Beautiful Joe [74]
a nice, retired spot, and
there he'd sit down and skin that sheep just like a butcher. He'd gorge himself
with the meat, and in the morning we'd find the other sheep that he'd torn, and
we'd vow vengeance against that bear. He'd be almost sure to come back for more,
so for a while after that we always put the sheep in the barn at nights and set
a trap by the remains of the one he had eaten.
"Everybody hated bears, and hadn't much pity for them; still they were only
getting their meat as other wild animals do, and we'd no right to set such cruel
traps for them as the steel ones. They had a clog attached to them, and had
long, sharp teeth. We put them on the ground and strewed leaves over them, and
hung up some of the carcass left by the bear near by. When he attempted to get
this meat, he would tread on the trap, and the teeth would spring together, and
catch him by the leg. They always fought to get free. I once saw a bear that had
been making a desperate effort to get away. His leg was broken, the skin and
flesh were all torn away, and he was held by the tendons. It was a foreleg that
was caught, and he would put his hind feet against the jaws of the trap, and
then draw by pressing with his feet, till he would stretch those tendons to
their utmost extent.
"I have known them to work away till they really pulled these tendons out of the
foot, and got off. It was a great event in our neighborhood when a bear was
caught. Whoever caught him blew a horn, and the men and boys came trooping
together to see the sight. I've known them to blow that horn on a Sunday
morning, and I've seen the men turn their backs on the meeting house to go and
see the bear."
"Was there no more merciful way of catching them than by this trap?" asked Miss
Laura.
"Oh, yes, by the deadfall that is by driving heavy sticks into the ground, and
making a boxlike place, open on one side, where two logs were so arranged with
other heavy logs upon them, that when the bear seized the bait, the upper log
fell down and crushed him to death. Another way was to fix a bait in a certain
place, with cords tied to it, which cords were fastened to triggers of guns
placed at a little distance. When the bear took the bait, the guns went off, and
he shot himself.
"Sometimes it took a good many bullets to kill them. I remember one old fellow
that we put eleven into, before he keeled over. It was one fall, over on Pike's
Hill. The snow had come earlier than usual, and this old bear hadn't got into
his den for his winter's sleep. A lot of us started out after him. The hill was
covered with beech trees, and he'd been living all the fall on the nuts, till
he'd got as fat as butter. We took dogs and worried him, and ran him from one
place to another, and shot at him, till at last he dropped. We took his meat
home, and had his skin tanned for a sleigh robe.
"One day I was in the woods, and looking through the trees espied a bear. He was
standing up on his hind legs, snuffing in every direction, and just about the
time I espied him, he espied me. I had no dog and no gun, so I thought I had
better be getting home to my dinner. I was a small boy then, and the bear,
probably thinking I'd be a mouthful for him anyway, began to come after me in a
leisurely way. I can see myself now going through those woods hat gone, jacket
flying, arms out, eyes rolling over my shoulder every little while to see if the
bear was gaining on me. He was a benevolent-looking old fellow, and his face
seemed to say, 'Don't hurry, little boy.' He wasn't doing his prettiest, and I
soon got away from him, but I made up my mind then, that it was more fun to be
the chaser than the chased.
"Another time I was out in our cornfield, and hearing a rustling, looked through
the stalks, and saw a brown bear with two cubs. She was slashing down the corn
with her paws to get at the ears. She smelled me, and getting frightened. began
to run. I had a dog with me this time, and shouted and rapped on the fence,
there he'd sit down and skin that sheep just like a butcher. He'd gorge himself
with the meat, and in the morning we'd find the other sheep that he'd torn, and
we'd vow vengeance against that bear. He'd be almost sure to come back for more,
so for a while after that we always put the sheep in the barn at nights and set
a trap by the remains of the one he had eaten.
"Everybody hated bears, and hadn't much pity for them; still they were only
getting their meat as other wild animals do, and we'd no right to set such cruel
traps for them as the steel ones. They had a clog attached to them, and had
long, sharp teeth. We put them on the ground and strewed leaves over them, and
hung up some of the carcass left by the bear near by. When he attempted to get
this meat, he would tread on the trap, and the teeth would spring together, and
catch him by the leg. They always fought to get free. I once saw a bear that had
been making a desperate effort to get away. His leg was broken, the skin and
flesh were all torn away, and he was held by the tendons. It was a foreleg that
was caught, and he would put his hind feet against the jaws of the trap, and
then draw by pressing with his feet, till he would stretch those tendons to
their utmost extent.
"I have known them to work away till they really pulled these tendons out of the
foot, and got off. It was a great event in our neighborhood when a bear was
caught. Whoever caught him blew a horn, and the men and boys came trooping
together to see the sight. I've known them to blow that horn on a Sunday
morning, and I've seen the men turn their backs on the meeting house to go and
see the bear."
"Was there no more merciful way of catching them than by this trap?" asked Miss
Laura.
"Oh, yes, by the deadfall that is by driving heavy sticks into the ground, and
making a boxlike place, open on one side, where two logs were so arranged with
other heavy logs upon them, that when the bear seized the bait, the upper log
fell down and crushed him to death. Another way was to fix a bait in a certain
place, with cords tied to it, which cords were fastened to triggers of guns
placed at a little distance. When the bear took the bait, the guns went off, and
he shot himself.
"Sometimes it took a good many bullets to kill them. I remember one old fellow
that we put eleven into, before he keeled over. It was one fall, over on Pike's
Hill. The snow had come earlier than usual, and this old bear hadn't got into
his den for his winter's sleep. A lot of us started out after him. The hill was
covered with beech trees, and he'd been living all the fall on the nuts, till
he'd got as fat as butter. We took dogs and worried him, and ran him from one
place to another, and shot at him, till at last he dropped. We took his meat
home, and had his skin tanned for a sleigh robe.
"One day I was in the woods, and looking through the trees espied a bear. He was
standing up on his hind legs, snuffing in every direction, and just about the
time I espied him, he espied me. I had no dog and no gun, so I thought I had
better be getting home to my dinner. I was a small boy then, and the bear,
probably thinking I'd be a mouthful for him anyway, began to come after me in a
leisurely way. I can see myself now going through those woods hat gone, jacket
flying, arms out, eyes rolling over my shoulder every little while to see if the
bear was gaining on me. He was a benevolent-looking old fellow, and his face
seemed to say, 'Don't hurry, little boy.' He wasn't doing his prettiest, and I
soon got away from him, but I made up my mind then, that it was more fun to be
the chaser than the chased.
"Another time I was out in our cornfield, and hearing a rustling, looked through
the stalks, and saw a brown bear with two cubs. She was slashing down the corn
with her paws to get at the ears. She smelled me, and getting frightened. began
to run. I had a dog with me this time, and shouted and rapped on the fence,