SOME EARLY EXPERIENCES (CONCLUDED.) 57 



day when I would be old enough to do as these noted hunters had 

 done. 



I had already found a den of young foxes and had kept five 

 of them alive, which father finally killed all but one because he 

 said they were a nuisance. I had seen some Indians bring a live 

 elk in with ropes, dogs and horses, which they had roped in, after 

 the dogs had brought it to bay, on a large rock on Tombs Run 

 (Waters of Pine Creek). 



All this made me hungry for the day that I too could hit the 

 trail and trap line that I might get some of those wolves and with 

 the bounty money buy traps and guns to my satisfaction. 



A number of persons at our place (Lymansville) had gone 

 several miles into the woods to the headwaters of the Sinnama- 

 honing and taken up fifty acres of land. An acre or two was 

 cleared off and the timber from this clearing was drawn and put 

 in an immense pile to be used for the camp fire. The camp was 

 simply a shed or leanto, open on one side, and in front of this 

 shed the fire was built of beech and maple logs. Brook trout and 

 game of all kinds were in abundance. Two or three times during 

 the summer a party of six or eight persons would go out to this 

 clearing and camp a week, killing as many deer as they could make 

 use of, jerking a good portion to take home with them and having 

 a general good time feasting on trout, venison and other game, and 

 amusing themselves shooting at marks, pitching quoits, etc. I will 

 add that the main reason they went to this camp was for a good 

 time rather than the game, as game was plentiful right at their 

 homes in those days. 



Well, it was at one of these outings that I killed my first 

 bear. I was about thirteen years old, and, of course, in my own 

 mind, it made a mighty hunter of me, not to be compared with 

 Esau of old. It was in June and shortly after we got to camp 

 there was a heavy thunder storm, but it all passed over before sun- 

 down, the sun coming out nice and bright. I was determined to 

 go with some of the men to watch a lick (there were three or 

 four licks not far away), but none of the men cared to have my 

 company, and they said it was likely to rain again and made many 

 excuses why I should not go to watch a lick with them. Just 



