212 
digestion. Leave all gates open, and do 
everything you can to show that you are at 
home on the farm. Many other pleasan- 
tries besides those enumerated will suggest 
themselves to the thoughtful hunter, help- 
ing him to put in a glorious day afield. Fi- 
nally, start for home about dark, and spend 
the next 3 days beguiling your town friends 
with stories about the uncouth hayseed and 
his amusing ways. 
Farmer, Markleville, Ind. 

SOME BEAR FACTS. 
M. S. Whitney, of this place, visited his 
bear traps recently and found that one was 
gone. He took the trail, which led up 
under Tumbledown mountain and soon saw 
by the signs that he had a large bear to 
deal with. It was hard trailing among the 
rocks and ledges, and in the afternoon it 
rained. Whitney had to leave the trail and 
go home. The next day he enlisted the 
service of a neighbor and started again to 
look after his traps, as he had others set 
in that section. He soon found that an- 
other had been sprung and carried away, 
but could not find much sign. Both men 
went home and reported 2 bears in traps 
somewhere in Township number 6, Frank- 
lin county. 
The next morning Mr. Whitney started 
with A. S. Yorm and his son, Clifton, with 
rifles in hand and lunch in their sack, deter- 
mined that the bears must come down that 
day. About 9 a. m. they came to where 
one bear had taken a trap from his bed. 
After looking about carefully they struck 
the trail, but the showers of the previous 
week had blotted it some. They succeeded 
in trailing the bear about half a mile and 
found the trap with a bear’s toe in it. They 
took the trap and started for the other trail. 
In about an hour they found where the 
bear was dragging another trap. We had 
no trouble in following him as his tracks 
showed he was no cub. In a short time we 
found fresh tracks and the word was passed 
along the line to be ready to drop the bear 
when they found him hitched up. 
Clifton was ahead, with his rifle in hand, 
the others following up the side of the 
mountain. Suddenly up sprang the bear 
from behind a rock. Clifton gave him one 
from his 44, Whitney came in with his 
44 and Add with his 45-70 Sharps. All 
were snap shots and the boys did not 
need any one to say shoot. Every time the 
bear showed himself among the rocks and 
trees a ball went for him. Did you ever 
see a black bear run? This bear did run, 
with trap and chain, which weighed about 
40 pounds. Clifton took after him and the 
woods fairly rang with rifle shots and the 
jingle of the trap and chain. Whitney and 
Add followed as fast as they could. They 
RECREATION. 
soon found that the bear was bleeding 
fast. The bushes and trees were spattered 
with blood, but on the party went. The bear 
ran along a vulevice in the ledge where, if 
he had made a false step, he would have 
slid off 100 feet; but he ran it all right. 
At the end of half an hour they heard 
Clifton shout. They answered him and 
followed the trail, picking up his hat and 
lunch bag, which they took along with 
them. They found him seated on a rock 
with the perspiration rolling off his face. 
He said the bear was too much for him on 
a long run and he could not get up to him. 
They then followed about half a mile 
farther and came to a little brook where 
they stopped to lunch, but the water smelt 
a little of bear tracks so they started on 
again. 
That time the word was “keep still and 
make good time.” They trailed him an 
hour and not a word was spoken. The 
bear had stopped running and was making 
a good trail to follow. They found an- 
other brook. Clifton stepped up stream to 
drink. Whitney and Young crossed the 
brook and as they reached the opposite side 
the water was roiled. A few more long 
strides and the bear was sighted. Then 
there was some sharp shooting. Six ‘shots 
were fired and all took effect. The bear 
ran into the brook and stretched out. 
He was a big one and would have 
weighed 400 or 500 pounds. Out of the 14 
shots fired 10 had taken effect. The chain 
had been broken and the clog was gone; 
the pan and crossbar were off the trap. 
The men were 10 miles from home but 
they took off the pelt and one of the fore- 
paws, knocked out 2 of the tusks and left 
the bear to his haunts, to go back to dust. 
His skin is on Whitney’s barn. It stretched 
in length 7% feet and 6% feet from arm to 
arm, without his gloves on. 
A. S. Young, Byron, Me. 

THE DUCK HOGS OF PORTLAND. 
If the L. A. S. has a representative at 
Portland, Ore., it might be well to investi- 
gate conditions reported by 2 business men 
of this city, recently returned from there. 
From their story and from information 
from other sources I infer that an ex- 
tremely low standard of sportsmanship ex- 
ists in Portland. The large and influential 
clubs, owning private shooting marshes, 
and having members supposedly representa- 
tive of the latter element, seem to be the 
worst offenders. 
One man here says he was recently in- 
vited to the marshes of one of the big 
clubs in Portland and gladly accepted. 
There were 7 or 8 present, including him- 
self. Between 700 and 800 ducks were 
killed in the morning’s shoot, of which 34 

