The Hattiesburg news., 1910-01-04
9G u.,R IS k!NGl
pfnnsyIva5Sans Regard Huge
Brute az. Supernatural Thing.
Hare Anina Roaming on Hills OF
Keystone tate ls Safe from
Bullets q Terror to People
Of {. BackWoods.

\
Clearfield, Pa.--Between the curl.
osity and the iperstition that the ap-
pearance of white. or albino, bear
has caused in tlat section of the coun-
try lying nortl of ,Karthaus. across
the plateau to he hills overlooking
Heating, in Clinton county, this
freak animal is the sensation of the
season. In all the history of Pennsyl-
vania backwoods experiences this is
the first time that the appearance OF
white bear in this section Of the
world has been reported
The rare animal has been seen
twice since the opening Of the hunting
season, but it will require somebody
with less superstition than the natives
to kill the albino. The superstition
Is something akin to the old fear OF
seeing or killing a white deer, and the
probability is that this rare specimen
will be permitted to go unmolested.
Once last summer this creature was
seen near wayside spring by team
ster. who had stopped to water his
horses, but he thought 1t was a stray
white calf. and 30 reported 1t. But
soon after the bear season opened this
fall, and while two hunters were
tramping the "slash'ngs" beyond the
John Rohn place. one Of them was
| startled to see two bears rise from
their "wailow" aid start OF into the
thicket. and one pf these was as white
as dirty bear, latter a season In the
dust. could afford to be.
| The black bear was killed by shot
from the hunters gun, but the albino,
though equally as good a chance was
afforded to hit it. was permitted to
hike Off into the bushes and to safety.
One day recently, while young
fellow b. the name Of Smoke was In
the woods in the same general neigh
borhood he caught sight of the white
bear snd ran all the way home, dis
tance of nearly three miles, lest the
awful apparition, as he thought 1t was,
would do him some terrible harm. He
explained that the bear was as white
as snow and looked for all the world
like the ghost of a bear, but that II
seemed not to be afraid of him, but
rather defied him when he tried tc
frighten 1t. 1t was then that he con
cluded that he was facing something
more than an ordinary denizen Of the
forest, and he hiked for home.
Curiously enough, the experience o
young Smoke has given rise to 10
of weird tales recalling the strang'
disappearance Of old and rich Johl
Rohn. several years ago, a myster!
that aroused a statewide interest be
, cause of its odd features.
The community has in it severa
families of half-breeds, white ant
negro mixed, and these are the mos
, superstitious kind Of people imagin
able. At the time of the disappear
7 ance of old man Rohn these folk tol,
of the queerest of sights and o
sounds, and of the fitting of whit
doves in the night time. and tn
" strange bawling of cows far into tn
!, night, flames leaping from the fire
y place in the Rohn mill at midnight
and lot of other trash that made @
the story one that sounded much lik
= a tale from the days of witchcraft, a
z indeed 1t might be. for these peopl
are firm believers in what drear
g books say and in the occult.
o The white bear incident has stirre
r up the old sensation Of the Rohn dil
;. appearance with lot of new theorie!
and the little settlement is wrough
up over the strange thing. But tn
0 white bear runs little chance of bein
e killed. Rather does it stand for NAL
l. ing little short of panic among th
e halfbreeds.