Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-11-25

The sharp and unmiStakable crack oil
the high-power rife rattles through brake
and wood and echoes as it meets the
distant hills. The dull roar of heavily
charged shotgun. shooting single ball.
mingles with the falsetto OF the rifle and
reverberates through the valley. The
crash % guns fades away. melting into
the silence. The rich notes of the deep
'Igoated hound are hushed. Then clear
g mellow hunters horn awakes the
s, } ess. Huntsmen draw rein and stand
in , oii stirrups, immovable as statuary.
As three clear blasts break the news to a
listening. expectant camp
1t is the ST. = three blasts-abear
has been killed. There will be "b ar
meat" in camp tonight. AS the news is
flashed on the mornings breeze horsemen
put spurs to their steeds and a dash is
made for the direction of the hunters
horn One by one they crash through the
heavy Mississippi cane brake, through
tangled vines. jumping fallen logs and
DOGGY places, and draw rein with the
silent company gathered there.
It's bear great shaggy fellow. mon
arch of the forest, and he's dead Stand
ing e n / n e Like
GreaC carcass over the great car
.rH.u cass are the bear
VI 1aiien AlhS. dogs. pulling at the
fallen king, and growing savagely. Right
on top of the monster hulk, proudly
surveying the rest Of the pack about,
stands a giant hound. rough and shaggy,
tall and rangy, his great fangs grinning
defiance to all intruders of canine per-
suasion. He is the king of the fighting
dogs, and he was Sin at the DEATH When
the battle came he was at Bruins throat,
and the hunters were fast and furious
with their fire to save him. Old Shag
cared not for that, however. for fear is
no part of his makeup. Half hound,
half terrier. he is fighting dog of rar-
est courage and quality. His nose has
not the keenness of the strike" dogs
his deep notes were not heard through
out the exciting chase until near the fin
tsh and the time to fight, but Shag was
there at the end and when the rest of
the pack snapped at the shanks and
the hooks of the bear at bay Shag was
at his throat with a hold that knew no
ioosening till death brought the parting.
Did you ever see bear ahead Of the
MOUNDS, going through cane brake or
thick scope of forest and underbrush?
DID you ever hear one, then, if you
haven't seen him? Strange as 1t may
Seem, big bear can outrun a pack of
dogs at first through thick cover. Shaped
like wedge, with his nose the edge
or point. the bear tapers out until ne
reaches his full bulk at the .rump. Strong
as an OK, it is no wonder TINS strength
enables his wedge-shaped bulk to part
brake and underground with ease Again,
big bear coming at full speed is cal
culated to make one very nervous to
put 1T mildly, for the noise is not unlike
the rushing of a heavy freight train.
Nothing stops a black bear in flight.
\ :.
Ruf presently tho praaf fallovr iou;pc RI
tire. Black bears are always fat. for
they are hearty
Hearty Feeder feeders. AS he
and Always Fat. ha VIM I nso1 n .
rows the space between them The mu-
sic of the hounds increases in volume,
cavernous notes of old fShag and the
ing the pack, unable to keep up, but
have now seen the bear, and here is
where they get into the game.
The music changes. There are new
sounds. discordant notes in the melody.
1t is broken up. The regular tongueing,i
has hushed and in it's stead are heard the
short, sharp yelps of flghting dogs. Deep
ing dogs alike join in the bedlam, and
now and then a hound gives a yelp of
pain. 1t is unmistakable. The chase
has stopped abruptly. Old Bruin. tired,
vines. has stopped to fight. and the med
ley of snarling, growing and yelping tells
the hunters around that the fight is on.
They must hurry. Every moment
counts. for the bear is mauling the dogs,
and good bear dogs are hard to get.
Each rider puts spurs to his horse and
makes for the scene of the fight as rap
idly as the heavy cover will permit. 1t
is free-for-all, and the lucky man wins.
No ceremony in this. The first one there
gets the shot. for delay is fatal-to bear
dogs-when the fight is in progress. Two
or three are lucky and reach an over
flow about the same time. There, in full
view, is old Bruin, backed near a giant
tree. reared on his launches and fight
ing savagely. All about are the hounds,
snarling and swapping. and Bruin, watch
ing his chances, is mauling the more VEN
turesome ones, sending them spinning
with vicious cuffs from his ponderous
paws.
1t is over in a moment for what chance
has any living thing against modern
high-power rifles
Battle Exciting, when shooting the
But Soon Over. room "'s bullet et The
sham battle is brief and exciting. and,
bleeding and torn. great bear lies dead
in the leaves. The bear dogs fight one an
other now in arguing hound supremacy.
But there is. another moment for the
hunter who follows the hounds that
causes the heart to beat fast and every !
fiber of his being to thrill. This time the |
deer pack is out, a drive is being made. +!
and long line of deer hunters has been |
stationed across the forest along the ac !
customed run" Miles and miles the !
master of hounds piloted the pack before |
cutting them aloose, away to the south, |
for the drive" was to be to the north.
Throughout all times poets and his |
torians have told Of the stag and the !
hounds, and from earliest times to hunt |
the deer was TO hunt with hounds. A |
hound would rather run a deer than any
other animal, as a matter of fact, for a |
fresh and hot deer scent nearly runs a !
hound crazy. A deer gives off two kinds |
of scent-a strong body scent, and a |
breath scent as well-the latter resulting |,
from It's browsing on bushes and shrub |
berry. Today, as in the long ago, the real |
deer hunt is with the hounds.
AS the hunters on the stands wait in |
silence the stiffness of the forest is brok- |
en-. There Is a (
Chorus Of Exultant, roar, for old 10
NJ has struck the |
AsAA6AA6 IA scent and opens |
up. 1t is fresh and hot, and the others |
take it up 1t is one chorus Of exultant |