The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1919-11-03
DOVER BEAR HUNT
DESCRIBED D BY 8
SPECIAL CRITICS
Two Hundred Hunters Out and
all Bears In
NO HUNTERS WE'RE KILLED
Hunt Was Great Success in All Ar
rangements Except for Catching
Bear

Nearly two hundred hunters. would
be hunters and others, undertook al
4 old fashioned bear hunt in Dover
ad Wardsboro Saturday. Four bears
have already been killed in this sec
tion since the first of October and
Others have been seen.
The hunt Saturday was favored by
good weather and attracted people
from all over southern Vermont, New
Hampshire and Massachusetts. Fol
lowing are three accounts of the
hunt. The first is by Frank p Sibley
war correspondent of the Boston
Globe. Mr. Sibley carried field glass
but no rifle and kicked at the lack OF
sidewalks over the SUBMITS of the
Green Mountains and also because OF
the scarcity of rocking chairs at
junction points.
BY Frank p. SibIey
Brattleboro, Nov Kern Adams
of this town is in the hands of the
jury tonight, On his say-so, the first
organized bear hunt since 1880 was
pulled off today in Dover and Wards
boro two towns lying northwest of
here, A hundred and twenty-five
hunters turned out.
Score-Hunters, 125--Bears, 0.
Kern Adams was once a resident of
Z !, Ia,
there for a visit and learned that
many farmers had been missing sheep
and we're laying the loss to predacious
bears, 1t appears. according to the
local naturalists that by looking al a
sheep you can tell what ate 1t. If it
was bob cat the sheep was simply
eaten, if it was bear. he will have
rolled up the sleeps hide The bear
invariably betrays himself by this
naive idiosyncracy.
Forty-five rolled up pelts have been
found recently and at Mr.. Adams urg
ing the hunt was put on. The story
got into the local papers. Correspon-
dents picked it up and sent it out and
didn't minimize it any. And advertis-
ing brings results.
The cars came humping up to Pot
ter Place in Wardsboro and the Sher-
man Place in East Dover. At Wards
boro Leon Stocker was the captain.
because he is a huntsman of renown.
The same reputation is carried by c.;
II. Turner at Dover.
Partenthetically it may be stated,
that whatever he Is as a hutnsman,
bp &c oI bnt. of wind gto ft,o
The Globe reporter chose to follow
Capt. Turner. The captain elected to
follow the ridge of White Hill.
White hill is 2230 feet high, clothed
with beech on its slopes and coated
with a loose and slippery carpet of
fallen leaves On top it is mostly
spruce-coyered, with many iutting
ledges under which bears are suppos-
ed to be found. Every tree pokes out
stiff and deadly branches at the eyes
every ledge is skin-barker and every
messy spot leg breaking trap.
Capt Turner started up road
which presently turned into a squirrel
track and ran up tree He left the
road at this point and though his
beard is gray, he went up that noun
tain at pace difficult to follow.
The Wardsbringians, it should be
explained, took the trenches in the
and the Doverites under
took to drive the bears up to them.
After luncheon, the process was re-
versed. The receiving lines stood
along a wood road, and the driving
line went round Signal Hill and came
to them.
Late in the afternoon it was rumor-
ed that one man had shot a fox.
valued at $15 Another shot a hedge
hog and still aonther murdered a hedge
hog with a club. Still another man
slew a snowy owl and a young and
hunter told the Globe re-
porter on the way home that if he
saw another jack rabbit he was going
to shoot him.
Just as the luncheon hour big
hawk sailed over, and more highpow
er bullets from expensive firearms
were sent after him than that bird
vii lever hear again. No damage.
In it's legal aspects the hunt was in
charge of E. H. Metcalf, the burly
State Game Warden of West Brattle-
boro. He began early this morning
by insisting that every person who
went on the hunt must have a hunt
er's license Even if he hadn't a gun,
he must have a license,
But raised hell with him. said
a hunter How was he to prevent
me if | took an ak and said / was go
in chopin?
"Oh," said Mr. Metcalf good-naur
edly to half dozen reporters who were
having their fates decided "A spec
totor doesn't need a license. That
rule was just to keep outsiders from
in free and hunting"
The hunt started. Now White Hill
towers up over Henry Sherman's
farm like brown wall Mr.. Metcalf
led a party off to the left flank round
to hill. Mr.. Adams went off up the
right flank over the Juniper bushes