FOREST AND STREAM 
Feb. 24, 1912 
238 
A Hunt at Bear Hole 
By MOQUIS 
O NE bright fall morning I was routed out 
of bed by that all-prevailing power, next 
to the Deity, known as one’s better half. 
It is questionable if we do not pass the better 
half of our lives owing to her influence. 
However, we will pass that by, and merely 
say that I shudderingly obeyed the mandate 
which bade me to arise and get ready for the 
arrival of George, Fred and the “Doc,” who 
were to be on hand at 6:30 sharp, with all the 
implements of the chase, and two good dogs. 
There were many things to be done prepara¬ 
tory to getting the game bags and guns. How¬ 
ever, all this was accomplished in due season; 
and upon looking out of the window, I saw a 
vehicle approaching, in which were seated my 
expected friends. The vehicle was driven into 
the yard, whirled around the house, and 
brought to a stop at the kitchen door. I took 
out my paraphernalia, and stowing it .snugly 
away under the seats, started for our long con¬ 
templated trip to Bear Hole. 
I wish I had the power of pen to properly 
portray the wild and solitary appearance of that 
spot. It was bare of every living thing but a net 
of scrub oak. If Heaven favors, I intend to 
get some views of that amphitheatre of swelling 
hills and deep ravines, with tinkling rills flow¬ 
ing between—the bogs and morasses—the beau¬ 
tiful ponds, over which the wild ducks scudded, 
all conducing to make a scene of impressive 
grandeur, and for the moment of profound 
silence, soon to be broken by the shouts of 
hunters and baying of dogs. 
There was a house, an old dilapidated affair, 
built many years ago, the occupant of which 
had recently purchased it, and here we put up, 
as the present owner, who had already made 
many improvements, was well known to “Doc.” 
There was one servitor on the place, old but 
ready and willing, and, under the direction of 
his mistress, he attended to all our wants. He 
also pointed out the spot where on a hillside 
near we would be likely to start a rabbit which 
came every day into the farm yard and was fed 
and often slept there with the chickens. 
I did not want this rabbit killed, and yet it 
was not five minutes later when Sport took his 
track and, with Spot following, drove him in a 
s-traight line along the hill until he went to earth 
under a huge rock, while, owing perhaps to the 
lack of knowledge of the surrounding country, 
all the efforts of the sportsmen to get a shot 
were unavailing. We at once turned our atten¬ 
tion to the next ridge, intending to follow the 
heights around the Bear Hole Pond and scare 
up whatever we could. 
We had not been in the woods ten minutes 
when we heard dogs following over to the right 
of the trolley road, and soon after met three 
young men, all bearing arms, and having with 
them one small dog. Apparently these young 
men were novices, for they had started nothing 
and cautiously kept in the open glades to avoid 
brambles and briers, while the dog trotted con¬ 
tentedly at their heels. We bade them good- 
day, but had hardly ascended the first height 
beyond when we heard a perfect fusillade of 
shots fired in the direction in which the young 
men had disappeared. 
I feared at first lest Sport, who was just five 
months old, might be tempted to join them. 
But Fred looked out for that, and we scaled the 
ridge, to its summit, and here was presented one 
of the finest views I ever saw. One could read¬ 
ily imagine himself to be in some vast wilder¬ 
ness, for, as far as the eye could reach, ridge 
arose beyond ridge, with the waters of Bear 
Hole shimmering on the left—the beautiful trout 
brook at our feet—and to the north and east 
apparently interminable hills arose. We paused 
awhile to view this scene, and then, one by one, 
we descended the slope, crossed the stream, and 
commenced to scale the heights on the opposite 
side. The dogs had already found their way 
over and were sniffing the leaves with occasional 
short barks indicating the presence of game. 
Hardly had we got mid-way up the opposite 
ridge when the dogs sung out on a start; and 
soon there was music in the air. We hunters 
toiled and struggled up the steep, over the 
stems of fallen trees, upon the stones that 
treacherously rolled from beneath our tread, as 
onward and upward we went; and stringing out, 
we hurried to reach favorable stands. The dogs 
soon drove the object of their pursuit down 
the opposite side of the ridge, thence to its 
western end, and swung around it, only to dart 
up the side toward the spot where we were sta¬ 
tioned. We soon heard a gun, and Fred cried 
out, “I have got him!” And mightily pleased 
was he, because his little Sport came in ahead 
on the trail, being nimbler footed than the older 
and more sedate Spot. This dog was called 
Spot owing to a peculiar black spot which sur¬ 
rounded his right eye, but did not prevent him 
from seeing. 
Toward the northern heights we went, finding 
dull work for upward of one hour. Finally, in 
stumbling over one of the fallen trees, I awoke 
a rabbit from his slumbers, which, like a flick¬ 
ering vision, disappeared before I could even 
get my gun to my shoulder. These fallen trees 
lay almost everywhere in profusion. They had 
been cut down years before, just after the whole 
tract had been burnt over by a conflagration 
caused by cinders from a locomotive. I had 
some sixty acres ruined at the time in the same 
section, and when the tree is dead, it is cut down 
to afford the new growth a better chance to 
flourish. 
I stumbled, owing to the fact that my wading 
boots were put on wrong, the right being on the 
left foot, and the left on the right. Thus I met 
more obstacles in my path than usual. This 
was done because the boots were so uncom¬ 
monly large. It was the easiest way I could 
devise of keeping them on my feet, and an oc¬ 
casional stub of the toe was better than the 
certainty of two big blisters on the heel, which 
would have been the case otherwise. 
The rabbit started like a flash, and so did I. 
I took my stand on a bank which lined the side 
of the wood road, feeling certain that if he 
should escape the others, he would eventually 
give ni j a call. First the rabbit ran everywhere 
seemingly, affording no one a shot. He was 
keeping far ahead of the dogs and running as 
silently as a sleuth. “Doc” guarded the road 
below me. George was in the brush tO' the 
westward, and Fred on the top of a ridge a 
quarter of a mile away, from which he could 
see the dogs and the rabbit as they ran, pur¬ 
suers and pursued, upon the ridge which I was 
facing. The rabbit seemed to go everywhere, 
excepting where he was expected. But after 
waiting. Doc spied him in the thick scrub bor¬ 
dering the road, and fired just as the rabbit shot 
out of the bushes to cross the road within ten 
feet of where he stood. He gave him both 
barrels, the second just as he was disappearing 
in the thicket on the side where I stood. I 
supposed that the game was secured after the 
Doc s usual happy faculty, and so sprang down 
the bank and went down along the road to the 
stand held by Doc, where I found him carefully 
looking at the bushes where the shot had 
riddled them, but bunny had escaped. 
Soon came in the dogs, barking madly, for 
the excitement of the long chase had stirred up 
their sporting blood, and, true to the track, they 
scurried by, hot on the trail. I passed up the 
road to a point directly opposite to that where 
I had been so long and patiently waited, after 
first starting the rabbit, in hopes that at last I 
would have a chance to test my ammunition. 
But, alas! the pursued had got tired of so much 
excitement all in one afternoon, and so was 
determined to hie away to some safe harborage, 
which he did as fast as his legs could carry him. 
He went about half a mile up a big cliff, and 
dove into his nest, and there perforce we left 
him to take a much needed rest. 
We breathed a sigh, and taking the dogs, 
went on to the next acclivity. Nor were we long 
in hunting up a swift-footed fellow that took 
another bee-line straight away from us, with 
the tired dogs trailing after. We took our re¬ 
spective stands. I assumed a commanding posi¬ 
tion on the summit of a huge rock at the top 
of a considerable eminence. George was near 
on the right, and it was he \vho set the dogs 
right when they went wrong, as they did, owing 
to the fact that the game ran under one of the 
fallen tree trunks, and crawling through the top, 
leaped up the almost perpendicular height of 
the hill before him, and so got a long start on 
his pursuers. George got them going again, 
and scaling the cliffs. Spot fell back several 
times before he succeeded in getting to the top 
thereof. When he did so he pursued the quarry 
with unflagging vigor and unfailing tongue, and 
with his sweet melody the woods and ridges 
rang. I waited until the sounds died away in 
the distance and then descended to see if I 
could find a more eligible place, for the rock on 
which I had been standing did not admit of 
seeing two rods in the direction the dogs had 
gone, but in front I could see for a long dis¬ 
tance and on either hand. 
Hardly had I taken my position, when I 
judged that the rabbit was making his way back 
again, and it would be safer for me to go back 
to the rock of my first selection, and there abide 
the result. It was well that I did so, for it was 
but a few moments later when I saw the rabbit 
stealing forth from the brush. I fired hastily, 
getting but twO' glimpses, and seeing nothing 
after I had done so. Both dogs came up— 
{Continued on page 256.) 
