The coastland times. [volume] (Mnateo [i.e. Manteo], N.C.) 1947-1959, 1953-04-17
ALWAYS GIVE A BEAR
BENEFIT OF DOUBT

Don't take chances on a bear.
He may change his mind. Twice
this winter l have had encounters
with bears. The second one last
week proved costly. The first bear
cost nothing. l was coming home
about $3.50 Thursday night after
having been to Belhaven, and
thinking about the good dinner |
had just enjoyed at the Engelhard
Rotary Club when l saw this bear
we'll ahead of me in the road. l
slowed down which later proved
fortunate perhaps, and when | got
almost up to the bear, which was in
the middle of the road, he turned
to the westward, apparently get
ting out of my way. When he got
below the line of my headlights,
he must have changed his mind, or
got confused by the lights, for he
bumped smack into my left head
lamp, and it was quite a jolt. A
300-pound he-bear can do a lot of
damage.
l backed up where my remain
ing light could shine on him, and
noted after few brief kicks, the
bear was still. He must have got
ten quite a lick on the head Dol
phus Ambrose, late of the Army,
and his brother came along, but
we couldn't lift that old timber bear
off the ground.
If would be nice il i had his
hide made into a rug for the cold
winter ahead of US this year, but 1t
was not to be. | reported him to
Game Warden Stanford White of
Manns Harbor who put him in cold
storage in case some nearby prison
camp might want him for a bear
be-cue.
While l have seen many bears
along this road, U. S. 264, at night,
1 have only gotten close to two.
Earlier in the winter | saw some
lights flashing in the road at the
Otter Creek curve, five miles above
Engelhard and which | took to be
the reflection in the eyes of an an
imal. So l slowed down and finally
came to a complete stop within
five feet of a big old bear, who
then turned and waddled leisurely
off the road.
1t is no uncommon sight to see
deer on this road. 1t is an inter
esting sight, for deer leaps across
/ the road and into bushes with both
agility and grace. | have seen
foxes, coons, opossums, offers and
minks on this road on numerous
occasions.
U. S. 264 continues to present
an increasingly attractive picture,
now that the fields are we'll plowed,
and in many places green crops
are springing up. Roadside and
pastures are green. Improvements
to homes continue. More paint and
better fences seem to follow the
constantly increasing traffic that
comes over this road. And it is nice
to note that many new homes of
modern type are being erected.
The roads in Importance as tou-
rist traffic follows it. 1t is growing
more important that something be
done to get this road widened, par
ticularly now between Swan Quar-
ter and Washington. First thing we
know, traffic will be so heavy on it
that all drivers will be handicap
ped when the delay to be occas-
Toned in widening it will create
quite a hardship. 1t would be far
better now to get it widencd than
to wait until traffic is so heavy as
to become burdensome to all con-
cerned-7entailing necessary cost as
we'll as danger to both the stata
and the travelling public.
1t will be remembered that this
road was built more than a quarter
of century ago, designed for the
traffic of that day when the model
T Ford was the most prevalent car
on the road. Trucks had not come
into general use for heavy haul
ing. But now trucks are hauling
logs and lumber, soybeans and
corn, fertilizer and merchandise in
huge trailers wide and long and of
dimensions then undreamed of.
1t seems mighty important that