OHIO STATEWIDE FILES - The Ohio Hunter [Chapter 20] ************************************************************************ USGENWEB ARCHIVES(tm) NOTICE Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgenwebarchives.org ************************************************************************** File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by Sara Grimes McBeth saramcb@socket.net June 22, 2005 ************************************************************************** ON THE MINK TRACK 201 CHAPTER XX. MY FRIEND HOLTS AND I GO MINK HUNTING, AC- CIDENTALLY DISCOVER, BEAR TRACKS~ UNEX- PECTED GOOD FORTUNE--CAPTURE A BEAR WORTH SIXTY DOLLARS--ANOTHER LUCKY TRIP--SIT DOWN AND TAKE OUR DINNER WHILE WAITING FOR THE DOGS TO RETURN FROM A CHASE THEY COME PURSUING A MONSTER TWO-YEAR-0LD BEAR IN the last chapter, there was frequent reference made to man by the name of Holts, of Seneca County, who had come into our country for the purpose of hunting. I will now give you the details of another expedition in which he was my partner. Mr. Holts was a very systematic man, and hunted by rule, as well as ate, slept, talked, laughed, etc., according to system. At this time we were mink hunting. Our company consisted of my two sons, Mr. Holts, myself, and four dogs. We started early in the morning, and very soon caught two mink, and then came upon the tracks of two more leading in opposite directions. Myself and one son, with two of' the dogs, followed one track, and Mr. Holts, with my other son pursued the other. While tracking the mink, I discovered a large tree deeply indented with the claws of a bear, and upon close ob- 202 THE OHIO HUNTER servation, I discovered they had been made in an upward direction, and settled upon the conclusion that the bear was still in the tree. I hallooed to Mr. Holts, who immediately left the mink track and came where I was. All inferior game was immediately lost sight of when such things as bear were to be considered. Mr. H. and myself were very much elated at our unexpected good fortune, and we went to work immediately to cut the tree. We surrounded the spot where the top would fall, with our dogs. Just as soon as the tree fell, out jumped a very cross female bear,. She started for a chase, but the dogs soon brought her to a halt. We saw that she was more than a match for the dogs, and fired at, her head. But she being actively engaged with the dogs in a fight; our chances for doing her much injury in that manner were small. She did not in the least relax her efforts to regain her freedom; but the opposing force was a little too strong for her. Although the dogs kept her at bay, I saw that she was injuring them seriously. Mr. H. approached quite near, and continued pouring the balls into her head. I did not carry a gun that day, but before the fight was ended found myself no less serviceable as axman; for this important auxiliary was brought into requisition before the contest was finished. At last she made a grab at, Prince, my favorite dog, that had suffered so severely in fight with the old A BRILLIANT SUCCESS 203 residenter; but through the assistance of the other dogs, he at length got free. I then thought it best to interfere. Prince caught her by the hind foot, and I planted the blade of the ax deeply in her brain. This caused her to yield a passive obedience to our wishes. The dogs were all hurt some, part of them seriously injured, but none mortally. The dogs, especially Prince, were so exultant over their brilliant success, as to be apparently unconscious of their suffering. We rejoiced together over our good luck, for the bear was a very large one, --covered on the ribs with six inches of solid fat. It yielded us twenty gallons of oil, and netted sixty dollars. At another time my brother-in-law, myself and oldest son, who was when a man grown, went out for the purpose of' hunting bear. We had four large dogs and one long-legged fyst. We were following a bear track, when suddenly our dogs started after something in a different direction from the way the bear was going. We saw some deer in the way, and concluded they were after them; accordingly we followed them for some distance, when one dog returned, and the other went on out of our hearing. We sat down on a log, and took some grub out of our knapsacks, and ate our dinners, as it was about noon. We still thought they were after deer, and that Prince had been led away from the path of duty by his inexperienced companions, who were in the majority. 204 THE OHIO HUNTER We concluded not to follow them; for deer seemed a poor object on which to expend strength, where bear were to be hunted. So we sat down to await their return, I concluding in my own mind to whip Prince for his folly. Soon we heard the tramping in the distance, and I told the boys we would head them and catch the deer. All eyes were strained to their utmost to watch for deer, when to our utter astonishment there appeared before us a huge bear, running at the top of its speed, pursued, about forty rods in the rear, by the dogs. While passing us at this speed I shot him, wounding him seriously in the fore leg, The dog that was with us halted him, and the rest soon came to his assistance. Most of the number were rather green, having never been in a bear chase before, and we concluded that was as favorable an opportunity as any for breaking them in. We did not shoot the bear again as we might have done, and thus have put an end to the sport, but set the dogs upon it, and stood by to watch their tact and energy. We soon became satisfied that they were not wanting in either, and we left them to finish the fight alone. At first we thought him only a yearling, but subsequent observations proved him to be two years old. You remember I spoke in the beginning of the chapter of a long-legged fyst; he was in all the chase, yet came out in the rear at its close; but TAKEN BY STRATEGY 205 finally he came up to where the dogs had the bear at bay. As soon as he saw the bear, he approached from the rear and jumped upon his back. The bear reached up with the uninjured paw and grabbed the poor fellow, and threw him quite a distance; then the other dogs clinched him, and a desperate fight ensued, the ground being literally drenched in blood. But a few feet from the scene of carnage a small tree was lodged, the upper part being about ten feet from the ground. The bear having effected his escape from the dogs, sprang up the higher part of this tree, quite out of their reach. They looked at him a moment revengefully, then Prince, who was always good in designing expedients in bear fighting, went to the lower end of the tree, and walked deliberately up to his antagonist. We attracted the bear's attention during the maneuvers, so that he was not aware of Prince's approach until he grabbed him, and being taken so unexpectedly, he made a very unceremonious descent to the ground. I was so pleased with Prince's strategem, that I thought to save him future trouble in the matter, and drew my pistol and shot hit foe. Upon examination, we found the bear to be two years old. and of immense size for that age. Our dogs were badly hurt in the fight, but not mortally wounded.