Bear Facts: the History and Folklore of Island Bears Part Two
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Folklore Bear Facts: The History and Folklore of Island Bears Part Two A handmade wooden toy pits man (?) against bear — too often the case on Prince by Jim Hornby Edward Island. In Part One of "Bear Facts/' which groups for protection against bears. An none have been seen . and it was featured in Issue 22 (Fall-Winter, 1836 visitor to Morell stated, "Bears was generally believed that they 1987), Jim Hornby treated readers to a are said to be frequently seen in this had disappeared entirely. history of the black bear on Prince neighbourhood." In 1862, the Guardian Edward Island. In the conclusion to his recorded that "Bears are becoming very The actual shooting had occurred on study, Hornby chronicles the passing numerous and exceedingly troublesome February 7, 1927. The late Bernard of Ursus americanus in the province, east of Souris." Even near the turn of Leslie of Souris Line Road was 16 when and examines its long afterlife in the century, bears were reported only he and his 18-year-old brother, George, Island folklore. as "gradually becoming scarcer" in the hunted and killed the bear. George Dundas area. noticed the tracks where the bear had The extinction of the bear on Prince crossed the north end of Souris Line Forgotten But N o t Gon e Edward Island was explained, a bit Road, heading east by Hainey's Brook. prematurely, by a commentator in 1900: Bernard told me the story. "A thaw espite their large size (even the "The forests have fallen before the came, a February thaw, and the bear Dvolume of their breath could give woodsman's axe. Bruin has also dis- pulled out of his den going to make them away as they hibernated in snow- appeared." This extinction, while inev- another quarters for himself." The next covered dens), and the constant en- itable, was so slow that a National morning the Leslie boys waited until croachment of civilization on their Museum of Canada publication would their father left for Souris: "We didn't ranges, Island bears could feel, with cautiously state as late as 1958 that the tell him 'cause he'd ruin the whole Mark Twain, that reports of their death black bear "is now believed to be extinct thing on us; he'd have to come." They were greatly exaggerated during the on the [I]sland, although from time to armed themselves with two 12-gauge 19th century. In 1806, John Stewart time reports are received of animals shotguns: a n old bolt-action and a newer wrote that "in less than half a century, having been seen." double-barreled. Aside from some buck- I have no doubt but the bears will be shot, their ammunition was one shell, entirely extirpated." John MacGregor into which they put a 3A inch ball bear- wrote in 1828 that "they are now much Last B e a r Hunt ing. Then the chase was on. reduced in number and rarely met Bernard Leslie described the hunt: with"; 11 years later, S. S. Hill opined The Evening Patriot's headline for that "they will soon disappear." In February 8,1927 - "Large Black Bear We tracked that bear from 9 o'clock the 1850s, Isabella Lucy Bird, author Shot at Souris Line Road" —marked in the morning and it was one of The English Woman in America, the last killing of a bear on Prince o'clock in the afternoon before we observed that "Bears, which used to be Edward Island. In the next edition, the found him. We walked through a great attraction to the more adventur- editor of the Patriot remarked on the the woods with no track, just fol- ous class of sportsman, are, however, surprising persistence of the animal, so lowed the bear's track. Into bushes rapidly disappearing"; but since the often thought to be extinct: and thickets — you wouldn't know lady spent most of her Island visit in but you'd meet the bear in the Charlottetown, we can be certain only Some of the older people have thicket. And there was snow came that the animals avoided city streets. been much interested in the report that night, about three inches of Other observers disagreed with the of a bear being found abroad in snow. You'd have to crouch down prophets of imminent extinction. As the province at this late date. to get through the thickets you late as the 1830s, city folk gathered at They remember when they were know. And we walked and walked. the foot of Gallows Hill, now the corner boys of hearing of bears in the At last we came to a place . of Euston and University Streets, before woods. Indeed, we all remember and here was the bear. He was on heading west; they wanted to travel in the stories ... but for many years a little hill, but we could see him 27 breathing, we could see his body Larry-donk-dow, Larry-larry-dow. more recent appearances on record. going up and down under the When it came time to feed the per- Successors to the dancing bears occa- snow. He was sleeping, see. He'd former, the showman would strap the sionally have been brought here for camped there for the night and bear's legs together, remove the muz- shows, such as during Old Home Week. slept. He broke some boughs and zle, and bruin could enjoy its repast." Sometimes, too, the consequences can made a little bed for himself. So Another dancing bear had a grisly be grisly. In early October 1984, a black Geordie took the first shot with meal after performing at Brackley bear brought to the Island for "wres- the ball [bearing] cartridge, and Beach in 1874. Its master charged the tling" exhibitions bit off parts of fin- he's about 15 feet from him when substantial sum of 10 cents to see it gers of two young men who entered the he fired. The bear was lying on dance: "The man played a mouth organ ring with it in Tyne Valley. his right side and it got him as the bear sort of kept time to the through the left hip. And that music, then as the dance ended the ball came up through his hip and keeper asked for something to feed the Poem, Song, Recitation cut the jugular vein going out the bear." The man was later found killed side of his neck. That's what fixed by his bear on the Mill Road, and is Though (presumably) no longer with the bear. said to be buried at Brackley. The bear, us, Island bears have been celebrated The bear jumped up on his hind having broken its chain, was shot by in a number of expressive forms. Among feet then, and snarled and roared Charles Gregor. these are a poem, a poem/recitation, and jumped a bit, and then he lay Performing bears were not confined and a folksong. down, he fell down with weakness to the 19th century. There are many The poem "Bear Hunt," too lengthy I guess. So Geordie took the gun from me and he stepped up closer with the buckshot. And the buck- shot never went through the bugger's hide. But the ball really was the one that killed him." J*%\ The brothers skinned their prize on the spot, using only pocket knives, and 4*#; . C MMnfefe brought the skin home in triumph. The carcass, weighing over four hundred pounds, was later boiled to render the grease — a smelly business, Bernard recalled. They were asked to send a firkin of bear grease to England, for which they happily received $14. Ber- nard Leslie wasn't sure the English- man got the results he wanted from the grease: "I don't know if it makes hair grow or not. I don't think it did." Dancing Bears Although wild bears have dominated 1 the story of their species on Prince Edward Island, no account of Ursus americanus would be complete without M. \\ a reference to dancing bears, an ancient ^m if rather seedy form of entertainment offered here by itinerant showmen for many years. The earliest Island refer- ence in print may be the curiously exotic passenger list from the Royal Gazette in 1830, announcing that the Pictou packet had arrived in Charlotte- town with (besides eight other pas- sengers) "a company of French Rope Dancers, a Female Preacher, and a Dancing Bear." With the number of j. y*"£J>«ij bears resident on the Island at this time i t seems odd that they were brought in for amusement, but perhaps the local bears were too busy avoiding the local Nimrods to spare time for dancing. William D. Johnston remembered seeing a dancing bear with its master in Montague. They "travelled from Curious bystanders look on as a dancing bear, muzzled and chained, strikes a pose place to place exhibiting bruin's ability with his handlers in 1890s Charlottetown. to waltz to his trainer's tune of Larry, 28 apologized to a bear before killing him. 'Excuse me, my lord Mokowa,' he would say, 'not my will but circumstances over which I have no control compel me to do it.' This was to prevent being haunted by the animal's ghost." In addition to this spirit belief, Indians told Hunter-Duvar several tall tales about bears. One was that an Indian had fallen on "a sleeping bear that started up and angrily exclaimed 'where the deuce are you coming to' or words to that effect." Another Indian told Hunter-Duvar of seeing in the woods "two bears sitting on their haunches and laughing consumedly at some joke that one had told to the other." A modern bear joke associated with Island Micmacs runs as follows: "A school asked the chief to speak on 'How Indians caught the bear.' He said, they dug a hole beside a big tree, filled it half full of ashes, put boughs on top.