Rangeley Lakes

VOL. 1. RANGELEY, MAINE, THURSDAY, JANUARY 9, 1896. NO. 33. The Four Bears or Bald Mountain. cubs took up the path mightily smart. the noise she made. He thought she their grub. Shouldn’ t wonder if they’d We chased them for 40 or 50 rods, and our wrould bleed to death before she got very take a liken to you town fellow’s, you aint “ Speaking of bears, ’ ’ said Frank Walker, yelling scared them, I guess. Anyway, far.” so tough as we woodsmen are.” the local story teller, “ you ought to hear the cubs switched off and went up two “ How far was it you followed that bear, A cold chill rain over the sports at this Lon Bishop tell how he and Waite Hager trees, and when the old bear saw them go Lon?” I asked. remark and they moved nearer the fire as killed four bears on Bald Mountain five ing up, she took to a big birch and got up ' ‘Well, Ed, as near as we could figure it the aged man continued his story. “ Yes, years ago. Just you drive up to Lon’s in the branches in no time. was twelve or fifteen miles, and the woods he went straight to Bill Jones bunk and sometime and ask him to tell you a story; “What to do we did not know. It Avas wrere awful thick, I can tell you. Waite grabbed Bill by the throat or thereabouts, it’s worth the ride.” getting dark and we were five miles from had a harder time of it than I had, for he but he didnt shut off his wind for he let Frank had been telling how he caught a gun. We didn’t want to chop the trees had to keep close enough to the bear to out of him the allfiredest yell I ever three beavers last winter, and I asked him down for fear of the bears getting away hear her crashing through the bushes and heard. had to run some of the way. A t other for a bear. His reply brought to my mind and we could not drive them d?>wn any times^ the bear would stop and then he “ It brought everyone in the camp onto the four bears I had seen in the hotel office way. A t last we decided that one of us would keep perfectly still so she would his feet. I guess the Tnjuh Devil’ want about five winters ago, and of reading in would go for a rifle and it fell to me. I not start until he got his wind. He didn’ t prepared for such a resurrection of men made Waite promise to stick to the bears want to fight her again until it got iight, local paper something about how they for he knew he had made her ugly. and bedquilts, for he dropped Bill, and were killed. My wife and I drove up over anyway and started as fast as I coaid “ We gave the man that shot her the 815 got out of there in a hurry. Next morn the mountains to Lon Bishop’s home. walk for home. bounty and took the bear to the village. ing his long jumps kindly indicated that The house was little more than a few “ It took me about three hours to go Next day we brought in the yearling and the scare was mutual for he had jumped two cubs and got our bounty and the boards nailed together in any shape to and return, for the road Avas rough, and money for the meat.” sixty-two feet and some inches by exact form a roof and four sides. Lon is a gum- when I got into the woods coming back it He did not seem to think it was a bold, measurement.” mer, that is, he gathers spruce gum for was mighty dark and slippery. When I fearless thing to do to follow' a wounded Here the aged man paused to take got near the place I had left Waite I smel bear for twelve miles through the moun our girls to chew, and makes a good liv tains on a dark night, or to kill another breath and renew his quid of tobacco, ing at it. He is a short, solidly-built man, led smoke and knew that he had been mak with an axe; but I do and rather have a and one of the “ sports” ventured to ask: with face like an Indian’s and the ing himself as comfortable as he could. I rifle and daylight Avhen I go hunting. “ Did Bill die?” straight, long black hair peculiar to this came to the fire, but Waite was not there. After a trout supper Lon harnessed our “ Die!” said the aged man. “ Worse horse for us. I gave him my fly-book and race. He sells his hair for $12 every year, I had brought a lantern and commenced reel, and he said there was enough tackle than that! He was in a dead faint for he told me. to look aronnd for him. I didn’t know to last him five years. two days and ever after that he couldn’t When night finds him too far from home but what the bears had come down and His stories of bear hunts and gunning see anything that had hair oil without done him up. expeditions are as interesting as any I to return he takes his two straps and have ever heard, and the best part of it is going into a convulsion fit. hangs himself from a limb of a tree and “ In an instant I saw how it was. The I knowr they are true. “ Next morning we sent tvord to all the says he sleeps most soundly, and no cubs had started to come down and Waite E. S. P a r m e n t e r . neighboring lumber camps and settle “bars” trouble him. Lon is odd, but he had killed them with his axe before they ments and five hundred men and two hun is honest and bi'ave as the story will got to the ground. I found a splash of Indian Devil’s Tracks. dred dogs were soon in pursuit of that show. blood on the tree that the old bear went Again the Indian Devil is abroad. This ‘Injun Devil’ . Being hard pressed he “ Come into the house Ed, and you too, up, and after looking around found her time his foot prints are seen in Williaman- took refuge in a large swamp. It was- iMrs. Parmenter, and I will tell you about track and alongside of it was Waite’s. tic and Bowerbank. such a tangled thicket that no man darst the four bears and the skins of two of He had hit the old bear when she came Two “sports” from Foxcroft, just go in. We sent in the dogs but after the them to boot.” down, but did not kill her, and so was fol thirsting for his blood, started after him ‘Injun Devil’ had killed forty of them the We went in and to our surprise found lowing her over the mountain. last week. They took a team at Foxcroft rest began to grow shy. It was clear now that the room was cool and clean. Lon “ I started on a trot after him, but did and drove to Willimantic, stopping with to all of us that the swamp must be cut brought out two bear skins and told us not see him again until long after day Mr. Packard who runs the hotel at that down. We built fires all around it to pre they were taken from two of the bears light next morning. The track led over place, to gather information in regard to vent the animal from skinning out and that I am to tell you of. They were very the mountain there and down through the the whereabouts of the animal. sent men to the camp for axes. fine skins and worth 820 each, Lon said. valley, then they went north and came They didn’t have to wait long to be “ You never saw chips fly as they did After we had drank a cup of tea, to sat pretty near to the Deerfield River, then gratified. The evening succeeding their that afternoon for Ave had none too much isfy Lon. he filled his pipe, after asking back southeast again and over Bald arrival there a man came in who informed time to complete our job before dark. permission of my wife, threw himself down Mountain. When I got to Bald Moun them that the beast was near at hand; We narrowed that swamp to about a half on the bear skins on the floor and told us tain it was light enough for me to see the that he had observed its tracks in the acre before Ave caught a glimpse of that his story. track without the lantern. At three peighboring forest. “There,” said he, ‘Injun Devil.’ He Avas a terrific sight, "It was along about Thanksgiving time, places along the road I saw where the exhibiting a hand as big as a leg of mut surrounded by a breast-work of dead and there had been a pretty heavy snow bear had stopped and dug up moss to put ton with each finger extended as far from dogs, his eyes gleaming like a bull’s eye storm the day before. I had been chop in the wound Waite’s axe had given her.

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