XX 



THE BLACK BEAR 



TN the days of Boone and Crockett the black or, as 

 "*■ they are often called, the brown bears were plenti- 

 ful. Some hunters of that period killed hundreds of 

 these animals. The hunters, when out after other 

 game, often came across the bears, and it was not a 

 difficult matter either to find or to kill them. They 

 are, as a rule, not very formidable even when wounded. 

 Many black bears were treed and then shot in the 

 same way one would shoot squirrels. There are many 

 recorded exceptions to the rule just stated, and in the 

 old days when the bear was stung with the small rifle- 

 ball, from the muzzle-loader then used, but not dis- 

 abled, it was often necessary to despatch him with a 

 knife. I have referred to the killing of a black bear 

 with a penknife. I heard Mr. Wright, who did this, 

 describe the killing at a hunters'-night meeting of the 

 Hackensack Golf Club, and Mr. Shields, the editor of 

 Recreation, who was present and introduced the story- 

 teller, said every word of the story was absolutely 

 true. 



The following story proves that a black bear can be 

 killed with bird-shot. I give the story at length since 

 it is too good to be curtailed, and far too good to 

 remain buried in a State Fish and Game Report, 



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