the foregoing obser-
walton as an introduction to a story
of his early experiences in the Clear
water country, southeast of Spokane,
grizzlies with five shots in as many
minutes.
The veteran, who is familiar with
every range of mountains in which
Ursus horribilis is found, from Alaska
to Mexico, utterly upset a lot of pre-
conceived notions as to the sort of a
"critter" he found the grizzly to be IN
his native wild, discrediting. too, a
great deal of the material received
from the old fashioned hunter, with
reference to the animals vindictive
fierceness and marvellous endurance. He
also put down the legend that the griz =
ely could not be killed with a single
power in the gun and ammunition en-
ployed in the early days. He has killed
scores of bears with single shots. Here
is the story of one of the greatest
feats In the Idaho woods in his own
words:
1.-THE trail in the canyon was a hun
dred feet wide and had been worn by
an old and large animal. The ground
on the sides of the gully was too hard
to show his footprints; but, coming and
going, he always seemed to cross at
the same spot, and 1 thought 1t would
be an easy matter to watch the trail
and shoot the bear. However, after
seeing nothing, / concluded the bear
had abandoned the trail. and so 1 dis
missed the matter from my mind.
However, a few weeks later, in
passing the spot again, l saw fresh
tracks, and knowing that the bear was
still in the vicinity, resumed my watch
ing, but without result Then 1 tried
still-hunting the canyon. crawled
through every thicket and looked into
every place where I thought a bear
could hide, but aside from a 14-inch
track and a few hairs that he would
leave sticking to trees as he passed
/ saw nothing that looked like a bear;
in fact, I was almost willing to swear
that no grizzly had ever inhabited the
canyon.
For two years I continued at inter
walls to see the big tracks in this can
yon, but not once did I see the bear.
Finally, having gained wider knowledge
and experience, / made up my mind
that. If such a thing were possible. 1
would at least set eyes on him. and l
got a man to go with me to look after
the camp and horses so I would have
nothing to do but hunt. We made camp
about two miles from the canyon, and
my first excursion showed me that my
old friend with the big feet was still
IN evidence.
1.-THE upper edges of this canyon
timber on one hand stretched an open
hillside facing the SOUTH Near the head
of the canyon this hillside was cut into
by many small ravines, and along the
edges between these the sarvis berry
grew.
LAS / had never succeeded in getting
sight of the bear in the canyon itself,
/ decided to watch the hillside and per-
In f,I, hi,a,a hnn f1a a.
SO l selected point which commanded
a view of the whole hill, and every
morning from daylight until 10 o'cloas1
found me on the lookout. seated in a
little clump of fir-trees, and from 3
% clock until dark l was in the same
place.
DAY after day passed and brought
no bear, and at last the camptender,
while he did not say right out that he
thought l was Iocoed,' minated n
broadly. For his part, he said, he did
not believe there was a bear in the
whole country.
yet examination showed fresh bear
tracks on the old trail almost every
morning. and / felt it safe to assume
that something was making them. So
for whole week 1 lay in that clump
of frs. Then l began to think about
giving up but knowing that the ami
NAL must show himself in time, l kept
taking on a fresh stock of patience
and dragging myself again and again
up to the little clump of frs.
AT last there came a rain. 1t began
in the night and kept up until about
/ o'clock in the afternoon of the fol-
lowing day, and rained so hard that I
did not venture out in the morning.
In the afternoon 1t was so wet that l
hesitated about going, but finally,
thinking that this might be just the
time the old bear would select to go
berrying, 1 decided to risk it. And, a
frs and took a look at the hillside.
there sat an old grizzly about hun
dred yards above the brink of the can
yon and 800 yards from me, busily en-
gagged in pulling down branches and
eating berries.
II Immediately began the sneak of my
life. | did not, even at first, think OF
walking. | simply got down on the
ground and 'snaked' 1t. worked Below
the bear, so that If he ram he would
have to come my way or go lip the open
hillside and thus AFFORD me additional
shots II / failed with the first But
had no intention of falling. 1 worked
along slowly, so that the bear had
moved quite distance I'D the hill be-
fore | finally got within reasonable
range. and even then l kept on until
was within 60 yards before finally maxi
ing, up my mind to risk shot
II then crawled benin1 bunch of
bushes and, without getting up. looked
the ground over to 500 what the chances
were of the bears setting back into the
canyon in case failed to drop him.