Bears In Somerset County In 

 Years Past 



By George W. Grove, Noted Historian 



John Lambert, belter known as Bear Hans, was the 

 greatest bear hunter in Somerset County that the 

 writer ever heard of. I remember of seeing him when 

 I was a boy. He wa's frozen to death about 1858. 

 going home from butchering for a man in Buekstown. 

 He was lost and froze. 



I have been 'told by good men that he killed as high 

 as forty bears in one fall and winter; how many 'he 

 killed in his time I cannot tell. I was told that he 

 sold bear hides before he killed them, but always 

 brought them in. 



Daniel Statler was another great bear hunter. He 

 killed the largest bear I know of, weighing over 400 

 pounds. The writer knew him well. He died in 

 1875, aged 75 years. 



Bears were hunted mostly by dogs and trapped. 

 Sometimes a bear is still seen in Somerset County, 

 but not often. 



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