AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF E. N. WOODCOCK. 21 



fair showing of big game, with a good sprinkling of the fur 

 bearers, including a bunch of beaver here and there. (Beaver 

 protected.) I heard men tell of there being plenty of grizzly 

 and silver tip bear but I saw no signs of them. In California a 

 trapper told, me of a large grizzly coming to his shack in the 

 night. He said that he was cooking venison and that he had the 

 fresh meat of a deer in the shack and he thought that the bear 

 smelled the meat was what brought him there. The man said the 

 bear smelled around the shack awhile and then began to dig at 

 one corner of the shack and soon pulled out the bottom log. The 

 man kept quiet until the bear pulled out the next log and put his 

 head in through the hole when he put a ball between the bear's 

 eyes that fixed Bruin too quick. (A bad case of nightmare.) I 

 think it doubtful if there is a grizzly bear or at least very few 

 now to be found south of the British Columbia line. 



My best catch of bear in one season with a partner was eleven. 

 Years ago I caught from three to six bear each season but late 

 years I have not caught more than one to three. I think that of 

 late the heavy lumbering going on through Northern Pennsylvania 

 had something to do with the catch of bear. 



The timber in Pennsylvania is largely cut away now leaving 

 bark slashings which make fine shelter for bear and wildcats and 

 both animals w'ere apparently quite plenty I would judge from the 

 number caught in this section, fall of 1907. Deer are very scarce 

 in this state, perhaps the most to be found are in Pike County. 



I can lay claim to one thing that but few hunters and trap- 

 pers can do, that is for forty years I lost only two seasons from 

 the trap line and the trail and each time I was detained by rheu- 

 matism. Once being taken down with sciatica while in the camp 

 trapping and hunting, and it held me to my bed for several months 

 hard and tight. I still have the greater part of my trapping and 

 hunting outfit, and am still in hopes to be able to get out on the 

 line and pincb a few more toes. 



