The Wrangell sentinel., 1922-07-06
Bears Dev0ur
 Beaver Skins
Make Off With a Considerable Part Of Seasons Catch of Nick Neck
 em and Heine Berger

Nick Meckem. Heine Berger and Joe Schulte arrived in Valdez this week from the Klutina Lake dis trict, where they have been trapping for several months past, bringing in with them a fair catch, principally of beaver.
 In the case of Meckem and Berger, their seasons work would have net ted them considerable more had it not been for the bears of the Klutina section, who displayed a remarkable appetite for beaver skins to. the ex- clusion of cheaper diet.
 Early in the winter Meckem and Berger, who were trapping pgether, established their main head quarters in a cabin at St. Anne creek, on the north side of Klutina lar where they stored their main suppl, of gruD. Later they established another camp in cabin on the Klutina rivG, above the head of the lake, About the middle of May they left the cabin at St. Anne, and went up the Klutina, and had a small camp about five miles above their cabin on the river One evening on returning to their camp they found that a bear had vis- ited it during their absencerAnd had made off with twenty eight beaver skins which they had rolled up in the bedding, leaving the grub untouched They followed the tracks of the ma Irauder, and finally recovered-sixteen of the skins, number of which, how ever were damaged. Feeling sure the bear would again visit the camp, MT. Meckem took his rifle to bed
 
 with him that nigh and sure enough about four o'clock in the morning MT. Bruin showed up, and was greet ed by bullet which laid him low He turned out to be a brown bear fat and in prime condition, and his flesh furnished a number of very toothsome meals. while his hide was added to the seasons catch of furs.
 Later in going down the river to their cabin, they discovered that a bear had visited there, and had made off with the skins of three beavers, two mix and two ermine, and had not disturbed the grub there. No trace of these skins could be found.
 This was not the end of their af- flictions, for on returning to their cabin at St. Anne creek they found that bear or bears had visited there with most disastrous results, for ev- Ierything in the way of food was gone, the dishes and cooking utensils badly battered and smashed, and every thing generally wrecked. On leav- ing the place in May they had not only secured the door, but as fur ther precaution against the raids of predatory animals, had nailed up the window. The boards were gone from the window, and on a protrud- ing nail was a lock of hair left by the visitor which identified him or her as one of the black variety
 In the cabin they fou~ note from a man stating that he had vis- ited the cabin on May 18th, about four days after Berger had left there, and stating that bear had been in the cabin and had eaten some of the grub, and that he had re-nailed the boards over the window. Their ab- sence demonstrated that the bear had made several visits to the place. Practically everything eatable had been devoured except a portion of a sack of flour, which was saved from the wreckage, and this constituted the menu of the trappers for eight days, until they reached Copper Gen. ter.
 The cabin had been well stocked with provisions, as it had been the intention of Messrs Meckem and Der ger to spend the summer in prospect ing in that neighborhood, and the loss is a heavy one.-Valdez Miner.