Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Hunters Journal WEB June, 10
Hunters Journal WEB June, 10
717-692-4759
717-692-4759
MAJOR CREDIT CARDS ACCEPTED!
June/July 2010 PAGE 1
I’m not quite sure how this is happening, but as I grow Fax # 215-240-7955
older time begins to pass faster and faster. If there was Email Address
just some way to slow it down,..somebody please tell me. info@thehuntersjournal.com
It seems like only a few issues ago we were talking about
our spring planting of food plots, mineral licks and the Reproduction or use of editorial or
graphic content (for other than personal
great hunts we had during spring turkey season. Well use) without written permission of the
guess what?.....in the blink of an eye an entire year has publisher is prohibited.
Information for this publication is
passed and it is time to begin our spring rituals again. I gathered from other sources believed
hope everyone has enjoyed a safe spring turkey season. to be reliable, but the accuracy of the
information is not guaranteed and the
We had one of our best ever here in central PA. During publisher cannot be responsible for er-
this past spring turkey season I was able to witness first rors or omissions.
The annual subscription rate is
hand the fruits of our labor on our food plots. We had $20.00 for residents of USA, residents of
large amounts of birds picking the clover every morning Canada, and other countries may write
for a quote. Single issues, when avail-
and most mornings we could watch several deer eating able, are $4.95 each.
the chicory and clovers that we planted. I couldn’t help
but think as I watched those deer eat that 20% plus pro- Subscriptions/
tein meal,…where would they be, or what would they be Advertising
eating if we hadn’t planted that? It was very obvious at 877-278-1090
that very moment that food plots are so much more than Hunter’s Journal
just getting the animals there to hunt in the fall. We are P.O. Box 127
putting them on such a quality diet without them even Millersburg, PA 17061
knowing it. In our area there are lots of corn and bean
Hunter’s Journal is published eight
fields, but not much of the green fields,…naturally they times per year by Hunters Journal
only use the corn and beans seasonally, so our high im- Publication, Hunter’s Journal, P.O. Box
127, Millersburg, PA 17061-9509. Single
pact food plots do a great job on holding game all year copy price $4.95 or $20.00 per year. Ap-
round. I also know that it is no accident that we harvested plication to mail at periodicals postage
rates is pending at Millersburg, PA 17061
some of the largest turkeys we ever did off of our hunting and other additional mailing offices.
POSTMASTER: Send address changes
area. They simply have the proper food to grow. Now to Hunter’s Journal, P.O. Box 127, Mill-
couple that with the proper management of the resource ersburg, PA 17061-9509.
and you will have a hunting area to be proud of.
I encourage everyone to do something for wildlife,… Publication Issues
far to often we take, take and take some more without • January, 2010
• February, 2010
the thought of putting back. We can make a difference,… • April/May, 2010
positive or negative for our future generations,…..and the • June/July, 2010
spring time is the best time to do it. What will you do? • August/September, 2010
• October, 2010
• November, 2010
Pat • December, 2010
PAGE 2 June/July 2010
HUNTER’S JOURNAL
Features
MAGAZINE
3 FUR SIGN - A story of two boys trying to make their way on the trap line
(CONTINUED STORY)
20 FOR WANT OF A BONE - This fall Ace Demers plans to go to British Columbia to search
for a piece of bone - a fragment from the base of a grizzly bear’s skull. The quest will be concentrated in
the wild regions of Mt. Baldface in the Itcha Mountains. Seems like looking for a needle in a haystack, but Demers
believes he knows just where that hunk of skull is. His reasons for wanting to find it are explained in this story.
30 FLESH AND ROCK - What if he were to take alarm and come pounding up the narrow trail to
which I clung
33 ON A LIGHTER NOTE
Need A Good Laugh!!! Check “The Funnies”
34 CURRENT NEWS
Read interesting articles of what’s happening in the world of hunting
40 BLIND BAYOU - It’s true what they say about rainbows!” my son Lowell called to me from
across the narrow river. On a rock by his side lay three rainbow trout weighing up to two pounds
apiece. And he’d been in that spot only fifteen minutes.
46 FAMILY HUNT FOR ALASKA BROWNIES - My first bullet knocked the bear
flat, but he scrambled to his feet quickly and came along the beach for us. I knew it was now or never!
52 CORNFIELD FORKTAILS - The woods reeked as the old codger threaded his giant
hook with a little piece of something brown
56 THE THREE BEARS - In a mood of ugly surprise, the huge beast heaved erect and let go a
murderous growl
62 THE BLACK GHOST - As the reign of terror spread, farmers set up watches over their
Sheep
66 HOGS A-RUNNIN’ -
The boar was behind me! I wheeled in a rouch and got off a quick shot
72 RECIPES / CLASSIFIEDS
June/July 2010 PAGE 3
Chapter V been gone with it now except that Brown saw me the
NEIL forded the South Fork and headed for the camp. first day I landed and he knows I’m back in the country.
He found that both boys were out on the trap line and that Nobody knows you’re this side of the pit. They’ll link me
Kennedy was off riding fence. The camp was temporarily up with it sure unless I can prove to the contrary, and that
deserted. Neil returned to the point where he had crossed fellow Kennedy would never quit till he had me picked
the creek and gave a shrill whistle. An undersized figure up if I stopped anywheres short of Siam. He’s a hard nut,
scrambled down the timbered slope and the little man that old lizard, and he’ll back those two stray kids to the
mounted Neil’s back to be carried across the stream. Neil limit. I don’t want him camped on my trail.”
led the way to the camp. “I suppose you want him on mine,” the small man as-
“Here she is,” he said. “Get the lay of it in your mind.” serted.
He examined the green hides hanging on the stretch- “He don’t know you’re in the country,” Neil returned.
ers under the canvas tarpaulin and the bundles of cured “I’ll stay over at Brown’s every minute of the day you lift
pelts suspended from the tent pole. this fur. That’ll let me out. It’s got to be that way since
“I’d have caught all that fur myself if that pair hadn’t Brown saw me up in the hills. Then I’ll join you in a
kept me off the Forks,” he said. couple of days.”
“This was the best stretch of country for a hundred Neil’s counsel prevailed and he rearranged the bun-
miles. I even offered to pay their fares out where they dles of fur in their original positions and led the way to
want to go and have you locate them on a homestead; but the creek, forded it with the dwarfed man riding his back,
they wouldn’t hear to my setting out a trap.” and disappeared in the timber of the slope.
The small man grunted impatiently. “Me locate ‘em!” Two days thereafter Rawhide rode into camp and
he protested. “I’m not out there anymore. I’m here. And prepared to skin out the skunk, mink and two possums
besides, they can’t homestead till they come of age.” that constituted his catch for the day. Something seemed
“I thought you were out there then and anyway they amiss but for a space of thirty seconds he could not place
wouldn’t have discovered either fact till after they got what it was. Then he noted the absence of green hides on
there and tried to file,” Neil pointed out. “So I told them I the stretchers under the tarp. The full sense of disaster
had people out there that would start them right if they’d failed to penetrate at once and he gazed stupidly for a
let me trap the Forks.” moment, then whirled and peered into the tent. The com-
“You must have put up a real convincing talk,” the pact bales of cured fur were gone.
small man grumbled. “They’re still here. And here’s right Day after day he had counted those pelts and exulted
at a thousand dollars’ worth of fur. That’s enough for me.” over every addition that helped swell their growing as-
He snapped the string which held a bundle of mink sortment of fur. Their catch had loomed large as a step-
pelts to the tent pole. ping stone to future ambitions and he had dreamed great
“Don’t you!” Neil ordered sharply. His companion dreams. This sudden wiping out of their entire resources
pulled down a second bale of fur. Neil seized his arm left him stunned. The squeak of oarlocks came from
and jerked him back as he reached for a third. down the creek. Buckskin was coming in from his round
“You want to get us jailed?” he demanded. of the lower trap line. A species of inertia seemed to lay
“You dragged me clear up here to lift this fur,” the hold of Rawhide and numb his faculties. He sat upon a
dwarfish one stated. “Let’s get it! You put it off till the log and all the brightness seemed gone from the earth.
snow caught us and we couldn’t get near without leaving The lapse of time between the discovery and the moment
our tracks. You want to wait for another snow that may when his partner made the boat fast to the bank was suf-
lay on the ground for months? Right now suits me.” ficient to bring about a revulsion of feeling. The determi-
He reached again for a bundle of fur but Neil jerked nation to recover the fur surged through him and roused
his arm savagely and moved outside the tent, where he an intense desire for action. When Buckskin reached the
peered off in all directions. tent his partner was scouting the vicinity for some sign
“I’ve got to stay in the clear,” he declared. “We’d have that would reveal the identity of the thief.
PAGE 4 June/July 2010
Battler sniffed at several objects that had been touched come in with accurate news of the one who had raided
by the intruder and struck a track which he worked out their camp and they were numbed by the shock of disap-
to the bank of the South Fork. Rawhide took the shotgun pointment when he dropped from his horse and shook
and followed. his head.
“He’s on the trail,” he said. “Come on.” “Hardly a scratch,” he announced. “But we’ll get that
But the dog was puzzled. The trail was cold and he fur back or nail somebody’s hide to the fence.”
could not find even a trace on the far shore. He had hunt- He knew what this loss meant to the two homeless
ed coons that had taken to the water to break their trails boys. Their world had crashed about their ears with this
so he now employed tactics similar to the ones he used on sudden sacking of the camp. Kennedy explained his train
such cases, scouting both banks for some sign of the trail of reasoning.
leaving the water. Rawhide saw him pass one spot and re- “Neil is in this,” he said. “But he had some other man
turn to it. He repeated this maneuver, then branched away do the work while he stuck close round Brown’s place so
from the creek and circled through the timber. But the we couldn’t link him up with it. Later they’ll meet some
man’s boots had been thoroughly cleansed by the long place and split. The only way I know is for me to keep
wade and Battler could not work out the cold trail. a line on Neil and try and follow him when he leaves.”
Rawhide investigated the spot where Battler had left “How about that friend of his – Martin?” Rawhide
the creek. He found one faint boot print under water. asked. “The one he visited over on Otter Fork?”
“That’s Neil’s boot,” he announced. He had never for- “No such party,” Kennedy informed. “Neil invented
gotten the sole pattern which Kennedy had pointed out him on the spur of the moment to account for his being
near the scene of the stolen coon. up the South Fork at that hour in the morning.
Kennedy rode into camp as they returned. “Newt Sanders has trapped the Otter Fork for ten
He shook his head when Rawhide named Neil as the years. There’s no other trapping camp within fifteen miles
thief. and if there was there’d be no way for them to learn our
“Couldn’t have been,” he stated positively. “I’ve just habits. That fellow had to make two trips up the creek.
come from Brown’s, and Neil has been there all yester- He knew we wouldn’t be back. Then he could relay the
day and today. Says he’s going to pull up-country in two two packs a mile at a time and be way off across the hills
or three days.” before ever we discovered it. No way to tell which way
“But that boot track,” Rawhide objected. he headed. Maybe he cached the fur or maybe he had a
“Some other boot the same kind as Neil’s,” Kennedy pack horse, but I couldn’t pick up a horse track. We’ll go
said. “Or maybe some man wearing Neil’s boots. Let me out and scour the hills on the off chance that we’ll find
study this out. We’ve got to get back that fur.” him coming back to a cache tonight to make off with his
He called Battler and headed for the South Fork. In haul.”
two hours he was back in camp, but with all his knowl- They scattered through the hills and moved silently,
edge of woodcraft he had been able to unearth but little listening for some sound which might indicate the pres-
additional sign. However, his mind had not been idle. It ence of the thief. Once Rawhide heard the popping of a
was certain that all the fur could not have been trans- dead limb under a heavy foot. A moment later he heard
ported in one load, its bulk precluding such a possibility, the swish of brush across a canvas coat. He stationed
yet only one man had been concerned in it. Kennedy had himself behind a tree, the shotgun at ready, and tensed
found where the thief had left the creek some fifty yards himself to shoot if it proved to be the thief and he refused
upstream on his second trip. It would have required al- to surrender the fur without a fight. There was the sound
most an hour to make two trips between the camp and of a foot striking a down-log, then a low whistle which
this point and the man must have been armed with accu- had been arranged as a signal between the three. Raw-
rate information as to the habits of the three who lived at hide answered it and joined Buckskin, who had heard his
the camp. A stray prowler drifting through and stumbling partner’s progress through the timber and headed for the
upon the tent by chance would never have come back for spot, believing it might prove to be the thief.
the second load of fur, for he would not know at what “Good thing Kennedy arranged that signal,” Buckskin
moment the occupants might return. Neil was the one whispered. “We might have been shooting at each oth-
man who knew that each one of the boys had a regular er without that. Kennedy thinks of everything — never
route and seldom returned before mid-afternoon and that overlooks a point.”
Kennedy rode fence on certain days. They separated again to prowl the hills. By midnight
The boys had based high hopes on Kennedy’s wood- they were back in camp. Battler had failed to pick up any
craft. A dozen times during his absence they had attempt- sign of an intruder, which he would certainly have done if
ed to reassure themselves by stating that Kennedy would any had been abroad in the country covered by their cir-
June/July 2010 PAGE 7
cling. An hour before their return he had treed a possum “Turn out,” he called. “Time to be off. I’ll get break-
and his music would have apprised any man within ear- fast while you boys strap your bed roll and pack it to the
shot that the three were scouring the hills near that point. boat. Then we’ll sack up some grub. We may be off on
It was not until after their return that Rawhide recalled a long hunt with no telling when we’ll see camp again.
the dwarfish man he had seen some five days before and Rawhide, you throw my saddle on Warrior. One of us
mentioned the fact to Kennedy. will maybe have to make a ride.”
Kennedy laid a hand on his shoulder and looked down Daylight found them below Brown’s line fence, Buck-
at him. skin and Kennedy in the boat while Rawhide rode War-
“Son, you ought to take more notice of such things,” rior along the bank. They slowed their pace and Kennedy
he said. “That’s the man that got your fur. If you’d men- investigated every nook which might serve as a hiding
tioned at the time about seeing him I’d have guessed right place for a boat. Where little spring creeks broke into
off and moved our catch up to Brown’s.” the Clearwater he prospected back up the willow-grown
“But how would you have known?” Rawhide object- channels wherever it seemed possible that a man might
ed. have dragged even a light canoe.
“First off, there’s not a house off up that way for When something over a mile below the fence he left
fifteen miles,” Kennedy explained; “ nor even a camp, the boat and waded up the narrow channel of a spring
which fact ought to have set you thinking in itself. He run, the tops of the tall willow brush meeting over his
wouldn’t be trapping for there’s mighty little fur up on head. He hailed the boys from a few yards beyond and
those ridges; there’s nothing to hunt besides cottontails Buckskin tied the boat and waded up to him while Raw-
and squirrels and he wasn’t even packing a gun. Now if hide put Warrior into the stream and forded it.
that’s the little sawed-off spider I’m thinking of his name “Here’s where his boat was cached,” Kennedy an-
is Neil. He was one of the two that hung out down in the nounced. “So far we’re right.”
Santag Swamp before they got chased out. Likely our The bark of some few willows had been rubbed by
friend Neil is a branch of the same tribe after all and since the edge of the boat. The tangle of brush had been spread
this one has come back from the West he’s put him up to apart by the passage of some heavy body and not all of
this job. This simplifies matters some — but not a tenth the saplings had lifted back into place. Beyond the twen-
part as much as if you’d told me two hours before dark.” ty-yard fringe of willows the rank stand of slough grass
“I’ve never thought of it since,” Rawhide lamented. had been bent over by several journeys through it. Ken-
“But how could you have done any differently than what nedy pointed to one stretch of bank which showed more
we did tonight?” moisture than the rest and looked inquiringly at Rawhide.
“I’d have hunted downstream instead of up-country,” “He splashed water over it to wash out the sign,”
Kennedy said. “Men run true to form, sort of. Any man Rawhide said. “The same as Neil did when he stole my
that lives in the Flint Hills would plan to get that fur out coon out of the trap.”
on a horse because they live mostly on horses. This fellow “That’s what,” Kennedy assented. “You’re learning
was pretty much of a swamp dweller so his ideas would fast. He’s wearing Neil’s boots or a pair just like ‘em.
naturally lean toward boats. Ten to one he’s been scout- Now he didn’t start bringing down that fur from wher-
ing back in the hills like a coyote waiting for this chance, ever he cached it till after nightfall and it would take up
and had a boat cached a few miles below. The very fact considerable time, so he didn’t leave here till late. Even at
that he headed upstream first is probably because he that he would have a big start, only that he’ll lay up some-
figured your mind would work like his and you’d hunt where during the day. There’s twenty miles of the Santag
downstream for his tracks. Then he doubled back and re- River that’s pretty well lined up with farms. A hundred
layed his furs down along the slopes and cached them till people might see him if he covered that stretch when it’s
night. While we were prowling up-country he was way light and he couldn’t have made it past the whole bottoms
down below getting them to his boat. I may be way off before daylight this morning, what with switching back
but it’s the best guess I can make. You turn in for some and forth across the channel to dodge bars and such. At
sleep. It’s out before sun-up for us.” low water the Santag is mainly sandbars and a man will
What little sleep Rawhide gathered was of a feverish travel five miles for every three he gains downstream. We
sort. The loss of the fur and the consequent crumbling may nip him yet.”
of his plans preyed on his mind and served to keep him Kennedy scribbled hastily on three sheets of his note
awake. Buckskin tossed restlessly beside him throughout book, detached them and handed them to Rawhide who
the balance of the night and it was with a sense of relief headed out across the Flint Hills. He stopped at Brown’s
that they heard Kennedy’s hail from the teepee two hours and handed him the first sheet. The second page con-
before dawn. tained directions for his day’s travel and he consulted it
PAGE 8 June/July 2010
from time to time. His course was angling and cut off the night seemed full of other weird noises. Some tree
much distance from the route leading along the shore near him groaned as if in agony with every breeze that
line. He held Warrior to a shuffling trail trot and occa- stirred its top. Across from him the slanting dead trees
sionally pulled him to a walk for he had forty miles to squeaked loudly at the intersection of their crossed
cover before night. He followed the high ground well trunks, which grated together with every wind-swayed
back from the river without descending to the wide bot- movement of the living trees upon which they leaned.
toms of the Santag, thickly settled for a long stretch on Once some creature splashed in the swamp close at
the near side of the river. The bottoms narrowed eventu- hand. Owls hooted hollowly from far and near and lent
ally and pinched out where the stream entered a gorge a ghostly quality to the night. The cold gripped him but
flanked by limestone bluffs. At the far end of this little he dozed off several times, only to rouse with a start and
canyon he rode out onto the shoulder of a hill and viewed peer off into the shadows.
a vast, timbered flat spread out below him, the sheen of At last the sound came — the distant squeak of row-
water showing in every opening between the trees. The locks from upstream. They drew nearer and he caught the
main channel of the river skirted the bluffs on the near muffled splash of oar blades in the water. Kennedy had
shore but there was no definite bank on the far side, the figured rightly. If only McIntyre had been at home and
water apparently spreading through the timber without ready with his boat they might even now intercept the
check. thief and recover his cargo of stolen fur. The sounds drew
He rode down till he struck a small creek flowing to abreast of him but the boatman kept to the far side of the
the river. A mile up its course an open glade was fenced stream in the shadow of the timber and he could not even
off for a pasture and a small log cabin stood on the far make out the dark blot of the boat upon the water.
edge of it. The third note was destined for McIntyre, the Rawhide’s eyes were accustomed to the darkness and
man who dwelt here, requesting his assistance. he could travel at a fair rate of speed. He followed after
The cabin was locked and gave no evidence of recent the boat, his feet making no sound on the moist earth.
occupancy. There was no help to be gained in this quarter After a quarter of a mile the boat had almost distanced
and it was squarely up to Rawhide to do his single-hand- him but he held on. The open channel swept back toward
ed best. He hung saddle and bridle over a log, thrust the the bluffs two miles behind and he followed the curve.
note under the cabin door in case Mclntyre should return, He stopped to listen again for the squeak of oars. They
and headed for the river, carrying his grub sack and the drifted faintly to his ears but seemed to come from di-
shotgun. rectly opposite instead of from far downstream as before.
Night was shutting down when he reached the river It came to him that the man no longer followed the sweep
and headed downstream till he drew abreast of the first of the main channel but had turned off into some wa-
tongues of the swamp on the opposite side. After half a tery byway instead. He strained his ears and at last the
mile the channel swept away from the high country and sounds died away without having gained either upstream
he could progress no farther and keep within sight of it or down. The boatman had headed directly back into the
as there were lanes of water reaching back through the depths of the swamp.
swales between the timbered hummocks. But he could After marking the spot by a small stick thrust into the
not stop now. The water was icy cold and chilled his mud at the water’s edge he retraced his way to the log jam
whole body as he stripped off his clothing and waded in, and ate a few bites of his lunch. The balance of the night
carrying his lunch sack and garments lashed to the barrel seemed months long as he alternately dozed and roused
of the shotgun. He felt his way cautiously lest he step to stamp about and warm his chilled body. He dared not
off into a deep hole and find himself over his depth and light a fire lest its light should apprise the man of the fact
his equipment soaked. Eventually he came out on a flat that he had been traced this far and send him deeper into
piece of ground that flanked a long open stretch of water. the swamp. After a period that seemed ages long a faint
A sluggish current testified that this was the main channel gray streak showed in the east. Rawhide heard again the
of the Santag. squeak of oars, very soft this time, as if the oarlocks had
Rawhide was blue with cold and the crisp air stung been greased to eliminate all sound. The splash of oars
his skin. He stamped and swung his arms to restore cir- was barely audible. Then the sounds ceased as the boat-
culation and dry his body before pulling on his garments, man rested on the oars. Into the silence came the first few
then posted himself behind a log jam which commanded bars of a red-bird’s whistle as if the cardinal had been
a long stretch of the channel either way from his stand. roused from sleep to greet the false dawn; another brief
Black night shut down around him and left him alone spell of rowing and another silence of shipped oars. The
in the swamp. Hour after hour he listened without catch- redbird’s whistle came again. Rawhide breathed a sigh of
ing the sound for which his ears were strained although relief and moved to the bank. That was Kennedy’s signal.
June/July 2010 PAGE 9
Buckskin and Kennedy had taken turns at the oars all only to end in a sloping bank. At the extreme tip of this
night and reached the swamp. the slash of an oar blade showed on the mud of the bank.
“That makes a square turn,” Kennedy announced.
CHAPTER VI “He slid into it with shipped oars and gave one dig to
The three drifted down the sluggish current, bolting throw him round the bend.”
a hasty bite of cold breakfast as the shadows lifted in the He headed the nose of the boat at the mouth of the nar-
east. Tired as they were they could not afford to stop for row lead and two strokes of the oars furnished sufficient
a rest. momentum to carry the boat to the turn after he lifted the
Rawhide pointed out his marker at the water’s edge. oars. A single swift slice at the bank with one oar veered
“Whoever it was in the boat turned back into the the boat around the sharp bend and the waterway wid-
swamp right across from here,” he said. ened perceptibly, then twisted again and swept on toward
Kennedy headed the boat for the opposite shore. the heart of the swamp.
Within two hundred yards there were three broad lanes Twice more they were delayed by branching lanes
of water leading back between wooded banks. but each time Kennedy found some sign which revealed
“We’ll take the middle one on a chance,” Kennedy which way the boat had passed; the marks of oar blades
decided. “The worst thing about the Santag Swamp is on the mud bottom of the shallows or a single clean slice
the fact that you can’t guess in advance whether a patch on the shore. Once it was a sleek patch on the bank at
of water will prove a blind lead or run on for miles.” the water line which guided him up a narrow passage.
After half a mile the open lane feathered out into The boatman had headed into it with shipped oars after
branching waterways and there was no way to determine gathering momentum, and the side of the gliding boat
which one their man had chosen. Kennedy selected one had sheered along one bank and smoothed the mud for
that angled off toward the right as being a more likely six feet along the water’s edge.
route for the reason that it led toward the depths of the They had worked out the trail for a distance of four
swamp. The water was shallow and as the boat glided miles back into the swamp by the time the sun was two
along Kennedy peered over its side and scanned the mud hours high. Here there was a veritable network of passag-
a few inches below the surface. es breaking into one another and feathering out in every
“A man will naturally dip a little too deep from force directon. A boatman might turn off on either hand at will.
of habit and let his oars slice into the bottom where it’s “It’s time for us to hole up,” Kennedy asserted. “He
as shallow as this,” he explained. might be asleep after putting in hard nights — and again
Several times he nodded as he made out the slash of he might be awake. From now on we’d have to work out
an oar blade in the mud bottom. ever foot of his trail and he’d hear us messing round be-
“He came this way,” he announced. fore we got within half a mile of his hangout. He’d take
But after following the lane for some four hundred to his boat and he could travel at about forty times the
yards it suddenly terminated in a little bay that widened rate at which we could track him.”
out among the trees. Kennedy backed water with the He chose a blind lead that made a sharp bend into a
oars to arrest the advance of the boat as he scanned ev- patch of high ground. This served to conceal the boat.
ery inch of shore line. There were no trees at this point The bed rolls were spread on the ground.
within fifty yards of the water’s edge and an oozing mud “If that fellow you saw in the hills was Bantam Neil,
flat merged almost imperceptibly with the water. he’s got a regular hangout down years past,” Kennedy
“The tree line is high-water mark,” Kennedy said. “A said. “And all the signs point to him. He couldn’t even
man couldn’t cross that mud flat without it wallowing up guess we were anywhere this side of camp and might be
to his hips. He never crossed out through here. He’s cut a bit careless in moving round. One have to stand guard
back down below.” and keep awake in case he stirs up any racket that will
They headed the boat back along its former course tip off his whereabouts, or in case Reese Neil comes in
and Kennedy examined every watery lead that branched through the swamp to join him. You boys turn in for a nap
away from it. The majority of these were mere indenta- and I’ll stand first guard.”
tions that pinched out within a few yards of the mouth, Rawhide insisted, however, that the first guard should
the water too shallow to permit the passage of a boat. be his and Kennedy assented.
There were several which led farther back and Kennedy “If we only had Battler we wouldn’t need a guard,”
stood up in the boat to determine their possibilities. At Buckskin said.
last he pointed to a channel some five feet across, lead- “If we had Battler we might as well go home,” Ken-
ing straight back through the trees for a dozen yards, nedy returned. “That’s why I left him chained up at Kell’s
PAGE 10 June/July 2010
farm on the way down. He’d likely tree a possum first “Don’t even wag an ear while it’s passing. It’s a canoe,
off and make enough noise to rouse the whole swamp. not a rowboat. I can tell by the dip of the paddle; and
If ever the Neils get a notion we’re here they’ll decamp. twice he’s bumped the paddle shank as he rested it on the
Our game now is to wait.” edge to drift; likely a log dugout the Neils had cached out
Rawhide stood his turn for two hours. The whole at the edge of the swamp. If this Reese Neil our calcula-
world seemed wrapped in a vast silence except for a few tions have checked out correct.”
bird notes. Once a belated bittern that had failed to move The three sprawled flat behind a windfall at edge of
south with the rest of his tribe boomed from far out in the little hollow which sheltered air makeshift camp. A
the swamp. Rawhide roused his partner at the end of two canoe shot into sight passed along an open lane of water.
hours and turned in for a much-needed rest. The whole All three recognized Reese Neil as he came abreast of
day passed without a sound that might have been made their log screen. Kennedy stood up to peer over the top
by a human. log of the windfall after Neil had sed. The sounds of the
Three different times one of the boys had scaled a tall paddle died out in distance.
tree that grew on the knoll and scanned the swamp for “I’ve got his course marked out for the next four
some ribbon of smoke which would indicate the pres- hundred yards,” Kennedy announced. “I could catch a
ence of human habitation but not the faintest haze drifted glimpse of his hat here and there long after the canoe was
above the trees. out of sight. We know how to get that far and it ought not
An hour after sundown Kennedy built a small fire, its to be far from there to the camp.”
light shrouded by blankets, and cooked a hot meal. The During the early part of the night there were various
swamp was in the grip of a dead calm and the night as sounds from the direction in which the canoe had disap-
silent as the day except for the infrequent splash of some peared.
small fur bearer. At last Kennedy held up his hand. The “We’ll try her in the morning,” Kennedy decided.
strokes of an ax, far and faint, drifted to their ears. As soon as there was sufficient light for them to see
“There he is,” Kennedy said. “A mile or more off I’d fifty yards ahead they were in the boat. Kennedy had
say. At daylight we’ll shift camp a notch closer and lay greased the rowlocks to eliminate any possible squeak,
up for the day.” and as he followed Neil’s route of the evening past he
This move was made, and before the sun showed dipped his oars with exceeding care to avoid the least
above the eastern horizon the boat was safely cached and splash, dodging the water-soaked logs with which the
the bed rolls spread in a thick cluster of trees some three- swamp was studded. Even a single bump of the boat
quarters of a mile nearer the point from which the ax had against one of these snags might serve to warn their
sounded the preceding night. quarry.
“He might come poking along this way in a boat and “This is where I caught the last peek at his hat,” Ken-
we’ll hold him up and tie him to a tree,” Kennedy said. nedy whispered at last. “We’re close onto them but there’s
“Then we could go on and locate his den. Or maybe we a hundred little feathering sloughs to choose from. We’ll
can catch the glow of his night fire. My note to Brown head right through the middle of them. Here’s hoping the
told of the raid and that two of us were hunting up-coun- Neils are asleep.”
try while Rawhide rode to town to post a reward for the He held on for another three hundred yards and rested
thief. Brown has told Neil. Neil figures he’s in the clear his oars, signaling for silence as he peered off to the right.
and he’ll likely come sifting down here before long. Any- A distant voice had drifted faintly to his ears. He headed
way, we’ll have to wait for something to break.” the boat into a slough and eased it along without a sound.
Only once during the day was there indication of life The waterway ended in a round pool. A rowboat was tied
in the swamp. This was a hollow boom as if some heavy to a huge log that slanted up the bank from the water.
object had been dropped in the bottom of a boat. It served The top of the log was worn by the passage of many feet.
to point out the direction of Bantam Neil’s retreat and He eased the nose of the boat against the bank and Raw-
Kennedy estimated that it could not be more than a half hide stepped out and made it fast to a snag. In leaving
mile farther on. the boat Buckskin picked up the oars to hand them out
“Once we’ve located it exactly and find a clear water to Kennedy, as it had been agreed that they should cache
route to the spot we can move in on him quick,” Kennedy the oars whenever they left the boat. In his haste he al-
explained. “If we make one false move to inform him lowed them to slip from his hands and they fell to the
we’re anywheres near it’s all off. He wouldn’t need over boat with a clatter that sounded for a mile through the
a five-minute start to shake us.” silent swamp.
Just before dusk Kennedy held up his hand in silence. “Quick!” Kennedy ordered sharply. “Make it lively.
“Boat coming from the other way,” he whispered. That’ll start them off.”
June/July 2010 PAGE 11
He mounted the bank with the boys close behind him dent relief.
and struck off through the timber at a trot. Within a hun- “Too far for a shotgun,” Kennedy returned. “But you
dred yards he caught the gleam of water between the tree must have nicked Bantam’s ear or spattered the bridge of
trunks and knew that the high ground Avas but a narrow his nose with bird shot to make him drop that gun. Hope
strip; but it might be a long island, and he headed to the you filled Reese’s hide with shot too.”
left through a tangle of windfalls. He had confidently ex- They retrieved Neil’s rifle and shouldered the bales of
pected to find a beaten path from the log but there was fur. These were so bulky as to cause them considerable
none and it occurred to him that the landing was an old difficulty in threading the timber to the boat. Somewhat
one, previously much used but not sufficiently traveled later the swamp echoed again to the roar of the shotgun
of late to leave a trail. as Kennedy touched off two loads of shot through Neil’s
Another hundred yards and he made out the white of boat and tore two ragged holes at the water line.
a tent through the timber and motioned the boys to swing Three days thereafter they were back in the home
out to either side of his route. Kennedy was first to reach camp at the forks of the Clearwater. The recovered fur
the tent and he peered through the flap, his gun thrust was safely stored at Brown’s and both boys were busily
before him, but there was no occupant for his pistol to engaged in stripping the pelts from thirty-odd rats and
cover. The two boys were closing in from either side. two mink gathered from the lower trap line, which Buck-
“They’ve gone with the fur,” he called. “After ‘em! skin had run on the homeward trip of the boat.
Quick!” All seemed well with the world. The Neils had been
He leaped into the tangle of blow-downs behind the outlawed by the theft and were wanted by the sheriff.
tent, struck a path and followed it. Rawhide was forty The season’s catch was intact and they were still catching
yards on his right flank and his advance was retarded by fur. The first swirling flakes of snow were sifting down
dodging down-logs. Kennedy was well in the lead when through the trees.
Rawhide observed a movement directly in front of him. “She’s going to blow up a storm,” Kennedy said. “Fur
Bantam Neil’s head and boulders appeared above a wind- critters will be running to-night.They always come out to
fall and his rifle was trained on Kennedy. Rawhide lined prowl just prior to a storm. Then they hole up during the
along the barrel and at the roar of the shotgun Neil pitched cold snap that follows. There’s times when you won’t see
down behind the logs while his rifle clattered down the a track, except rabbits and such, if it turns off cold after
opposite side of the windfall. Reese Neil’s hat showed for a snowfall.”
an instant off to the right of his companion’s stand and “If my bait traps have pinched the toes of as much fur
Rawhide shot again, then a third time at some moving in six days’ accumulation as Buckskin’s rat lines did I’ll
shape that darkened the space between two breast-high hardly be able to pack in all my catch tomorrow night,”
logs. There was no further sign of life and Rawhide lay Rawhide speculated. “Here’s hoping.”
prone on the ground and watched the spot. The following morning he set out on Warrior to ride
Kennedy had whirled at the first shot and made for his lines while the snow whirled through the hills. He
Rawhide’s location. He had seen neither of the Neils in had been toughened to the saddle by much riding and
the tangle off to his right. Rawhide pointed out the spot. even the long day’s ride back from Mclntyre’s cabin on
He was heading for the windfall and Rawhide rose the edge of the Santag Swamp had failed to stiffen him.
to follow him. Buckskin was angling swiftly in from the The rough life in the open had expanded his chest, and
left. Kennedy rounded the end of the logs at a run but the city pallor which had stamped his face a few months
halted suddenly as he stumbled against a huge bale of past had been replaced by a healthy brown; his muscles
furs. A similar bale had been dropped some twenty yards were tough and springy and the stoop was gone from his
farther on through the timber. shoulders.
“Here’s what we came after,” he announced. “Let’s He took a mink from a bait set under the overhanging
take it and get out of here. I’d rather hoped to take this roots of an elm and found a coon waiting for him in the
Neil outfit back for a chat with the sheriff but they’re big log jam above camp. Then there was trap after trap
gone in the canoe by now. Likely they had it cached on that been touched. This monotony induced preoccupa-
the far side from the rowboat so they’d have two routes of tion and his thoughts were of the future as he continued
retreat. It didn’t take ‘em over ten seconds to get started on his rounds. He was roused from his abstraction with
away from the tent with that fur after Buckskin dropped a start by the movement of some large object off to the
the oars.” right of him. Warrior snorted and sidled uneasily. Raw-
“Then I didn’t kill either one,” Rawhide said with evi-
PAGE 12 June/July 2010
hide had almost forgotten the trap on the down-log bridg- “Those are what trappers call push-ups,” he said. “A
ing the creek at this point for it had not made a catch in rat cuts up through the ice to the snow line and makes a
three weeks. A big red fox paced nervously to and fro on feed shelf on the ice and under the snow. He comes there
the log, his foot fast in the trap. with slough grass, willow roots, water plants and such.
Rawhide rode into camp that night with a big catch of After he eats the best part he pushes what’s left up into
fur, the last good haul of the winter. The snow fell with- the snow over his head instead of spilling it back into the
out a break for three days and all the world was smoth- water.”
ered in white. A freeze-up followed the storm. The shore He broke the snow crust above a push-up and uncov-
had prevented the trapping of bank rats and the water sets ered a heap of vegetable refuse underneath. This he pried
on the Clearwater were pulled. As snow followed snow apart with the handle of his hand-ax and revealed a small
the bait sets were increased and water sets were made at shelf at the tinder edge of the snow. A hole led down
the spring pools that never froze over; but the fur seemed through solid ice to the water. He had brought a bundle
to have vanished from the face of the earth and catches of three-foot willows an inch in diameter. The trap chain
were few. was fastened in the center of one so that any pull would
They worked hard at their lines nevertheless, for each be exerted crosswise and the stick could not be pulled
added pelt was that much to the good. Mink still trav- down through the hole. The trap was set on the shelf and
eled when the cold was not too intense and civets were the vegetable refuse closed again at the top, the stick re-
prone to prowl abroad long after their larger cousins, maining outside of the push-up.
the skunks, had denned for the winter. A few stray foxes “There you are,” Kennedy said. “Go to it. All trap-
left their tracks in the snow. There were brief chinooks ping is simple once you get lined out – and considerable
when warm winds fanned their breath across the hills for difficulty if you don’t right kinds of sets for special sorts
a few days at a time. During these warm snaps an occa- There’s push-ups in hundreds, all over the marsh. In a
sional coon or possum strayed out of his winter quarters few days now they’ll be showing up black as the snow
and planted his foot on a trap. Only three skunks were melts off the top. Then you can spot them a mile. Spring
caught over the course of two months, these latter be- rats are better than fall.” The boys had learned that the
ing bagged when their tribe grew restless and came from pelt of the muskrat is prime in the spring when the fur of
the dens during a week’s thaw; but the skunks holed up most others will slip. Later they would come to know that
once more when a cold wave followed this touch of false this was equally true of beaver and bear.
spring. A big dog fox was caught in a spring pool set. All They made sixty sets before night and the day’s run
told, they averaged a trifle over one pelt a day for two yielded two dozen rats. They gloated over this big catch
months. after the weeks of hard work on the bait lines with an av-
The fur was beginning to slip and the trap lines were erage of pelt a day. But the season’s yield as a whole had
pulled, for Kennedy explained that rubbed hides or spring run large. Up to date they had the pelts of some five hun-
shedders brought even less on the market than unprime dred rats, sixty-three minks, forty-one coons, two of red
hides caught in the fall. fox and seventy odd of each of civet, possum and skunk.
“Anyway, you’ve caught enough from up there. Nev- “You boys have made a nice stake,” Kennedy said.
er trap too close, but be dead sure and leave plenty of “As pretty a bunch of fur as I’ve seen in many a year;
critters to raise another crop of fur for next year,” Ken- all clean-fleshed and not an unprime fall hide or a spring
nedy said when last trap was in. “Now we’ll work the big rubbed or shedder in the lot. Fur’s taken another little
marsh. This will be a little different from any trapping hitch upward in price. We’ll take this fur to market our-
you’ve done up to date.” selves. I figure you ought to clean up close to eighteen
The snow lay deep across the ice of the marsh but it hundred dollars on the bunch if you knock out another
was beginning to pack and melt off before the thaws of two hundred rats down on the marsh. Then you can work
approaching spring. Kennedy pointed out scores of white down at Brown’s for the summer and add a little to the
mounds rising above the flat plain of ice. pile without cutting into your capital for expenses. That
“Those are rat houses, built of rushes and mud,” he piece of land and all those cows you’re figuring to own
said. “Marsh rats live in houses instead of tunneling into someday are looming right near if you keep this up.”
the banks. We could cut in through the walls of the houses
and trap them that way but I never break into rat houses CHAPTER VII
now. It drives the rats out and they’ve no place to go. I’ll A SLENDER, wiry youth pulled up his horse and
show you a better way.” slipped sidewise in the saddle, resting one hand on the
He pointed out numerous smaller bumps that had been animal’s rump as he looked back at the vista spread out
left above their surroundings as the snow melted down. below him. The valley widened as it fell away from him
June/July 2010 PAGE 13
and a swift stream boiled through the rocks and tumbled tacked back and forth, angling up-country, and in some-
toward the low country. Cotton-woods and willow clumps thing over an hour had marked out forty trees that were
studded the stream bed, an occasional spruce thrusting up perfectly matched for size. The ranger had also blazed
from among the deciduous trees. Aside from this water- a hundred smaller trees which could be used for corral
course timber the land was treeless except for the scat- poles, selecting these from among heavy stands of young
tered cedars, gnarled and wind-twisted, that sprouted growth in order that the trees might be thinned out and
from among the boulders of the side-hills. Here and there give the remaining ones room for growth. Then Dickson
a pinon pine had found roothold among the clusters of rode away, headed for the sheep camp. This camp lay
sandstone outcroppings that had been worn into weird twenty miles beyond along the pack trail, just at timber
shapes by erosion. Far down the bottoms a flat spread out line. Here a sheep outfit whose home ranch was well out
between the in the flats on the far flank of the hills ranged their flocks
twin buttes that stood as sentinels at the mouth of the in summer, grazing the woolly bands slowly through the
valley. Between these buttes an endless expanse of gray broad meadows at the upper edge of the tree line.
sage rolled away to the far horizon. The flat was marked Bob headed back to his horse but when he reached
by a small square of vivid green, evidence that here the the spot where he had left him the animal was gone. The
home of some man had been made possible by irrigation. boy held on down the trail, assuming that his mount had
Once the boy had been Bob Tanner of the congested taken the back track for home, as a horse which breaks
city, and had dreamed that he was Rawhide, the free lance loose in the hills almost invariably does. But there were
of the open. Now that the fact itself was accomplished, no horse tracks pointing down-country on top of those
there was no further use for the fanciful title that had his steed had left coming up a short time before. Bob
fostered pretense and it had been relegated to the past; returned to the spot where the horse had been tied and
for he was now Bob Tanner, not of the city, but of the examined both flanks of the trail, determining that the
sage country, the lodgepole valleys and the snow-capped runaway had veered to the left. For a short distance he
mountain ranges. The boy’s eyes lingered fondly on that worked out the trail from the patches of fresh earth and
distant square of green that had come to mean home to disturbed pine needles at points where the horse had evi-
him. Then he turned and headed his horse up-country. dently stepped on either the trailing bridle reins or neck
The trail mounted steeply to the notch in the rims rope and stumbled. Eventually he lost the trail and could
where Bobcat Creek broke through from the higher hills. not pick it up. He repaired to the shoulder of a spur that
It was plainly blazed after he entered the timber, for it rose above the trees and from this point of vantage he ex-
was a Forest Service pack trail. He followed it through amined the country below, scanning the open parks and
a valley of stately lodgepole pines, their trunks rising meadows opening out among the trees. Sheep grazing
straight and true as rifle barrels as they stretched their was not permitted on this slope of the range but cows
tufted tops toward the sun. were summered in the Forest and he made out several
The horse nickered and drew an answer from just scattered bunches grazing in the openings. He chose an-
ahead. Bob had arranged to meet Dickson, the local For- other spur and eventually located the runaway feeding in
est Ranger, at this point, and found him waiting round a a side hill glade. When he reached the horse he discov-
bend in the trail. ered that his gun, a heavy .33 rifle, was gone from the
“All right, Bob,” Dickson greeted. “We’ll get those saddle scabbard.
trees marked out for your house logs in less than an hour. “You, Split Ear,” he admonished, “you onery flea-bit
I have to go on up to the sheep camp as soon as we’ve little rascal, what sort of antics did you perform in order
finished.” to spill that rifle out of there? Must have been standing
The ranger led his horse as they angled up the slope on your head.”
through the trees but Bob elected to leave his own ani- For two hours he rode back and forth through the
mal tied near the trail. A hundred yards from the start the country between the glade and the point where the horse
ranger laid his hand on the trunk of a lofty lodgepole. It had been tied, but eventually gave up hope of discover-
was twelve inches through at the butt, rising straight and ing the missing rifle and turned his horse toward home. A
true. slender thread of smoke issued from the chimney of the
“How’s this fellow?” Dickson asked. little cabin as he neared it. An Airedale bounced up the
Bob nodded his approval and Dickson blazed a patch trail to greet him and Battler fell in behind Split Ear, fol-
on the trunk six inches from the ground with his ranger’s lowing the horse to the corral.
hatchet, then swung the butt against the white wood and Wally Porter — once Buckskin of the Flint Hills —
the U.S. brand loomed in the center of the blaze, evidence opened the cabin door and announced that a meal was
that this tree had been legally marked for cutting. They on the table. After the evening meal had been completed
PAGE 14 June/July 2010
and the dishes washed the two partners sat on the doorsill clause to the effect that in event of their failure to meet
and watched the sun pitch down behind the western hills. any deferred payment when due, he retained the right to
The sense of being crowded for space in the swarming void their agreement after ninety days by refunding any
slums had once filled them with a longing for the open, amounts paid on the contract up to that date. The partners
and they had themselves as roaming in vast forests, the had paid a thousand dollars of their slender capital as a
fastness of lofty mountain ranges the starlit wastes of the first payment on the place.
desert. Here was a touch of all three combined; for a They sat in silence as the shadows deepened and ob-
desert sage rolled endlessly away from their door while scured the valley. The crests of the hills seemed to draw
the forested slopes of the rose just behind; and above the closer as their outlines blackened and the last glints of
black of spruce and lodgepole jungles lifted the snow- light faded from the peaks. A great gray owl hooted from
capped peaks of the giant ranges. the rims of the canyon. A wild quavering yelp rose from
Yet with all this they were not quite content for in the the field. Another answered from well up the slope of the
background of each boy’s mind was that this little ranch, hills, a third from far out in the flat. Then a score of eerie
round which all hopes centered, might soon be lost to howls rose in unison, the wild music of the desert choir,
them. Raw furs had taken another stiff rise just before as the coyote nation voiced their exultation in the falling
they marketed the heavy catch they had made in the Flint night.
Hills and both boys had elected to head for the mountain “It would certainly be tough to have to move out and
country which was their goal instead of operating for an- leave all this, Wally,” Bob said. “This little ranch is all I
other season on the Clearwater. want in the world and I’d hate to lose out on it now.”
They had discovered that they could not exercise “We’d get our original payment back but that wouldn’t
homestead rights till after reaching legal age, so had cast seem like much if we lost the place,” Wally agreed. “And
about to find a tract of deeded land for sale at a price we’d by out a year’s work and all the money we’ve spent
within their means. This isolated half-section in the flats getting that little patch shaped up. It looked easy on the
at the mouth of Bobcat Canyon had seemed the ideal spot. start; but we miscalculated by just ninety percent, some
The land carried first water rights for two hundred and way. We need a thousand dollars and need it bad, and
forty acres, the entire flow of Bobcat Creek. The original after we pay up our odds and ends we’ll have maybe a
entry-man had done only sufficient work to permit his hundred left to see us through the winter — with a thou-
making final proof and receiving a patent to the two quar- sand-dollar payment overdue.”
ters. Most of the land was in raw sage, untouched by the He had stated their case exactly, for his assertion was
plow, and the original cultivated tract of forty acres had not in the least overdrawn. A few implements had been
lapsed back to the wild. acquired as part of the place. The purchase of two geld-
The boys had found that irrigated land was high- ings and two mares, averaging eleven hundred pounds
priced. But this little tract on Bobcat Creek was isolated; apiece, and which could be used for either work of saddle
it was forty miles from a railroad point and the land was stock, two sets of harness and a cow consumed the great-
in a raw state. All those things had operated to hold down er part of their remain-capital. They had worked early
the price and the owner held it for four thousand dollars. and late and had plowed out a forty-acre tract, piled and
It could be bought for one thousand dollars cash payment burned the sagebrush, leveled it and it to crop. The patch
and the balance at one thousand dollars a year, with eight had been seeded with oats and alfalfa in order that the
percent interest on deferred payments. Their faster growing grain might shade the tender shoots of the
combined capital, derived from the sale of their fur, young alfalfa. This crop had been cut for hay before the
totaled a trifle over sixteen hundred dollars, and they had outs matured. Seed oats and alfalfa seed had been costly.
decided that they could handle the little ranch. But the The fences were in poor repair and they had been forced
boys were minors, and while they could make a contract to string a quantity of new wire to keep range stock off
they could also move to have it voided at any time they the crop. The storekeeper at Grayson, the little railroad
chose. The owner of the land had pointed out this fact. town where they traded, had carried them for their sup-
“Any time that you boys decided not to stand by the plies until the crop could be marketed.
contract, I’d be compelled to hand your money back,” They had counted upon a good catch of fur during the
he said. “Then where’d I be? Maybe I’d have missed a winter but had found that this was a different sort of trap-
chance to make an actual sale in between.” ping than any they had learned in the Flint Hills. The
But he had made a proposition that was satisfactory to coyotes had proved too cunning and had avoided their
all. Their work would be increasing the value of the land most artful sets. Occasionally they had caught one. A
and he would be that much ahead in case they failed to few bobcats had been taken in coyote traps and a number
fulfill their obligation. He incorporated in the contract a of badgers, but a badger pelt was worth little. They had
June/July 2010 PAGE 15
found a few dens of big prairie skunks in the flats. All trees the other day. We’ve been too busy ever since we
told, their catch had been but a fifth of that of the preced- moved on the place to do much riding round.”
ing year, netting a trifle over three hundred dollars. But it The ranger nodded, but again his eyes slipped back to
had helped. Their fifty tons of hay had been contracted to the roan gelding and the pinto.
a cow outfit for six dollars a ton. After meeting their inter- “Sometimes, when a man is needing money, he’ll do
est on deferred payments and settling their account at the things he wouldn’t consider when things were breaking
store they had but a hundred dollars on which to winter; right,” Dickson commented. “There’s been many a man
and the first payment of a thousand dollars was now past decided he could pick up a few hundred easy dollars kill-
due. Their contract could be voided at the owner’s will. ing elk for their teeth. A pair of good bull tusks are worth
“Lawton said he wouldn’t crowd us,” Bob said hope- twenty-five dollars. It don’t take but a few days to accu-
fully. “He’ll extend the time for another year. Pretty de- mulate quite a piece of wealth. But folks are down on that
cent of him, I’d call it. But if we can’t raise the thousand sort of thing now. They can understand a man’s killing a
in another twelve months we’re through. We’ll lose the critter for meat, even out of season, but when a big bull
place after increasing its value by two thousand dollars elk is shot down for his teeth and left to rot, why it’s dif-
at least. We’ll have to raise the money. I simply refuse to ferent again; they send folks up for a few years in the pen
believe that we’ve got to give up this ranch.” for tusk-hunting nowadays.”
The coyote chorus had been silent but now the wild “They should be sent up,” Bob agreed. “Shooting elk
howls broke forth once more, sounding from far and near for their teeth is pretty low-down.”
along the foot of the hills. Battler rose and peered off “Most of the elk summer farther up-country,” the
in the night, his hackle fur fluffing angrily. The Airedale ranger said. “But there’s always a scattering few, maybe
had small love for these yellow cousins of the wild. Bob a hundred head that summer in the Hogback Range at
waved an arm toward the howling horde. the extreme head of Bobcat and Gravel Bar Creeks. That
“There’s where we miscalculated,” he announced. country lays eight or ten miles west of where the sheep
“Because we could catch a lot of small fur in a coun- outfit graze their woollies. You say you’ve never been up
try that hadn’t been trapped for years, and right under in there?”
Kennedy’s guidance, why we thought we could come out “Never have,” Bob stated.
here and pinch the toes of the little yellow wolves — and “Do you know the Cole boys that herd up at the sheep
we can’t.” camp?” Dickson asked.
The soft bawl of a calf sounded from the field and Both boys denied acquaintance with the Coles.
Wally slapped his partner on the back. “They don’t know you either,” the ranger remarked.
“Cheer up, old Top,” he said. “We’ve got our herd “Said they’d never heard your names before I mentioned
started, anyway.” them. I asked if they’d seen any one back in the hills and
That one calf and the two colts, constituting the in- they said they’d seen two fellows riding a blue roan and
crease of their live stock, were highly prized by their a pinto a couple of times of late — picked ‘em up with
owners. their glasses as they crossed out on some shoulder above
Three days later Dickson, the ranger, rode down from timber line.”
the hills and headed his horse across the flat to where “Someone else,” Wally asserted. “It certainly wasn’t
the boys were breaking out a strip of ground next to the Bob and me.”
cultivated tract. He slouched sidewise in the saddle as he “Whoever it was has been killing elk for the teeth,” the
talked and his eyes kept traveling back to the four horses ranger said. “At least the signs point to them. I noticed a
hitched to the plow. bunch of magpies and ravens pitching down into a little
“Not very well matched as far as color goes,” he com- gorge and went down to investigate. The bird flights, if
mented. “But matched for size — which is all that’s re- you watch ‘em careful, will always point out a carcass. I
quired.” The two mares were bays, Split Ear a pinto, and found an old bull that had been shot down for his teeth.
Warrior — named for that little horse that had dragged Then I took to noticing the meat-eating birds to see where
their first outfit through the Flint Hills — was a blue roan. they congregated, and I found six more carcasses strung
“Do you ride ‘em all?” out for ten miles. A man can make a thousand dollars
“Yes,” Bob said. “But mostly we straddle Warrior and pretty easy in a few weeks by hunting elk for their teeth,
Split Ear.” but he’ll always get caught in the end. If those fellows
“How long since you’ve been up in the peaks south of operate up there any more I’ll get them sure. You’re a
the sheep camp?” Dickson asked. good pair of boys and I want to see you come out on top.
“Never have been there,” Bob answered. “I haven’t I’d hate to see you trying that tusk-hunting game. I’m in
been much farther back than where we marked out those the Forest Service and friendship can’t stand in a ranger’s
PAGE 16 June/July 2010
way when any one starts looting in the Forest. Well, I’ll can get grazing permits on the Forest Reserve and sum-
be sauntering on. Good luck.” mer your stock back in the Forest. Those possibilities
He headed his horse out across the flat while the two are right here, just as you figured, but it takes time and
boys stood gazing after him. money to clear and shape up a piece of raw sage. You’ll
“Now do you suppose Dickson really figures we’ve pour in more cash than you can take out for the first few
been into that mess up there?” Wally asked. “More likely years; seed, lumber for head gates, living expenses, fenc-
he was just mentioning it so we’d stay out of the hills ing — any number of little items will come up and add to
with these two horses till after he’s caught the fellows the steady stream of expenses. For the first three years it
that are riding round on mounts of the same color. He’s will hustle you to raise enough crop to break even. Then
been a good friend to us ever since we hit the country.” there’s the payments and interest to meet on top of it all.
That night they sat as usual before the cabin and lis- Where’s the surplus coming from to buy those cows? If
tened to the coyotes. There was a cold snap of frost in you’d had a little more capital, enough to pay cash for the
the air. place, or even two-thirds, and let the rest ride for three
“Another six weeks and the fur will prime up,” Wally years, you’d have made it all right, but those payments
said. “Do you suppose we can learn to trap those coyotes and interest may eat you up before you get the place
this winter?” cleared of brush and seeded to crop.”
Battler rose from the ground and peered off across “We’ll have to pay out somehow,” Bob stated. “No
country. Soon the boys could hear the steady hoof beats other ranch would ever quite fill the place of this one.”
of a trotting horse. There was a creak of wire as the horse- “Maybe we can plan some way out,” Kennedy said.
man dropped the gate at the mouth of the lane. The Aire- “What I really came clear out here for was to take a camp
dale disappeared, sliding silently away from the cabin. hunt in the hills, I figured you’d soon be through break-
Suddenly Battler broke forth with a series of delighted ing out ground and would be about ready to lay in your
yelps and a voice sounded from the night, a familiar meat for the winter.”
voice which they had not heard for more than a year. “We’re through clearing brush for this year,” Bob
“Down, Battler!” the visitor ordered. “You, Battler! agreed. “We’ve broken out fifty acres next to the piece
You’ll claw the clothes off me.” we seeded this spring. That’s all we’ll be able to seed
Both boys jumped to their feet. down and handle next year. But we hadn’t counted on
“Jack Kennedy!” Bob said. taking a hunt, there’s so much work to be done. Those
They headed for the gate and Kennedy’s voice hailed house logs have to be cut and peeled before fur primes
them. up.”
“Well, well! “he said. “Little old Rawhide and Buck- “I’ll show you how to save enough time on that
skin. I can tell your walk in the dark.” one item to make up for the hunt,” Kennedy promised.
“There’s a trick in all trades. You cut those logs now,
CHAPTER VIII or any time through the winter, and you’ll find the bark
KENNEDY had been with them for a week and knew growed so tight that it’s just like part of the wood. You’ll
every detail of the place, for the boys had proudly con- have to whittle it away with a drawshave. That’s a long,
ducted him over every acre of it. hard job for the pair of you. If you wait till next June
“Your plans were all right,” he said as the three friends the bark on the lodgepoles will slip. A June-cut lodge-
sat with their chairs tilted back against the cabin. “Only pole log will peel out like a banana. Then one of you can
you forgot how hard it was to raise money to meet those snatch the bark off as many logs in a day as the pair of
payments. It’s not every year that a trap line will pay like you could peel now in a week. You need meat and lard
yours did last year. Everything broke just right; fur prices for the winter, so we’ll go to the hills and get it. I’ll rent a
high and the country hadn’t been trapped. Trapping coy- few extra pack ponies to-morrow and the next day we’ll
otes is another sort of a game.” start.”
“We know that now,” Bob agreed. Two days thereafter a little pack outfit filed up Bobcat
“Otherwise your calculations were correct,” Kennedy Creek and headed for the higher hills.
said. “Once you get the place shaped up it’s worth three They found game trails threading the hills, affording
times what you paid. When you get two hundred acres good footing for their horses. The evening of the second
cleared and seeded to alfalfa you can cut from five to six day they made camp in a narrow valley. Just above the
hundred tons of hay every year, sell your surplus and put camp site the bottoms widened out into open meadows
the money in cows. After you reach legal age you can dotted with clumps of trees. Heavily timbered side-hills
each take a pasture homestead adjoining. There’s open flanked the bottoms and lifted to rocky ledges that rose
range all around for grazing your cows in the spring. You above timber line. It was an ideal camp site, for the hors-
June/July 2010 PAGE 17
es could be turned out to graze on the meadows and if are only fair, and if a man is standing quiet they can look
they should elect to make a break for home they would right at him and not be able to make out for sure whether
be forced to pass through the narrow neck near the camp he’s a man or a tree stump. But if they catch a whiff of
and could easily be headed back up-country. scent they’re off. A sheep hasn’t much of a nose and he
“There’s everything here to make it a good camp,” doesn’t seem to hear over well, but he’s got a pair of eyes
Kennedy said. “Wood and water, good grass for the hors- that can’t be fooled. An old ram can see the buttons on
es and an easy place to hold ‘em so they can’t make a your shirt two miles away. When you try to get within
break for home and leave us afoot.” range of elk or deer keep the wind on ‘em every second;
The two boys had fishlines wound round their hats with a bighorn ram keep out of sight. You’ll learn at you
and extra hooks fastened in their hatbands. They cut wil- go along.”
low poles and repaired to the creek. In half an hour they It was just turning gray in the east when the two boys
returned with a dozen trout for supper. left camp in the morning, heading tip the valley and tak-
“Tomorrow we’ll hang up a piece of camp meat,” ing opposite sides of the stream. A mile above camp Bob
Kennedy predicted as they sat round the camp fire after chose a tributary creek and turned off to the left. He fol-
the meal. “This is the best game country in America, ex- lowed game trails that traversed down-timbered side-
cept maybe parts of Alaska and the Yukon. There’s more hills and rocky shoulders, finding the country littered
varieties of big game within a hundred miles of here than with fresh elk sign, but he failed to catch a glimpse of
in any other place I know. Antelope in the foothills, and the game. Once a covey of blue grouse flushed from a
up here there’s deer, elk, moose, mountain sheep and thicket and the roar of wings startled him. The hills were
black, brown and grizzly bear.” full of little red squirrels and these resented his intrusion,
A clear silvery bugle note sounded from far back in barking steadily as he stole silently along the game trails.
the hills. Another answered from the rim of the valley. By noon he had crossed out above the tree line. The creek
“That was an old bull elk that bugled first,” Kennedy headed in a just at timber line, fed by hundreds of trickles
said. “An old herd boss likely. The other was younger seeping from the perpetual snowbanks.
and his voice had more of a squeal. We’ll have meat in Elk had been crossing frequently through a low saddle
camp tomorrow. Now since Rawhide has lost his rifle that formed a pass through the divide to the head of an-
there’s only two guns in the outfit so we’ll have to draw other creek, the trails worn deep and well defined.
straws and see which two of us will hunt tomorrow. The Bob chose a point on the divide and for an hour he
more I think of it the less I see how that rifle could have scanned the country with his glasses. The report of a
slipped out of the scabbard; looks like it might have been heavy rifle drifted faintly to his ears and he knew that
stolen. But anyhow, two guns are enough, for one of us Wally had found game. He dropped down to the head
will have to tend camp every day to do the cooking and of another creek that emptied into the larger stream on
keep an eye on the horses.” which they were camped, the confluence some three
The short straw fell to Kennedy, electing him as camp miles above the meadow. Elk sign was plentiful and once
tender for the following day. Kennedy gave them a few he crossed the trail of a few does and fawns, the prints of
points about the habits of different varieties of game. their tiny sharp-pointed hoofs showing plainly in the soft
“Bull elk and mule-deer bucks don’t stay with the earth near a spring. Twice he found fresh bear tracks on
cows and does except in the running moon,” he ex- the dusty side-hills devoid of vegetation and his nerves
plained. “They summer high up near timber line by tingled at the sight of the broad prints in the dust. He
themselves. Now that the bulls are bugling you’ll find had reached the bottoms where the stream had widened
an old herd bull bossing every band of cows, and the to join the main valley. All through the day he had been
younger bulls hanging round by themselves. The old fel- tense and alert, momentarily expecting to see game. Now
lows whip the youngsters out of the herd. A buck deer a reaction set in.
don’t stay with one band of does, but mills all through the “Better luck tomorrow,” he said. “I’ll have to hustle if
hills from one bunch to the next. This time of year you I reach camp before dark.”
won’t find bighorn rams with the ewes, for the running He chose a game trail leading through a dense stand
moon of the sheep is later by several weeks. The ewes of lodgepole pine and swung along at a brisk pace. The
and lambs will be out in the peaks on the grassy plateaus hunt was over for the day. Suddenly he came to an abrupt
and meadows but the old rams will be lower down. Dur- halt and stared. A cow elk had stepped into the trail ahead
ing the day you’ll find ‘em bedded down on the point of of him. Another crossed within fifty yards. Tawny shapes
a rim-rock or on the shelf of a cliff where you wouldn’t moved in the timber on either flank. His feet had made
think a squirrel could find a foothold. Elk and deer rely no sound on the soft dirt of the trail and the wind was just
mostly on their sense of smell to warn them. Their eyes right; he had walked almost into the middle of a band of
PAGE 18 June/July 2010
cow elk that had risen from their beds to graze in the cool the old bull went down in his tracks. As he viewed his
of the evening. His heart hammered wildly as he peered prize Bob decided that those massive antlers should one
about for the bull that must be with the band. Even in his day adorn the walls of the new cabin they expected to
excitement he remembered that Kennedy had said that an build on the ranch.
elk’s eyes were indifferent, so he stood motionless. Sev- Kennedy did not return till an hour after dark. The boys
eral cows seemed to gaze straight at him but none detect- were vastly excited when he reported killing a black bear
ed his presence. The breeze eddied and a curling black- that would weigh three hundred pounds; after wounding
lash carried his scent to the cows. Big shapes sprang into it with the first shot he had followed it into a tangle of
motion and there was a clatter of hoof on down-logs as down-timber to finish the animal off with a second shot.
the animals hurdled the windfalls. The old man chuckled and shook his head when the
A huge bull leaped into sight and halted. The scent boys asked if the wounded bear had
had not reached him and he seemed unable to determine put up a fight.
the source of the danger. In a second he would be off. “There’s considerable misinformation about bears
Bob’s muscles seemed to cramp as he raised the rifle. floating round,” he said. “A black or brown bear is as
The barrel wavered unsteadily as he lined down the sight. harmless as a pet coon. Not one out of a hundred will
The bull was galvanized into action with the crash of the fight even if it’s wounded. The bear is a fine game animal
report. The boy fired again as the animal wheeled and and should be protected at certain seasons the same as
disappeared in the timber. other game, but the tales circulated by green hunters has
An hour later a disappointed hunter turned up at camp. made the bear an outlaw. Whenever a man sets up and
His drooping spirits revived as he sat down to a meal of tells you about a desperate battle he’s had with a black
elk liver and bacon. Wally had scored on a young spike bear you can figure it’s a hundred-to-one shot that he’s a
bull. Kennedy chuckled as Bob explained his failure. green hand that knows mighty little about bear.”
“Buck fever,” he pronounced. “Most folks get it at “But what about a grizzly?” Bob asked.
first. You’re usually pretty steady, Rawhide, but this sur- “The grizzly is a different proposition,” Kennedy
prise was too much and upset your nerves.” said. “He’ll keep out of your way if he can, but once you
“If I’d only been expecting it,” Bob regretted. wound a grizzly, he’s the most dangerous beast in Amer-
“It’s always when you’re least expecting it that you ica. A wounded grizzly won’t always fight, but most of
see game,” Kennedy stated. “That seems to be almost a ‘em will, and when they do turn on a man he has trouble
rule. You either run onto it just as you’re leaving camp or on his hands a-plenty. They’re hard to stop, once they go
maybe after you’ve hunted all day without seeing a hair. on the warpath, and can carry a pile of lead. They’ve got
You give it up for a bad job and start back for camp — brains. I’ve known grizzlies to circle back and lay hind
and jump your meat. Maybe you’ll sit down on a log to a windfall jam when a man was on their track, then rush
rest and an elk or a deer will come sauntering along and him just after he’d passed and batter him before he could
nearly run over you. That’s the way it goes. Better luck turn and shoot.”
to-morrow. There’s plenty of elk in the hills.” “Is there a chance of our getting a grizzly on this trip?”
Bob left camp with the first streak of light, heading Bob asked.
downstream. When he had covered a few hundred yards “Not likely,” Kennedy said. “The grizzly is almost ex-
he stopped at the edge of a little park that opened out tinct in the States, only a scattering few left in the west-
in the timber, his eyes trained on a rocky sidehill as he ern hills, and the most part of those are right up in this
debated whether to climb up by that route and hunt on country, but they’re so scarce that we’re not apt to run
the ridges or to wait till he reached some gulch that led onto one. If any cross through here I can maybe show you
back through a break in the rims. He was prepared to a track. I’d like you to see what size track an old grizzly
make a strenuous day of it, having resolved to hunt far makes. There was many a man mauled by grizzlies in the
from camp and to keep on the move till sunset should early days. A few more years and they’ll all be gone.”
drive him back. He decided to move on a bit farther be- Kennedy decreed that they should stop hunting for
fore climbing the rims, took one step and stiffened with two days and care for their meat.
surprise. A mighty bull elk stood in the center of the open “It’s a poor hunter that keeps on shooting till he’s got
park. It seemed impossible that he could have failed to so much game down that a part of his kill sours and spoils
see the animal before. A massive pair of six-point antlers before he can take care of his meat. We’re not that kind.
crowned the head of this monarch of the forest. Tomorrow morning we’ll start packing the meat into
The rifle wavered as he raised it but he steadied it and camp.”
did not press the trigger till the sights rested on the elk’s
To Be Continued...
shoulder. The roar of the shot filled the narrow valley and
PrESS rELEASE:
NED SMItH CENtEr FOr NAtUrE AND Art CELEBrAtES
17th ANNUAL NAtUrE AND ArtS FEStIVAL
Press Contact: Alexis Dow Campbell, Marketing Coordinator
Phone: 717.692.3699
Email: adow@nedsmithcenter.org
MILLErSBUrG, PA – the Ned Smith Center for Nature and Art will host its 17th annual Na-
ture and Arts Festival along the banks of the scenic Susquehanna river at MYO Park in Millers-
burg, PA on Friday, July 30 and Saturday, July 31.
The festivities will kick off Friday evening, with performances from area favorites Down To Earth Band, a demonstration
by the Mid-Atlantic Disc Dogs, and presentation from John D. Laskowski, a.k.a. “The Mothman,” (who also serves
as Program Chair for the Festival) and a nighttime bat program by biologist Cal Butchkoski.
Saturday is the real main event, with live music from Celtic folksters Seasons, a live animal demonstration by the
Red Creek Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, a dance performance from Pennsylvania Regional Ballet and a preview of
Twin Valley Players’ summer musical The Pajama Game, all on the Main Stage.
As for the nature programming, an extraordinary mix of recognized experts will be on hand, including Pulitzer
Prize-nominated author and Northern Saw-Whet owl expert Scott Weidensaul; Kermit Henning, an authority on ed-
ible wild plants; and many, many more.
The MAD Disc Dogs will return for another demonstration, and you can bring your own dog for a chance to
compete in the area championship of the Hyperflite Skyhoundz Canine Disc Championships. All competitors will
receive a free official Hyperflite K-10 Competition standard flying disc. To register or learn more, visit mad-dogs.
org.
The wide variety of programming and the unique blend of nature and the arts exemplifies the Center’s mission
and the vision of its namesake, nationally-recognized wildlife artist and naturalist, Ned Smith.
“This festival epitomizes the mission of the Ned Smith Center’s continuing goal to honor the life work of Ned
Smith and his wonderful, supportive wife Marie,” says John D. Laskowski, Festival Planning Committee Program
Chair. “Ned deftly fused nature and art in his cherished gifts on canvas and we are honored to continue his legacy.”
In keeping with the Center’s strong education mission, there are ongoing youth activities throughout the day led
by Ned Smith Center’s Director of Education Beth Sanders and a dedicated group of volunteer educators. Activities
include appearances by the Millersburg Tall Cedar Clowns and Smokey Bear, as well as face painting, environmen-
tal games and the ever-popular fish print t-shirts.
“I’ve attended the Ned Smith [Center] Festival for the past ten years, and enjoy the family-oriented nature of the
event,” says Festival Planning Committee Chair Don Helin. “It’s great to watch how much fun the kids have at the
Youth Activities Pavilion. For several years, I have brought my grandchildren, who have had a ball.”
In addition to the exciting programs at the Festival, a wide range of vendors and exhibitors will be in attendance,
as well as several fabulous food vendors.
“I can hardly wait to have another milkshake!” says Helin.
Program chair John D. Laskowski hopes that Festival-goers will leave MYO Park on July 25 “with a better
understanding and appreciation of the effect that Ned Smith has had on so many of our presenters, volunteers and
supporters. If so, our mission will be a success.”
For a complete listing of Festival programming, visit http://www.nedsmithcenter.org.
For more information contact the Ned Smith Center for Nature and Art at (717) 692-3699 or visit www.ned-
smithcenter.org. The Ned Smith Center was founded in 1993 to commemorate the life and works of its namesake.
Its mission is to merge the arts and the natural world and foster a celebration of both.
By Ace Demers
For four years I was skunked. Then it happened. One blast from my .375 Magnum rifle in the
wilds of British Columbia and I got the reputation of being a big-game hunter. Lots of fellows
keep asking me how it happened. They say, “Ace, how come you got interested in shooting big
bears? What’s the scoop on that hunting trip?” Well, it’s quite a story, and it started with moose.
I operate a flying service, and back in 1947 I was doing aerial dust and spray application work
for some farmers in Oregon’s Willamette Valley. The farmers kept swapping stories about hunting
in Canada and about killing moose, deer, goats, and even grizzly bears. They got me so steamed
up about hunting I made them promise to take me along on their next trip. They said OK, and
made good on it that fall.
Seven of us arranged for a hunt in British Columbia. It was a big operation, and since the fel-
lows seemed sure we’d kill large game we took plenty of equipment with us. We had three pick-up
trucks and one four-ton job. Quite a caravan.
Driving out of the Willamette, we went through Portland, Oreg., crossed the border at Sumas,
Wash., on into the Fraser River valley and over good roads to Williams Lake. About 150 miles
beyond there, on dirt roads, we came to Trail’s End Lodge at Anahim Lake, our destination.
PAGE 22 June/July 2010
We were ready to start shooting the minute we arrived, in and claim what’s left. Lester showed us several such
but instead we got together with the guides and planned places. The moose remains gave off an awful stench and
the hunt. John Glaser and I were to be hunting buddies, usually were half buried under piles of dirt and debris
and we drew Lester Dorsey as our guide. Lester’s a tall, clawed up by the grizzlies. But we didn’t see any bears.
slim woodsman – a regular storybook guide – who has “I want a big grizzly,” I told Lester.
been in that territory for 35 years. We took a shine to him “First let’s get moose, then we’ll go after bears,” he
right away. He described the area we’d hunt in and told replied.
us some hair-raising stories about grizzly bears. By the second day of the hunt every member of our
Watch those moose-kill area,” he warned. “Many party had a moose- except John and me. We’d seen
times grizzlies take them over and cause trouble.” He moose and shot at moose, but that’s all. The .30/06 I was
explained that after hunters strip a killed moose of horns carrying seemed altogether useless.
and whatever meat they want, often a grizzly will move The fourth day found us on a trail in the Clipper
June/July 2010 PAGE 23
Had the big grizzly surprised the intruders in his food cache and slaughtered them in a battle royal?
Heights area of the Rainbow Range, and we spotted Some days we were in the saddle 12 hours at a
two bulls breaking ice on a small lake. The distance was stretch. No moose. No nothing. We glared at Lester.
about 250 yards. We piled off the horses and pumped Lester glared ahead. Finally we came to the last day of
lead. After the third or fourth shots the bulls turned and the hunt. Even the weather turned bad, and snow set in.
trotted swiftly up the slope. Late in the day we spotted a timber wolf and shot right
“Didn’t you hit yours?” I asked John. between his back legs. Snow blew up under his belly.
“I made a sieve out of him,” he shouted. Evidently We’d missed again. At dusk the three of us were riding
my .30/06 just didn’t pack enough hitting power. We toward a ridge, eye-weary and saddle-sore, when Lester
trailed those bulls for a long time but didn’t catch up yelled, “Moose, moose, moose!”
with them. Sure enough. Moose all over the slope on the other
PAGE 24 June/July 2010
get a .300 Magnum. It’s a fast and
hard-shooting gun if you use it
properly and can handle the recoil.
Since I’m short and stubby I fig-
ured I could take the kick all right.
John and I teamed up with Les-
ter again in 1948, and this time
we had better luck. First day out
we spotted a huge bull moose 350
yards away. John and I both ran
up the slope to shorten the range,
but my greater weight and shorter
legs gave John the advantage. He
got the first shot, and that did it.
After dressing out the moose we
were heading for camp when John
pointed a horse in a far meadow.
“Horse, nothing,” I said as my
scope outlined a fair-size moose.
The .300 Magnum paid off on the
first shot. Good. Two moose on the
first day. Now we could use the re-
maining six days to hunt bears.
The three of us combed the area.
We found lots of bear tracks, but
no bears. One day Lester picked
up a trail made by a grizzly with
a bloody forepaw. “This ought to
be easy,” I thought. But no results.
We had to content ourselves with
goats, deer, moose, and fish.
Our 1949 and 1950 trips were
duplicates of the 1948 hunt. No
grizzlies. Then came the fall of
Demers displays grizzly’s hide racked on 14 x 14-foot frame. Note uncleaned skull 1951. I was working in Mexico at
the time, and my hunting partners
side of the ridge, like spots before your eyes. The jack-
were getting itchy feet and were worried I’d hold up the
pot, and just in time. John and I each collected a moose,
trip until too late. This eventually led to a split in the
and that was that.
ranks, but I wired John.
The gang was happy back at the lodge. Seven men
“We’ll head for Canada,” I assured him, “and this
killed seven moose in seven days. I felt so good I forgot
year it’s a grizzly first.” His answer was kind of indirect.
about grizzly bears and headed for Nimpo Lake to do
“I’ve got all the arrangements made. We’re going
some fishing.
caribou hunting,” he replied. Evidently John wasn’t too
By 1948 the urge for a grizzly was still on me. I
keen about hunting grizzlies. Well, the way it worked
couldn’t forget those moose-kill areas and the earth-
out was that John went hunting caribou in Alberta with
moving work grizzlies do when making food caches.
two other friends, and I made my own arrangements.
I wired Lester, “This year we get grizzly bears.” His
I phoned Ike Sing early in October. He runs the gen-
response wasn’t enthusiastic. Like many other guides,
eral store at Anahim Lake and had been our cook on
Lester himself has no fear of bears but has reservations
previous trips.
about what inexperienced hunters might do when they
“Send a runner to Lester’s ranch,” I told him, “and
come across a grizzly for the first time. Just the same, I
see if Lester will take me out this year. Tell him I’ve got
was determined to get a trophy bear.
to have a grizzly. Tell him I want to know if there’s any
The stories I’d heard about grizzlies, together with
bear sign around. If he can’t find grizzlies I won’t come
the poor results I’d had with my .30/06 caused me to
up.”
June/July 2010 PAGE 25
Ike phoned back. “Lester says
bear sign good.” That was enough.
I went out and traded my .300 Mag-
num for a real cannon – a .375.
With the pick-up pulling a boat
and trailer, it took me two days and
a night to make the lake from Sa-
lem, Oreg. Snow set in, but I told
myself snow’s good for tracking. I
met Lester and Ike at the store, and
as a starter we arranged a couple of
short pack trips on the slopes behind
Lester’s 750-acre ranch. It’s near Mt.
Baldface in the Itcha Mountains at
4,000 feet. Grizzly skull which Demers says was two inches longer before it was cut from body
We got nothing on either trip. On
the second one we sighted a young
bull moose in a meadow, and I
stalked him to within 150 yards. But
there were two cows with him and
when they saw me they romped and
side-kicked to the other end of the
clearing. I let the bull go. After all, I
was out for a bear.
Lester decided we’d better take
a pack train and head for the higher
elevations. He and his son loaded
nine horses with tents, stoves, food,
guns – the works. We were prepared
to go all the way to Alaska if neces-
sary. Then we started climbing. Rain
and snow pelted us off and on, and Length of present world-record grizzly skull tops Demers’ trophy by 3/8 of an inch
before long we ran into a real storm.
We camped early that first day, hit a around the Bella Coola River where the fish-eaters are
few grouse, and had a nice supper. catching the fall run of salmon.” He gestured out into the
Next morning we’d been on the move an hour or valleys below, toward the coast. It would be a 75-mile
so when the pack train was thrown into a panic. A big jaunt, but that didn’t bother me. I’d been ghost hunting
bull moose popped out of the brush along the trail and long enough. So our pack train eased down the slopes
stood there looking straight at us. He wouldn’t move. toward Lester’s ranch.
I jumped off my horse, cracked a bullet into the bull’s From the ranch to Anahim Lake is one day by horse-
backbone, and finished him with a head shot. That filled back. At the lake Lester and I took a pick-up and headed
my ticket for moose. toward the coast thought Precipice Pass, which actually
The second day brought us to timber line on Bald- is a horse trail. In several places the drop-off is straight
face. Lester told me this was grizzly territory for sure. down 2,000 feet. It was rough, but we made it and ended
He said the larger animals usually stay on the upper up at Bert Robson’s place, which is close to Antnirko.
reaches and seldom associate with the fish-eating bears Bert is a guide in that area and a good friend of Les-
below and around the coastal streams. That sounded ter’s. He’s also an authority on grizzlies and has written
good. Lester spent a lot of time searching the area but a book about them. After we’d told him about our tough
reported only a few bear tracks. They showed that the luck, he helped us map another campaign. But before we
animals were moving fast, night and day, and heading hit the trail again Lester and I had the pleasure of soak-
for distant places. ing ourselves in Bert’s modern bathtub, a luxury which
On one scouting expedition we ran into Pam Phil- had been hauled 40 miles on horseback.
lips, a guide from another area. “This is a bad year for The first hunt we made was a short one. The second
bears,” he told us. “Surest bet for a grizzly is down covered more territory. The third was tiring. We tramped
PAGE 26 June/July 2010
for a week and didn’t see a single bear. There were griz- There was no fussing around. A good camp is out of the
zly tracks in the sands along the streams, but no ani- question when you’re hot on a bear’s trail and the weath-
mals. Anyone who thinks grizzlies are easy to track has er is changeable. We unpacked the minimum, built a fire,
another thing coming. If a grizzly doesn’t want to stand and made do as best we could. All we talked about was
ground he vanishes. In many places we tracked bears how long it might take to catch up with that bear. At one
right down to the waterline and found fresh fish tossed point the Indian said, “Bear, big bear, but small foot.”
up on the banks. But no bears. I was almost ready to de- “How’s that?” I asked. “The tracks look big to me.”
clare there was no such animal as a grizzly. Yet around “Bear never step on log,” he replied. “Bear step here
Bella Coola I heard plenty of stories that made hitting a and step over it. Never put any print on log at all. Even
bear sound like a pushover. when log is big, bear afraid to step. Afraid he break it
“There was a guy here last week.” one fellow told and make noise.”
me. “Just walked out a mile and shot a grizzly. It bawled, What he said about the bear stepping over logs was
rolled down river, and washed up on the bank. All we true, even though in many cases they were 12 inches
did was pull it up the trail and bring it in.” Fine, but Ace thick. The bear was keeping his trail in the brush and
Demers doesn’t get grizzly bears that easily. taking no chances on exposing himself.
Finally I spoke up to Lester. “Let’s get out of here and I checked the guns before turning in. The Indian’s
head back to the hills.” No sooner had I said that than was rusty and the barrel looked like a gravel road, but
who should walk into Robson’s place but Pam Phillips. he kept it loaded. I kept my .375 Magnum loaded too.
He’d made a second trip through Mt. Baldy’s slopes, After supper we built up the fire and rolled into sleeping
he said, and had seen grizzly tracks coming down the bags, and during the night we were buried under a foot
mountain. of snow.
I reacted like I’d been given a shot in the arm. Next Next day we hit the trail as early as dawn would per-
day Lester and I were back in Ike’s store at Anahim Lake. mit, and rode in silence. We made good progress for sev-
Indian trappers kept drifting in and out of the place, and eral hours, then held a confab. At no time had the trail
several remarked they’d seen grizzly tracks on the west taken us other than upward in a relatively straight line.
slopes. Lester and Ike went into a huddle over these ru- It was evident the bear was heading for the top elevation
mors, and then we had a conference. The upshot was of Mt. Baldy. The tracks were becoming more distinct.
that Lester felt there might be some truth in the stories. There was powdery snow in the deep, firm prints, and
There was a fellow at the store called Olie Johnson, even the claw marks were well defined.
part Indian with some Norwegian and English, who was We pushed ahead in single file with the Indian in the
a bear hunter. Lester said he’d like to get him to join lead. Occasionally he’d stop, jump from his horse, and
us, and I told him OK. After some preliminary arrange- bend over to examine the ground closely. He seemed
ments, Olie agreed to come along. more pleased with each inspection. Lester paced his
We decided Lester would spend a day scouting horse behind mine. I was in the middle. For miles there
around his ranch to check for bear sign. If he saw any wasn’t a break in the trail, and no sign that the bear had
he’d get the information to Ike Sing, who would notify bedded down anywhere.
me at Nimpo Lake where I’d be fishing. Late that afternoon we flushed a flock of ravens im-
I tramped into Ike’s store on Sunday, October 21, and mediately ahead. I watched the birds scatter, then looked
met a trio of grins. at Olie. The Indian seemed startled, sat uncertainly in
“What’s up, Lester?” I asked. his saddle for a minute, then pumped both feet from the
“He’s a big one.” stirrups and flew off his horse.
“Are you sure?” “Fresh bear tracks, fresh bear tracks, he yelled, point-
“Yes. Day-old tracks. He’s heading up the moun- ing excitedly to where the trail led into some dense
tains.” brush.
“Let’s go. I don’t care if we ride two weeks.” I piled off my horse and lit in knee deep snow. Pass-
We outfitted three saddle horses and one pack horse, ing Olie, I took the lead and advanced cautiously. Soon
and hit the trail next morning. The bear was a steady there were bear tracks all over, a regular stamping
plodder. It was heading straight up the mountain, keep- ground. Could this be the end of the trail?
ing close to the brush and stubby timber. The going was The three of us pushed straight ahead. We stopped a
tough on the horses. The temperature was 12 above, and minute 200 feet from where we’d left the horses and sur-
the dry snow on the trees kept falling on us. But the light veyed the area. Here the timber had thinned out, giving
snow over the frozen ground didn’t hamper our speed, way to brush and evergreens too bushy to see through.
and it was good for tracking. We heard branches crackling.
We made a quick camp at twilight of the first day. “Up this way.” Lester gestured from behind.
June/July 2010 PAGE 27
“Bear over here,” Olie whispered and pointed. mound which the bear had been pawing over when we
Again I took the lead, moved toward the spot he in- surprised him. The pile was four or five feet high and as
dicated, and quietly pushed my rifle around the end of a I stepped on it, it shivered like jelly.
thicket. I bent forward and looked into a sizable clear- “Hey, there’s a live bear under here.” I yelled to Les-
ing. ter as I jumped clear and got my rifle in position for a
Straight ahead, not more than 125 feet away, a huge shot.
bear stood on its hind legs, pawing over a large dirt Lester came over to the mound and skinned off about
mound. It spotted me immediately, let out a ferocious three inches of the outside dirt with his shoe. The dirt
grrooff, grrooff, and lunged for me. was soft and crumbly where it had been defrosted by the
I jammed one knee into the snow, leveled the gun at heat of the grizzly’s body. Under Lester’s shoe a mass
the bear and put a quick shot into its heart area. As the of brown fur was exposed. We both dug deeper and un-
bullet smashed into it the animal staggered, but came covered the carcass of a brown bear ripped and torn and
right on. I pumped a fast second shot as the bear pitched covered with blood. The right shoulder had been clawed
into a somersault in front of me. It lay still. from the spine down, and the jaw severed from the skull.
“Never heard or saw a bolt-action rifle give two shots No doubt this was the work of the giant grizzly.
so fast,” Lester said as he ran up. I’d carried five shots, With Olie’s help we rolled the remains of the brown
four in the magazine and one in the barrel and was pre- bear to one side, and as we did so the mound of dirt
pared to let go with the whole works if necessary. yielded another body. This time it was a black bear. The
Hesitantly the three of us approached the huge body. two dead bears had been stacked in a neat pile, one on
The bear was hot and sweaty, and a layer of snow which top of the other, and covered over.
the fur had picked up when the monster fell was now The mound forming the double grave was made up
beginning to melt slowly. of earth, leaves, small trees, and logs, all scraped over
“Lester, don’t get too close.” I shouted, remembering the bodies by the grizzly’s clam-rake paws, and topped
the stories I’d hear. “He might be alive. He might jump with logs six to eight inches in diameter. So despite all
up. They’ve done that.” this, the mound was so shaky it gave easily when we
But Lester walked up close and pointed to the blood pushed it.
oozing from the bear’s underside. “You don’t have to Now we stopped to figure out the puzzle. Evidently
shoot anymore,” he said. sometime within the previous 24 hours the killer grizzly
I was still cautious. “Well, go around behind and kick had had a terrific fight with the two bears that had tres-
him. If he moves I’ll shoot.” Lester and the Indian went passed on his territory. The cache area was a real battle-
around the body and gave it several swipes. There was ground, with trees, brush, small vegetation, earth, and
no movement. I didn’t know until later how well that snow all plowed up.
first bullet had found its mark. When I spotted him, the grizzly undoubtedly was
The initial excitement was over, but Lester couldn’t cleaning house and giving his victims a proper burial.
control his enthusiasm. Neither could the Indian. All the time we’d been tracking him the wind had been
“Big bear, big bear,” Olie kept shouting. “Biggest in our favor, and the monster was genuinely surprised
bear I ever seen.” Then he rushed over to the body and when we jumped him.
stepped off its length. “Fourteen feet.” He went through Lester told me grizzly bears often set up winter quar-
the act again and again and always came up with the ters in food-cache areas. So it had been with this fellow,
same answer. He slapped me on the shoulder, almost for we found a bed of boughs and sticks near the mound.
knocking me down. All I knew, it was a big bear. I hard- Lester thought the grizzly had left his cache now and
ly noticed it was a grizzly until I saw its big hump and again to raid ranches on the lower mountain slopes. We
four-inch fur tipped with silver. picked up his trail while he’d been exploring the range-
Lester took a good look over the area and said it was land near Lester’s place.
the grizzly’s winter food cache. Several hundred feet While the grizzly was on this raiding expedition, a
back on the trail we found the remains of two moose smaller grizzly must have invaded the area. It probably
partly buried under leaves and dirt. The ravens we’d was snooping around the moose remains when it was
flushed had been working them over. Near the moose surprised and overpowered by either the black bear or
grave Lester picked up a small piece of brown fur. It the brownie, or maybe both. Hence the hunk of griz-
looked like wolf skin, but Lester said it was grizzly zly fur Lester found. Then, to complete the drama, the
hide. That was a puzzler. Where had it come from? We big grizzly had caught the two intruders and slaughtered
couldn’t answer that – not just then.’ them in a battle royal.
I walked around the cache area kicking up clumps After we’d done fitting this jigsaw puzzle together we
of debris here and there. Then I jumped up on the large turned back to the grizzly. Its body was so large and fat
PAGE 28 June/July 2010
In the four years I’d spent prowl-
ing around British Columbia after
a grizzly, I’d heard many hunters
bent on similar missions. Usually
the guides told of being left to shoot
bears while their hunters high-tailed
it for cover. Lester and Olie risked no
such danger with me. I’m not built
for high-tailing it anywhere. I weigh
235 pounds and stand 5 feet 8 inches
in riding chaps, and any bear would
see at a glance that I’d be going no-
where fast. The situation I faced of-
fered no alternatives. I had to stand
my ground and shoot.
Next morning we got ready to
head back to the ranch. The worst
problem we ran into was loading
the grizzly on the packhorse, a big
roan mare. She wanted nothing to do
with it. She jumped to one side, then
the other, kicked, bucked, and tried
to roll the hide off. Anything to get
away from that grizzly smell.
Even with the roan under control
we had a tough time because the skin
was so heavy and slippery it wouldn’t
stay put. It kept shifting around like
liquid. We’d left quite a bit of fat on
the underside, intending to do a real
cleaning job later, and Lester figured
that the fat and the skin weighed 350
“there’s a live bear under here,” I yelled, jumping clear of the shivering mound pounds. We tucked the greasy bun-
dle into two rawhide saddle bags –
that the chubby paws just hung in a playful form across
one on each side of the horse - and lopped the skin from
one side, not touching the ground.
one bag to the other over the roan’s back. She didn’t care
“He’s an old bear,” the Indian said. To which Lester
for that one bit. But we got under way and highballed it
added, “Biggest I’ve ever seen. Didn’t think they came
down the side of the mountain.
so big.”
Ike Sing was on hand to hear the news. As I told him
It was dark when we started skinning the bear, and it
the story he kept looking at the hide. “You got a big
took us until midnight to finish the job. We found lard
bear there,” he said. He didn’t think the skin weighed as
four or five inches thick immediately under the skin. Our
much as it did, though, until we had him heft it. “What
hunting knives turned dull in no time, and we had no
do you think now, Ike?” He smiled and nodded vigor-
whetstone with us. By the time we had that hide loose
ously. “You got a record, maybe even a world record.”
we were so tired we could have fallen asleep right there
After we’d done a little celebrating we started clean-
in the snow.
ing off the hide, and filled a big tub with fat. While we
I wanted to see what damage my two shots had done,
were scraping away Olie kept taking time out to step
so we did a little surgery. The first killed the bear out-
back off the hide, look at it, and wag his head. “Big bear,
right, blew his heart to bits. Yet that 300-grain bullet
big bear,” he kept saying. When we’d finished we packed
with its 4,400 pounds of shocking power never got be-
the hide with the skull, and I started out for home.
yond the chest cavity. It was stopped cold by the griz-
As I drove south from Anahim Lake the report I’d got
zly’s thick, tough muscles. The second bullet had ripped
a big bear spread ahead of me. I had to stop dozens of
a three-inch gouge out of a tree trunk, but had gone on
times to show the skull and hide. Finally I got so tired of
to blast the bear on top of the shoulder.
rolling the hide back into the rye-grass sack each time
June/July 2010 PAGE 29
folks had seen it. I just left it piled up loosely in the back measured without the lower jaw was 15 13/16 inches
of the pick-up. long, while the skull that took first prize was 16 inches
When I got to the border the Canadian officials who long – just 3/16 more. My trophy ran up a total score
checked the hide and skull said they’d never seen or of 25 5/16 points, compared with 25 6/17 points for the
heard of a grizzly that big, and suggested I write to the winner. In addition, my trophy placed fourth on the new-
provincial government and record its size. ly compiled world-record list for grizzlies. Length of the
But after I got back to Salem, Oreg. I had other things present No. 1 grizzly skull is 16 3/16 inches, only 3/8 of
to do and didn’t think much about all the talk there’d an inch longer than mine.
been of how big the bear was, or of what Ike Sing had Maybe my story should end there but Mrs. Fitz told
said about maybe I had a world record. Then the local me something about my trophy I never thought about
newspaper wanted a story, and the reporter asked me if before. It appears that when the skull was taken from the
I’d rack up the skin for a photograph. I put the hide on grizzly’s spine it was cut short. “Sawing the back off, as
a 14 x 14 foot frame and stood next to it to have my it has been done,” she wrote, “was a great loss to your
picture taken. fine trophy. In fact, you might have had a world record.
After the newspaper article appeared I got up enough Of course this is only a guess.”
enthusiasm to call Jim Bond, a big-game hunter, at Se- Well it’s not guess to me. The committee could only
attle, Wash. He told me that if the trophy was as big as measure what it had, but I know that at least two inches
all that I should send the skull to the American Museum of bone were sawed off the skull and left attached to the
of Natural History in New York City. rest of the body. That’s why I’m convinced my grizzly
“They’ll record it for you,” he said, “and if you have deserves to rank as the world record, and I hope to prove
a world record they’ll tell you so.” it by finding that missing chunk of bone. I would have
I shipped the skull to New York by plane, and soon gone back last year except the ban on bringing meat into
got a letter from Samuel B. Webb, chairman of the Boon the United States.
and Crockett Club’s Committee on North American Big I’ve already arranged with Lester Dorsey for a hunt
Game. My trophy, he assured me, would be well up on this fall, and the first item on the program will be to look
the list. Then Mrs. Grancel Fitz, the committee’s secre- for that piece of skull. Both Lester and I know exactly
tary, wrote, asking me for more facts about the trophy where we left the grizzly’s remains, and have hopes the
and telling me it would be entered in the club’s 1951 skeleton will still be there. I want to find the missing
competition. I could scarcely wait to hear the results. link that should put my trophy up front, where I’m sure
The news came in March, 1952. I learned that my it belongs.
grizzly had placed third in the 1951 competition. Its skull Outdoor Life – September 1953
As we dug deep into it, the pile of dirt and debris gave forth the body of a large brown bear and, later, that of a huge black
PAGE 30 June/July 2010
FLESH AND
June/July 2010 PAGE 31
ON A
LIGHTER NOTE!
Hunting Lawyers
Two lawyers were out hunting when they came upon a couple of tracks. After close examina-
tion, the first lawyer declared them to be deer tracks. The second lawyer disagreed, insisting
they must be elk tracks.
They were still arguing when the train hit them.
Good Question!
If a man says something in the woods and there are no women there,
is he still wrong?
We Go Bear Hunting
Two Polish hunters were driving through the country to go bear hunting. They came upon a
fork in the road where a sign read “BEAR LEFT” so they went home.
Fishing License...!!!
A couple of young fellers were fishing at their special pond off the beaten track when out of
the bush’s jumped the Game Warden !!
Immediately, one of the boys threw his rod down and started running through the woods, and
hot on his heels came the Game Warden.
After about a half mile the fella stopped and stooped over with his hands on his thighs to
catch his breath and the Game Warden finally caught up to him.
“Lets see yer fishin license, Boy !!” the Warden gasped.
With that, the fella pulled out his wallet and gave the Game Warden a valid fishing license.
“Well, son”, said the Game Warden, “ You must be about as dumb as a box of rocks !! You
don’t have to run from me if you have a valid license!”
“Yes Sir”, replied the young feller,” But my friend back there, well, he don’t have one”...
PAGE 34 June/July 2010
CURRENT NEWS
May 11, 2010
Man Pleads Guilty To Unlawful Killing Of Migratory
Bird…Again; Tipline Call Results In Nearly $15,000 In
Fines
READING – Pennsylvania Game Commission officials today announced that
Roy Gordon Lovell, 74, of Glen Rock pled guilty to one count of the unlawful kill-
ing of a Canada goose and one count of false or fraudulent statements to an of-
ficer on April 28.
Hohner
Harmonicas
Autovalves
$68.00 ppd.
Keys Available: A, Bb, C, D, E, F, G
�� � � �� � � � � � �
� � � � �
� � � � �� � � � � �
� �� �� ��
� � � �
�� � � �� � � � � �
� � � � � �� � � � �
�
� � �� � � �
� � � � � � � � �
� � � � � � � � � � � ��� �
�� � �
� � � � � � �
�
� � � � �� � � �
� � � � � � �
� � �
� � �� � �
� �� � � �
� � � � ��
� �� � � � � � �� � �
� � � � �� � � � �
� � �
� �� � � � � �
� � � �
� � � �� �
� �� � �� � �
�
� �� � � � � � � �
� � � � � �� �
� � �
� � � �� � �
� � � � � � �� � �
�� � �� � � �� � � �� � � ���
� �� �� � �� �� � �
� � � � � � � �
�� � � � � �� ��� ��� � �
� � � � � � �
� � � �� � � � � �
� �� � �
Schneck is editor of e Drumming Log and author of more than two dozen books on various nature subjects.
PAGE 46 June/July 2010
Family Hunt
for ALASKA
My first bullet knocked the bear
flat, but he scrambled to his feet
quickly and came along the beach
for us. I knew it was now or never!
BROWNIES
BY KENNETH C. KELLAR
June/July 2010 PAGE 47
A jinx is a nasty thing for a man to have dogging him – without any of us firing a shot. That was why I was
when he’s out for big game. In 1941, while hunting on wondering if my jinx had spread to the others. Oh, I had
Admiralty and Chichagof Islands in southern Alaska, I taken a luckless crack at a hair seal from the deck of the
knocked down a small brown bear which got away, and Onawa. The range was 500 yards, and I hardly expected
I missed a much larger one completely on the last day to collect Alaska’s bounty on the animal.
of the trip. Spring was a full month behind schedule, a condition
Now, five years later, I was out of the Army and hardly in favor of good brownie hunting. Arnold and I
back in this great bruin country, and already six days found two feet of snow right down to tidewater on our
had passed without one of us getting a crack at a bear. first day out. The bear tracks we came across were all
What’s more, it was beginning to look as if the jinx had pretty old. We did jump twenty-nine Sitka deer that day,
spread to the various members of my family and per- but it was brownies we wanted – not those little black-
haps the trip itself! tails.
Late in April we had set out from Seattle on the 84- After four fruitless days on Chichagof, we moved
foot yacht Onawa for Ketchikan – my father (we call across Chatham Straight to Whitewater Bay on Admi-
him the Colonel because of his Tennessee ancestry), my ralty Island. Here we at least saw some game. The Colo-
wife Molly, and my two sons: Chambers and Sherman, nel, Chams – my elder son – and Wes spotted a brown
aged thirteen and twelve, respectively. Trouble struck bear working along a piece of shoreline, but the rascal
right away. A gale enveloped us, and the Onawa groaned ducked into the timber before a shot could be fired. The
and trembled like a cinched-up cayuse, turning every- jinx again?
thing movable upside down – including several stom- That same evening Arnold and I canoed up the north
achs! Molly would gladly have swapped places with a arm of the bay. This was familiar territory, for it was
carefree meadow lark back home in South Dakota. here that I’d missed a grand trophy in 1941. We saw one
Our Diesels quit several times. Then the plumbing old track in the mud. However, things picked up a little
went out of whack. Sherman came down with the mea- on the following day. Sherman and I had just returned
sles. And we got lost at the height of the storm, when the to the Onawa from the exciting Dolly Varden fishing,
night was blacker than a Halloween cat. when I heard the Colonel yell from the other side of the
After six days, however, we finally did make Ket- boat. We dashed around in time to see a female brownie
chikan, where we picked up Arnold Israelson and Wes ambling along a strip of beach about half a mile away,
Meyers, who were to guide us. Wes, who had arrived accompanied by a cub and a yearling. The old lady was
in Alaska along with the ice worm, the totem pole, and plainly nervous, and soon shepherded her family into
the Taku wind, told us he’d have to take it easy, for he’d the timber. No attempt was made to stalk the animals, as
just been released from the hospital. But this suited the it isn’t considered sporting to shoot a female when she
Colonel well – he was nearly eighty, and had been or- has a helpless cub. It was comforting to at least look at
dered to hunt without walking. bears, though.
Sherman was still spotted like a brook trout, and a “Seeing that little feller reminds me of something,”
doctor advised us to keep him abed for a couple of days Wes said to the Colonel. “Once we picked up two Ko-
more. At last we got under way for Tenakee Inlet on diak cubs for mascots on a boat trip. It got pretty rough
Chichagof Island. that day, and the bears spent a lot of time at the rail
The Onawa carried two outboard-powered dinghies, – heaving. Then one of them fell overboard.” The old
plus a pair of canoes. A guide and his hunters would guide paused.
travel to the entrance of a narrow bay, usually towing a “What happened?” prompted the Colonel.
canoe with their dinghy. Here this would be anchored or “Well sir, it was the craziest thing I ever saw. The
beached, and the party would proceed with the canoe, other cub ran to the galley and hit the cook in the leg to
stealing in with the tide. This was an unbeatably silent attract attention. Then the bear jumped in after his pal!”
approach to the head of the bay, where there was always Chaik Bay was our next stop, and here I noticed one
a small meadow of from five to twenty acres. good sign right away: the meadows had grass that was
You could expect to find this open land lush with salt green enough to interest bears! So Sherman and I set
grass in the spring. You could also expect brown bears off in a dinghy with Arnold for the north arm of the
fresh from hibernation to waste no time getting to these bay. Mergansers, sooters, and harlequin ducks were ev-
meadows to feed. So you picked a bit of cover for a erywhere. And I was surprised to find plenty of robins
screen, and sat down behind it on a soggy log or equally about when we landed at a fine meadow. But although
wet bit of moss. we found the track of a huge brownie, we had nothing
This takes the patience of a saint and the heart of an to show for waiting at that opening in the timber from
assassin, and we went through the ritual for six days 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
PAGE 48 June/July 2010
However, chambers, the Colonel and Wes made out sudden silence.
better. They picked the south arm of Chaik for their op- Wes Meyers quickly skinned out the trophy, a four
erations. There was no excitement until about 3 o’clock, year-old brownie of medium size. Its pelt was a rich
when the Colonel heard a splash to the rear, and turned chocolate-brown. Later Wes told me the lad was cooler
to find a bear snooping along the beach. Here at last was and handled himself better than nine out of ten adult
game! hunters he had taken out.
“No noise!” bade Wes as he ran the boat ashore be- The party then proceeded to the meadow at the head
hind a little point. The trio left the craft quietly, climbed of the bay. Almost at once the Colonel spotted a bear
the slight rise of the point, and peered through a screen- in the grass at the far edge of the opening. But unfortu-
ing cedar. Trotting along the beach was the brownie – nately the animal was too far away for him to shoot at
headed right for them! and, as I mentioned earlier, my father was under doc-
Chams raised his .30/06 as the animal approached tor’s orders to hunt without walking more than a few
the 100-yard mark. Then he gulped in a big lungful of paces. Reluctantly the trio returned to the Onawa.
air and slowly let out half of it; but the weapon wobbled When I heard about this last bear, I shouted to Arnold,
so, Wes felt he had to interrupt him. and in jig time we’d piled into a canoe and were pad-
“Lower your rifle for a second,” the guide said, “and dling with all our strength down the bay, even though it
take it easy. But when you start, keep shooting until that was quite late – 8:30 p.m. The canoe had scarcely grated
bear is down for keeps!” on the beach before we were off at a dead run toward the
More calmly now, Chams lifted up his sights and spot where the brownie had been seen. En route a herd
squeezed the trigger. At the roar of the .30/06 the brown- of more than thirty deer stampeded ahead of us with all
ie was knocked sprawling on the sand. As the animal the noise of a squadron of cavalry.
rolled over and picked itself up Chams slammed another Winded and tired, Arnold and I parted the branches
bullet into it. But the brownie wasn’t done for yet. Stag- of a Sitka spruce – one of a clump projecting into the
gering, it kept coming down the beach. meadow – and peered out through the cover which had
Four more times the rifle spoke out sharply, and then been screening our approach. The bear had disappeared!
the bear lay still, hit in the neck, behind the shoulder, in Glumly, and thinking about that jinx of mine, I picked
both front legs, and in the lower jaw. Chams had missed out a stand to try on the next day, and then we went
only once! His “Oh, boy! Oh, boy! Oh boy!” broke the back.
From our hiding place I saw a doe stop feeding and raise her head sharply. then my glasses picked up a bear that had just emerged from the timber
June/July 2010 PAGE 49
Ten o’clock the fol-
lowing morning found It took five shots to down the
Arnold and me ready bear for keeps, and then Chams
and waiting at the and the others ran to inspect it
edge of the meadow.
The wind kept shift-
ing, and finally we decided to move to the middle of
the meadow to take cover under a large spruce. There
we made ourselves comfortable and prepared for a long
wait.
“I’ll bet that bear shows up at 3 o’clock,” I said to
Arnold jokingly. Then we forgot about the matter, for
deer soon came out of the timber to graze, and it was
fascinating to watch them from such close range. We
sat back to back, occasionally sweeping the timberline
with our glasses. The sun climbed past the meridian and
began to cast long shadows across the meadow. Still we
waited.
Suddenly, a doe stopped feeding, brought its head up
sharply, and gazed toward the timber. I swung my glass-
es over the deer just in time to see a bear emerge from
the tangle of devil’s-club, spruce, and cedar.
“Look!” I whispered to Arnold. “A brownie at last!” I
snatched a glance at my watch. It was two minutes to 3.
“It’s a good 400 yards,” said my guide. “What do you
say we get a little closer?” This made sense to me. For
one thing, I didn’t have a scope sight on my .375 Mag-
num; and for another, I didn’t want to miss, as I had in
1941. There were a bear and a jinx at stake!
Hurriedly we shucked off extra sweaters and stripped
ourselves of unnecessary gear. Then we began the stalk
– on our bellies across the meadow.
Taking advantage of every hummock and declivity,
we snaked along to within a scant eighty yards of the
feeding bear. Ever so carefully I sneaked a look at bruin.
Although it had been broadside to us all during the stalk,
the animal’s rump was toward me now, and I thought I
could see a rubbed place on it. The brownie was only a
7 ½ footer, but just then this hardly mattered.
I nudged Arnold. “How does the pelt look to you?” I
whispered. He put his glasses to his eyes and raised up
slowly. Then something made me take a second look,
and I wasn’t a moment too soon. Apparently alarmed by
our peeping, the bear was just getting into overdrive for
the timber about forty feet away.
Hastily I threw up the Magnum, and at its roar of au- formed a healthy respect for bruin’s ability to absorb
thority the brownie swung around and bit itself savagely punishment. With extreme caution we began to force
in the flank. But the animal didn’t go down. Instead, it our way though the spiny devil’s-club, looking over
made four or five jumps toward the timber and was just with care all likely hiding places of the bear. We found
about to disappear when my second shot crashed into several pieces of bone, and evidence that the animal was
it. This knocked it flat, but it scrambled up quickly and bleeding at frequent intervals. But after we’d followed
was gone. the trail for about 600 yards, we decided to quit pushing
Arnold was sure I had a dead trophy; however, I the brownie. Let alone, it might soon stiffen up and lie
wasn’t any too certain of this. From past hunts I’d down. So Arnold and I called it a day, resolving to return
PAGE 50 June/July 2010
and look for my prize on the morrow. My jinx, so far as it completely. Perhaps that was why I didn’t see that
I was concerned, still rode with me. brownie on shore. But Arnold did – and swung the din-
Early the next morning the two of us had just started ghy into a little cove.
across the meadow toward the scene of yesterday’s ac- “I couldn’t see him too well,” he said. “But that
tion when Arnold happened to look to the left. There bear looked pretty big to me.” This was endorsement
was a brownie working along the edge of a spruce thick- enough! Without wasting any time the two of us began
et, and he hadn’t discovered us yet! creeping along the timber’s edge toward the bear, which
We ducked back into the edge of the timber for a was working slowly down the beach in our direction.
short conference, and then began a fast stalk, with both Suddenly the brownie came right out into the open.
the cover and the wind in our favor. It wasn’t long be- This was my first good look at the animal, and it seemed
fore we’d crept pretty close to the feeding bear, and had huge! Taking a deep breath and holding it, I squeezed
just halted momentarily to try and check its position – off a shot, which struck the bear in the shoulder and
for it was still screened – when the animal wandered out knocked it flat. Despite this the brownie regained its feet
into the meadow, just about ninety yards away! quickly. The second bullet slammed into the creature’s
I raised the .375 Magnum, lined up the sights on middle a few inches under the backbone, and again the
the brownie’s shoulder, and squeezed. The animal was bear was bowled over by a terrific impact.
knocked flat by the terrible impact of the 300-grain bul- For a moment or two my quarry lay on its back, feet
let. But the bear bounced up quickly and once again the waving in the air. Then it scrambled up and got going
rifle roared out, catching it amidships. Bruin was down again. My third shot – a miss – struck the rocks right
for keeps, but I shot a third time – for jinx insurance. At in front of the bear and turned it toward the timber. But
last I’d licked it! now I had a broadside view of the head. As cooly as I
Jubilantly Arnold and I ran over to inspect the trophy. could I tightened up on the trigger, and before the last
It was about the same size as the one Chams had killed, echo of the Magnum’s blast had died away, my prize lay
beautifully pelted, though lighter in color. Arnold got to still on the sand.
work skinning it, and after we had lugged the pelt back The closer we got to that bear, the bigger it looked.
to the dinghy, we set out to trail the bear I’d crippled the Then Arnold was unreeling his tape – right up to the
day before. nine foot mark! Together we rolled the carcass over,
It led us straight up a mountain, through the worst looking at the pelt. There wasn’t a rubbed mark on it! I
combination of devil’s-club, rock slides, and snow I’ve had a big brownie for a trophy at last, and we returned
ever encountered. Though the sign showed that the bear to find the yacht ready to go.
had never stopped once, trailing it was slow work nev- As the Onawa’s refrigerator had stopped working,
ertheless, for we had to assume that our quarry might the captain had been obliged to jettison our supply of
be hiding behind every boulder and stump. Arnold and meats and poultry. This made nearby Juneau our next
I struggled through this dense cover for several miles, stop – for fresh provisions. From this point we turned
and by late afternoon concluded that it was a hopeless south, toward home. The Onawa was cruising along the
task. The animal was bleeding less and less, and was mainland now; good black bear country. Now and then
still going strong at the point where we called it quits. we’d stop for a short hunt, or perhaps a try for salmon
I hated to leave a cripple in the woods, but it did look or trout. These were easy, pleasant days, with plenty of
as if the bear might recover. Wearily we turned back, beautiful scenery.
buoyed up by the knowledge that there was a nice pelt At one anchorage the Colonel distinguished himself
in our dinghy. by hitting a black bear from the deck of the Onawa with
The Onawa took us back to Chichagof Island the the first shot from his .375 Magnum, despite the fact
next day, and we dropped anchor in Freshwater Bay. As that the range was about 400 yards, and the yacht was
I was still hoping for a big brownie, I passed up the swinging on her cable, as well as rolling with the tide.
seven-footer Arnold found for me on the first afternoon. This happened at 9 p.m., so that it was too late to follow
My father was in favor of turning south at this point, the animal, which appeared to be badly wounded.
but I pleaded for one more hunt. Now that my jinx was However, we found it the next morning – Wes, Ar-
licked, I was beginning to feel lucky! nold, Chams and I. The bear had traveled only a quarter
Arnold and I spent a long and fruitless ten hours of a mile, and Arnold dispatched the cripple with one
on a meadow, without ever setting eyes upon anything shot. It was an old-timer, with a bald belly, and only
wearing bear hair. For a last hunt, this day was certainly three teeth in its mouth.
a washout. At 7:30 p.m. we were headed back for the Farther down the coast, at Port Houghton, I was for-
yacht, easing along in glum silence, and my mind was tunate in killing a nice black bear, and during our stop at
not on bears by this time. Thoughts of a hot supper filled Prince Edward Island, Chams bagged one too – a seven-
June/July 2010 PAGE 51
footer, which is a fine trophy for a thirteen year old boy.
There was action of one kind or another all the way
down the coast, from the Chinook salmon that took ev-
erything from me but my shirt, right up to our last an-
chorage. The guns had been cleaned and put away by
this time, so that all of us were unprepared for any kind
of shooting. The Colonel and I were lolling on the rail,
when we heard something on the shore.
“What’s that?” my father asked.
“Probably some wolves fighting over a bone,” I said,
more in jest than anything else. The words were hardly
out of my mouth when three enormous wolves appeared,
walking out of the timber in Indian file! The scramble
for rifles at this point must have been something to
watch. I couldn’t find my Magnum right away, and set-
tled for a .30/06. We were soon laying down quite a bar-
rage around the animals. None of us connected, though.
The range was pretty long, for one thing, and the wolves
ran up and down the beach rathererratically, for another.
So after firing about twenty shots we quit. The Onawa
weighed anchor, and we headed for home.
Then we let it be known that we’d go to the help of any that the Ghost was just too much bear for our dogs. As
farmer. Complaints came in faster than we could take care often as they overtook him he beat them off in a running
of them, some from as far as 300 miles away. We man- fight, tearing into them with a savage fury they couldn’t
aged to take outlaw bears off the necks of quite a few stand up to.
farmers, but not the phantom raider we really wanted. That was a challenge that had to be met. We kept at
At first we had trouble getting onto his track while it it and he kept sending whipped dogs back to us. It was
was still fresh. The Ghost was not only smart but lucky. three years from the day I’d first seen his tracks at the
Then we were called to a kill that was only a few hours border of a sheep pasture that things came to a head. I had
old and the hounds took the trail with all stops out. They a phone call late one afternoon from Hartley Davis, a lo-
ran it into the thick swamps along the Muskegon, swam cal rancher. “My boys just found a sheep killed last night,
the river, picked up the trail on the far side and were out of Carl. Tracks? Yeah, the Black Ghost.”
hearing in a matter of minutes. Hours later, in the middle It was too late to go after him that day, but at that sea-
of the afternoon, they straggled back one by one, an ex- son there was a good chance he’d strike two nights in a
hausted and dejected pack. row somewhere in the neighborhood. Hartley promised to
When the same thing happened three or four times af- check his flock early the next morning. I alerted three or
ter that, we figured out the reason. The simple truth was four other ranchers and warned them to do the same thing.
PAGE 64 June/July 2010
My phone jangled next morning. “He butchered two him to do before. He had quit at the edge of a freshly
more of our ewes last night,” one of Hartley’s boys blurt- plowed field. It didn’t take long to discover why. The field
ed. had been plowed that forenoon, but the bear had crossed
By 1 p.m. we had rounded up fifteen determined farm- it before daybreak. No wonder the old dog was baffled.
ers and were ready to give the Ghost a run he’d remember. I led him across the field and at the far side he made a
Nystrom and I picked our three best dogs, Banjo, Traze, couple of short casts and picked up a ribbon of bear scent
and Ranger. that a pup could have followed. When he swung down
Banjo, a big Walker-and-bluetick with a coarse voice, into a cedar swamp, bawling steadily, I knew the Black
was the fastest of the three. Ranger, half black-and-tan Ghost had some traveling to do.
and half Plott, with a tenor bawl as clear and far-carrying Traze put him up from his daytime bed and drove him
as a bugle, would keep close on Banjo’s heels. Traze, beyond hearing before we could get into the swamp. Aar-
black-and-tan with traces of bluetick and redbone, was on Vandenboss and I went in together, and when we heard
the oldest and most reliable of the three. We’d use him for the dog again he had the bear at bay, a long way ahead.
a strike dog and if the going turned hard we could count The swamp was a horrible place to get through. It took
on him to stay with it, no matter what the younger hounds us almost an hour to overtake them. All that time Traze
might do. chopped and fretted without letup, harassing and fighting
The bear played his usual canny tricks from the start. the bear in and out of a big windfall, in a tangle so thick
He had carried his sheep down from the pasture into a a man had to get down on his hands and knees to crawl
marshy swale, where the dogs hit his scent strong and through.
sure, opening like an organ choir. But their excitement Then Traze stopped barking as if he had been choked
was short-lived. Bear smell hung rank and heavy in the with noose. There was a sharp yelp of pain, and we heard
damp grass of the swale, but at the edge of the upland the bear growl. It was half snarl, half explosive grunt –
fields it petered out. Even wise old Traze lost it and gave and pure poison all the way through.
up. We were still trying to figure out what had happened
But by that time we had hunted the Ghost long enough when Ranger came tearing unexpectedly through the
to know where to look for him after he left a kill. We put brush a dozen paces from us. The bear had broken bay
Ranger and Banjo on leash to avoid any false alarms and by that time and move on. Ranger picked up the Ghost’s
swung south in a wide circle along the West Branch River. tracks about where Traze had left off, and the swamp rang
With the field to himself, Traze was a pretty sure bet. with his clear bawling. But even reinforced in that fash-
He opened cold in less than an hour, but it was no place ion, old Traze still wasn’t persuaded to go back for more.
for a bear. He’d had all the bear he wanted for one day. Ranger was
“He’s got his signals mixed,” I said flatly. running the smoking track by himself, a mile or more
“Coon in a log,” George agreed. ahead, when Traze came to us at a stiff walk, the weariest
But when we clawed our way through the cedar tan- hound I had ever seen.
gles for a look my heart skipped a couple beats. A line of It would be dark in another hour, and Aaron and I re-
bear tracks led across a mud bar at the edge of the river luctantly agreed we were whipped. We had one dog worn
and only one bear in that part of the country could have to the bone, one lost, and the third running the bear, some-
made ‘em. We had the Black Ghost on wet ground now, where beyond hearing. We worked our way out of the
where the hounds could follow. We slipped the leashes swamp and found the rest of the party waiting on a road,
off Banjo and Ranger and they went away like the wind, Nystrom and Banjo among them. He had encountered the
singing a trail song to make your hair stand on end. dog near the Muskegon in late afternoon. We scattered
But we had another setback coming. The dogs trailed along the border of the swamp and just at dark Ranger
the bar out across a dry ridge and the scent faded again. came out to us, unhurt but worn to a frazzle.
Ranger and Banjo gave up and headed back toward the We still hadn’t seen the Black Ghost. But we had come
Muskegon, casting in wide circles. But not Traze. He closer to him than at any time in the three years we had
plodded along at a walk, picking a trace of bear smell off hunted him. The dogs had had him at bay, close enough
weeds or brush every now and then and chopping out a that Vandenboss and I had heard the sounds of the fight.
gruff announcement each time he made a find. Then he We were tired and so were the hounds, but it was likely
too hit a snag. the bear was at least as tired as we were. He had traveled
We had divided the party by that time, half of us keep- three hours ahead of the two dogs after Traze put him up,
ing on after Traze, the rest doubling back to pick up the fighting one or the other of them most that time. The pace
young dogs. had been fast. He was a lot of bear but he wasn’t tough
On the George Boynton ranch Traze left the track. We enough to take that much punishment and start off fresh
met him coming back to us, something I had never known the next morning. Tomorrow, we’d close in. We agreed to
June/July 2010 PAGE 65
meet at the Davis ranch at daybreak. tage and little by little his courage oozed away until he
That night the bear did a most amazing thing. Exhaust- dropped out.
ed? He raided two sheep pastures in that same neighbor- It was Banjo and the bear now, back and forth through
hood, on opposite sides of the West Branch River and a the alders, over and under the windfalls, the dog chop-
mile apart. He killed one sheep at the first place and two at ping and snarling, the bear growling and popping his teeth
the second, dragging them into the brush, eating the livers in red-eyed rage. The two men were fairly in the thick
and leaving the rest. of it but the cover was so heavy and the hound so close
We got the word from a pair of angry and excited they didn’t dare risk a shot. Half a dozen times Banjo had
farmers on our way to the Davis place that morning. We black fur in his teeth. As often as that happened the bear
led the dogs into a thicket where the last sheep had been spun and lunged for him and Aaron and Wes were sure the
gutted. Traze put his nose down to the wet grass, let out dog was a goner. But he dodged away each time and came
a long bloody-hungry bellow, and the show was on. Ivan dancing in again.
Elenbass slipped the leashes from Ranger and Banjo and Wes and Aaron had only one rifle between them,
the three dogs made the bottoms ring. Thompson’s .348. Because he had killed other bears on
For the first time in his long career ahead of hounds, his trapline, Wes passed the gun the Aaron. “You shoot
the Black Ghost had allowed himself the luxury of going him,” he whispered. “It’s your first crack at a bear.”
only a short distance from his kill before bedding down Vandenboss poured in his first shot at a dozen pac-
for the day. Traze tracked him across a couple of ridges es when the bear came clear of brush for a second. It
(Banjo and Ranger lost the trail on the high ground and smacked the Ghost in the rump. He let go a breath-stop-
had to be brought back and put on it again) and busted ping roar and slashed at Banjo to avenge his hurt. But the
him from his bed. And now the three dogs went stark cra- dog eluded him and Aaron got in another shot in about
zy on the hot track. the same spot.
The dogs were driving him north, between the Muske- And then, all in a split second, the bear saw the men.
gon and the West Branch, at a clip that kept them out of He dived headlong for the hound once more, missed,
hearing most of the time. We divided our party and sent changed ends and came smashing at the real cause of his
six or eight hunters around by car to come into the swamp troubles. Aaron rammed a third bullet into him at just ten
from that direction. The rest of us kept on after the dogs. yards and he went down in a heap, bawling and scream-
The pace proved too fast now for Traze’s tired old ing. But the 250-grain Silvertip had ripped his heart to a
legs. He dropped behind and his insistence on paddling pulp and he was dead in a minute.
his own canoe cost him his chance. He stuck stubbornly We got him out of the swamp and hung him in the yard
to the track, doing his work the only way he knew, and of the Davis ranch late that afternoon. In an hour more
when he caught up he was too late. than 150 neighbors came for a look at the legendary killer
Nobody was close enough to hear Banjo and Ranger that had harassed their flocks for so long.
when they overtook the bear. But an hour later Elenbass What sort of bear was this notorious outlaw? Big of
and I heard them coming back south, bawling in broken course, the biggest any of us had ever seen. But not fat,
outbursts. They’d trail a short distance and quit, trail and as we had expected, maybe because of his age. One tusk
quit again. We knew the bear was fighting them off, driv- had rotted away, likely from an injury years before. The
ing them back, gaining a brief respite each time. They other was a yellow stub, worn to the gum. He measured
couldn’t hold him at bay but the two of them had guts eight feet from nose to tail and dressed out (we did that
enough to stay with him and badger him to a frenzy. job in the swamp to make it easier to drag him out) at 378
It was not Ivan’s and my luck to be in at the show- pounds. We figured his live weight at 500 and an expe-
down. They drove him past only fifty feet in front of us, rienced taxidermist who looked him over said he would
but in cover so thick we caught no glimpse of either dogs have weighed better than 600 had he been as fat as the
or bear. We could hear the brush crackling and the two average black.
hounds snarling and yammering in an almost impenetra- He was the most destructive raider in the history of our
ble windfall and alder thicket. To our surprise no sound neighborhood and it had taken us three years to track him
came from the bear. Maybe he was saving his breath. It down. I don’t think George Nystrom and I have ever been
fell to Aaron Vandenboss and Wes Thompson to be in the happier over the outcome of a hunt than we were when we
right spot at the right time, a quarter mile farther on. The drove home with our tired dogs at dark that night.
dogs brought the bear to a halt there, baying him fiercely.
Wes and Aaron were only a short distance away when THE END
Ranger quit. He ran to them repeatedly, hair erect, look-
ing for help. They’d sick him on and he’d go back to the
fight, but the Ghost was too much for even his Plott heri- From Outdoor Life, March, 1953
PAGE 66 June/July 2010
HOGS A-RUNNIN’
by
CHARLES E. DIETZEL
A.B. Martin RS
150 Slate Road, Ephrata, PA 17522
“Finally,
there’s Hope!”
-- A reader
RECIPES
DEEP FRIED DEER LOINS
3 c. flour 12 venison loins in. thick
2 T. black pepper high quality cooking oil for
1 tsp. onion powder (optional) frying
1 tsp. hickory seasoning
Mix flour, black pepper, onion powder and hickory seasoning. Pound each loin with meat hammer to 1/16
inch thick. Lightly coat loins with the flour mixture. Heat about 1inch of cooking oil in deep cast iron skillet.
Fry loins for about 30 seconds for each side. Place cooked loins on paper towels to drain.
The Classified’s
Enjoy an upland bird hunt AUTOVALVE HARMON- PARKER CROSSBOWS!
on your land. Buy ringneck ICA SALE!! 68.00 EACH TornadoHP 175 lbs 330+ FPS
pheasants, chukar or Hungarian POSTPAID. Keys Available $699.95
partridge, Bobwhite and Cotur- A,Bb,C,D,E,F,G. Send Payment BuckBusterHP 175 lbs 330 FPS
nix Quail.. Flight conditioned with order. We have all Hohner $599.95
BuckBuster 150 lbs 315 FPS
birds. Large or small quantities. and Suzuki models in stock.
$549.95
Also have some eggs and chicks Viewmaster Reels 4.25 each. 10 Your choice of multi reticle or Tri-
available in season. Call Liberty or more 3.90 each plus get one ple red dot scope. Price includes
Game Birds free pack of reels. For a complete quiver, string silencer, sales tax &
----------------------717 529-1044 list of titles send 3-44¢ stamps. shipping.
Sunset Sales Checks payable to R.P. Outdoors,
Scopes! Simmons Blazer 8 - Point E1414 Hickory Ridge Rd 762 Old Trail Rd, Port Trevorton,
3-9X40 Riflescope $39.50 Genoa, WI 54632 PA 17864
Simmons Blazer 4X32 Riflescope
with Free Rings. Silver or Black
$35.00 Free Shipping if ordering 2
or more. If only ordering one add
$5.00. Checks payable to: H.G.
Scopes 4322 State Hwy AF Stan-
berry, MO 64489
Send us your classifieds and make some extra money - 30¢ per word prepaid & mailed to:
Hunter’s Journal, P.O. Box 127, Millersburg, PA 17061
100% natural!
FORMULA #717
TESTIMONIES - Try This Natural Antibiotic & Share Your Results With Others.
EAR ACHE - Usually when I get a bad ear ache, which LUMP - “I had a lump on my chest for 32 years. It was very hard; about 2 inches. Once the area
became sore. The doctor gave me antibiotics. It didn’t help.” I took the 717 Formula. the next
usually stays for about two weeks, “Very Painful” eventually gets better if I take antibiotics
morning it was smaller. I thought I was imagining things. In two days, it was less than half the
regularly. Now Formula #717 cleared up my ear ache in ONE DAY!
size. Now, it’s 95% gone.”
TOOTH ACHE - I had a bottle on hand, and was dealing with a terrible toothache, so took 4
COLD PREVENTED - “I felt a sore throat coming. My nose was running. I was congested. I
tablets a day, & I’m convinced it helped, as my toothache was gone! A.F. Dauphin Co.
took 2 a day for two days. On the 3rd day, no more symptoms.”
EAR INFECTIONS - My chronic ear infections usually last 3 to 4 days. I used Formula #717
SWOLLEN ANKLE - A woman in Tennessee had an inllamed ankle from a car accident. It was
with my last infection and it cleared up overnight. (Open a capsule and put it in a little water.
really swollen; it was hard to walk. She took the pills for 3-4 days. The swelling soon went down
Put a few drops in the ear.) (Also take the pills.)
and she could walk again.
KNEES & BACK - My knees and back seem to limber up and have less pain while on Formula
STAPH INFECTION - “I developed a staph infection in my breast and antibiotics did not help.
#717.
I started the 717 Formula. Within days the infection started to go away. By the second week, the
MOUTH ULCERS - Had mouth ulcers all summer. After taking Formula #717 they cleared up. NL infection was gone.”
SORES - The pimple or sore on my forehead is much smaller after using Formula #717 - Emma EAR INFECTION - “A 55-year-old woman had an ear infection. It was painful. The woman took a
WISDOM TEETH - We really like this product. It does wonders for bad wisdom teeth; also capsule of the 717 Formula and mixed it with water. She used an eye dropper and put a few drops in
energy level. -Leroy, Blain, PA the infected ear at bedtime. She claimed the ear infection and pain were gone the next morning.”
......................... Order From ...........................
Staph Infection Healed. STEP #1. Nutrients in Formula #717 help to
“I developed a staph infection. Antibiotics did
not help. I had to go back to the hospital. I
dissolve the outer, protective coating on the
bacterial wall. Antibiotics do NOT break down this White Oak
Naturals
started the Formula #717. In a matter of days, outer membrane on bacteria, viruses or fungi.
the infection started to go away. By the second
week, the infection was gone.” STEP #2. Nutrients in Formula #717 block the
bacteria’s ability to use IRON -- their main
Ingredients. Monolaurin, Extract of Olive Leaf, IPC - source of energy. So the bacteria and virus 3198 Deibler Road
STARVE TO DEATH!
inositol hexaphosphate, Beta 1,3 Glucan, Colostrum,
MSM, Calcium Phytate, Alph Lipoic Acid, N-acetyl-cyste- STEP #3. The bacteria DIES -- from lack of Millersburg, PA 17061
717-362-2032
ine, Echinacea, Zinc, DMG, glutathione, Neem Leaf energy. It can no longer reproduce; it’s DNA is
Extract, Garlic & Golden Seal, Calcium. destroyed.