A conman always has a pleasing personality or else they couldn’t make a living. During my career as a horseman, I have known many of these two bit hustlers, they are pathetic specimens always on the lookout for someone who will fall for a story and be willing to lay their money down like a fool.
Conmen, short for confidence men, have a method of endearing themselves to you and inspiring confidence in their abilities and character; yet in terms of reality, they are frauds, empty vessels without honor or integrity; who will let you down every time and leave you feeling foolish for having trusted them.
I trusted one such man and it nearly cost me my life.
During the mid-60’s, my friend Knarley Manners and I were guiding two Grizzly hunters in the Omineca Peace area near the Divide. Now I have enjoyed many of the hunters I have guided, some of them are just out for a holiday away from the city and their family. They are usually good humored and seem to care less whether they see game or not. They are there for the camaraderie and they are usually fun to be around. There are serious hunters, who have hunted all over the world and can tell you about hunting puma in Argentina, Kodiak in Alaska, and Cape Buffalo and elephant in Africa. They are often capable hunters and can often be helpful on a hunt.
This particular hunter was one of the serious hunters, or at least that is what he led us to believe. He must have read a lot of books on hunting African Big Game: we sat spellbound for hours listening to stories of dangerous encounters with African Elephant, crocs, and Cape Buffalo. I will give him credit, those were dang good stories; although, they were surely all lies.
The problem with running on lies in a place like the mountains of Northern British Columbia is that sooner or later your character and your steel will be tested, even if you are being ‘baby sat’ by a professional hunter. It’s true, the professional will make camp, pack and care for the horses, cook for you, and find you game; yet under these sheltered conditions, the hunter must contend still contend with extreme weather conditions, dangerous climbs, the possibility of a rogue animal situation, there are no guarantees in the mountains. Character, resolve, and knowledge of the bush will keep you alive when the situation becomes grim; fanciful tales of false bravado will be as useless as teats on a boar hog
I have had many invitations to hunt African game from customers whose homes were in Rhodesia and South Africa, I never took up any of these invitations because killing animals that you don’t eat doesn’t appeal to me. Although, I live to hunt Grizzly, the only game that I consider sport and yet I can’t be in a house that has bear being cooked: because the odor offends my delicate stomach. I know this is a contradiction, but it is one I have learned to live with. Still there is something about walking out in front of a Grizzly and being close enough to see his eyes just before he charges; when his eyes turn darker and his brow lowers, much like a pit bull does a split second before he attacks, you can bet that one of you will be dead in the next minute or two. In that instant you have to fire your best shot or hope you are good enough to make a lethal shot on a bear running at you at 45 miles an hour.
The hunters that are serious sportsmen can often tell interesting stories about hunting around the world. Knarley and I often listened in awe of hunting crocs and wildebeasts, but neither one of would ever care to try that exotic type of hunting.
This particular hunter was telling of us hunting Brown Bear in Alaska, bears that were much bigger than the bears we were hunting. He talked of hunting Polar Bears, African Lions, and Cape Buffalo. He had an exciting story that went along with each hunt and we were spellbound at his hunting experience. We each had a shot of his expensive Irish whiskey in our coffee after dinner and his stories became better and better. Knarley and I went out to catch the horses while the two hunters turned in, out of ear shot from the hunters, we asked each other if we would want to hunt in Africa. No, we would just hunt here in the North country, we were in agreement on that.
The next morning, after a breakfast of huckleberry pancakes, eggs with onions and wild Shaggy Head Mushrooms, served with fried potatoes with onions and gravy we headed out on our hunts.
I found some tracks by the river, a fairly good sized bear. My hunter told me he was hoping for a larger bear, right then I knew that something wasn‘t plumb on the level with this guy. These tracks were huge, the claws were thick and short with several that were broken from being brittle. This was an old bear and he was probably only going to survive until the middle of the coming winter. This is a sportsman’s bear, the kind you were supposed to hunt. A man with the superior tracking skills that he alluded to would have known all that within a few seconds. A few minutes later in some poplar and alder saplings, I saw the outline of a big bear moving through the brush about 70 yards away.
I had my rifle on my back cross-ways, trusting in this guy’s hunting ability from his stories. I pointed to the silhouette and silently mouthed the hunter to shoot. (Normally, I had a round in the chamber and was ready to fire a second shot in case the hunter made a mistake.) We were crouched down and I looked over his way while waiting for him to fire, his rifle barrel was weaving and shaking. Just as I started to tell him to use a tree for a brace, he fired. The bear let out a terrible bawl when the bullet went through the side of his belly. I looked over his way again as I was telling him to fire again, and the only thing I saw was the rifle spinning end over end in mid air without a hunter. The hunter must have had an emergency call back at camp because he was gone. Now one of the first rules of Grizzly hunting is to break the animal down and not let it get its ‘blood up’. They are much harder to kill when they are aroused. Now, I had a gut shot bear that was enraged and biting 4 and 6 inch poplars in half as if they were chicken legs, while he turned in circles looking for his enemy.
I aimed at his right shoulder and fired, he spun around and was still confused on what direction the firing had come from. His right foreleg was now useless and he was turning around on his hind legs looking for his enemy. I fired at his left shoulder just as he saw me, the round did its job, but the bear was still in a rage. He dropped down to charge on all fours, but the best he could do was to charge on his chest with his hind legs throwing up dirt behind him. I chambered another round and fired while he was in his desperate, yet unbelievably fast charge. I missed, he stopped to bite through some saplings that he couldn’t push through and I fired another round in his back and that one didn’t slow him down. How could this be happening to me?
There was a 14 inch spruce tree behind me. I climbed up the tree just before he would have been on top of me. He was biting the trunk when I took careful aim and put a round in the base of the skull where the spinal cord enters the skull and the bear gave up the ghost, that was the sad end of this magnificent bear and nearly the end of me.
I was shook up and it took me a while to regain my composure and skin the bear. It was my own fault for trusting this con-man and having my rifle slung across my back: but under the circumstances, I fully expected to keep the hide and the rifle, but the outfitter told me that the manufactured hunter, con-man, expected the hide and it was his. He had run back to base camp and had a rider lead him out and drive him to the airport so that he wouldn’t have to face me. He left an address to send his rifle and all his gear. I felt sorry for the bear and imagined he would have to listen to this fraud tell lies about his hunting skills for decades.
This is the trouble with a ‘manufactured man’, when you need him to respond with courage and integrity, he can’t do it, because it was never there. These characteristics are tempered and tested over time. This is the danger of relying on a myth for leadership and integrity, myths are just that a myth. In other words, they aren’t real, they are manufactured.
In the next few months the courage and integrity of President Obama will be tested. Will he live up to the lies that comprise the myth? That is a big gamble we will all soon face.
Author’s Note: I will retire in a year or two and figure to have 10 to 20 more years of Grizzly hunts ahead of me. Sailing, fishing, and Grizzlies will occupy the rest of my life.
A professional horseman for over 50 years, Skook continues to work with horses. Skook has finished an historical novel, Fifty Thousand Years, that traces a mitochondrial line of DNA from 50,000 years ago to the present. The story follows a line of courageous women, from the Ice Ages to the present, as they meet the challenges of survival with grit and creativity. These are not women who whimper of being victims, they meet the challenges of survival as women who use their abilities without excuses or remorse, these women are winners, they are our ancestors.
Fifty Thousand Years is available in paperback and e-book, it is getting great reviews. You can purchase a copy here; Visit me on Facebook.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Dylantheauthor
quite a story i must save that one hope it will be in your book when? you are right we trust people to a certain time and the next we decide to be friend or not is part of the life among humans, thank you
Skookum, is that your own photograph of the tracks? Just curious.
Good recovery at the last moment there. People are more and less trusting but usually give a stranger a chance, sometimes too many chances. Can’t think of much better way to expose phonies than to put them in a really challenging spot, but then that tends to be costly to someone. Hmm. Where have we see someone tell a lot of lies, get too many passes, and end up causing a hazard to a lot of people? 😉
Bees, I am glad you liked the story: that means a lot to me. I have many stories that portray bravery, cowardice, the wildness of the North, Nature in its seemingly cold feeling for the helpless, the animals, miners, fish and fishermen, wild rivers, death and of the miracles of life. Sadly most of them don’t have an analogy to today’s politics. So the wait to be told at a later date.
When I retire, I will be writing as a part time job and traveling through the bush meeting the characters and animals that I love so much. Men with the ‘bark on’, you might say; although some of the women still have the ‘bark on’ also.
I notice that Curt has posted a winter scene from the Northern mountains for an open comment forum. I think I will try and find a Northern Lights or Aurora Borealis for him to use in the future. That is truly one of the most extraordinary light shows that you can imagine. I miss it more than you can imagine. The colors shoot across the night skies in green, gold, and blue colors as if the ancient gods of Olympus are having a party. I want to write about these things in the spirit of London and Service; except that I will have lived the life with the ‘bark on’, they were just temporary visitors.
Pat, my sentiments exactly!
ML, no I say sadly, those are not my photos. At the time, I could not afford a camera that could stand up to the extreme weather conditions (rain and cold). I’m not sure they make them sturdy enough even today, but at least I will be able to afford them.
I was disappointed in the photo of the tracks, you don’t realize how huge they are by looking at the photo with nothing for reference. I am considered a fairly big man with big hands, if I spread my hand in a grizzly track and the front paw is wider than the distance from my little finger to the tip of my thumb, there is a big bear in the area. If I can smell him, he is very close and the hair will stand up all over my body. They move as silently as ghosts and they almost always come up behind you. They usually slap you in the head with their first move and often times the scalp is peeled from the top of your head. I was even asked to join a bear club of survivors, but the initiation was a little too wild for me. I have several friends who have survived Grizzly encounters, the up close and personal kind. I did see a decapitated Charlalois Bull that lost his head with one swat from a grizzly. So it is best if you stay alert in Grizzly country. I will try to get some Grizzly pictures this summer, and try to give you an idea of the awesome nature of this wonderful animal.
You can’t outrun them, you can’t out swim them, you can out climb a mature grizzly because his claws are too thick to dig into the tree; but don’t think you can out climb a two year old. Although there is an inherent problem with out climbing a mature Grizzly, he wll shake you out of the tree or pull the tree out by the roots. A real problem.
I’m not a photographer, but I will improve my skills during retirement.
Excellent Skookum! Bet I could have beat that joker back to the camp, but would never lie about non existant skills, what an event. You were between a grizzley and a coward, thank G-d you made it!
I’m starting to wonder how long it would take to make it through a whole book of your stories. It would have to be a story a week, you would have me so razzed up I wouldn’t be able to sleep, hubby would be married to a zombie. I’d probably be prowling the house at all hours with your book in my hand.
Another of my silly experiences to prove to you how worthless I would be out there in the “bush” About five years ago my daughter, granddaught and I were out in Colorado. We went to visit my daughter that lives out there and decided to make a little mini vacation out of our trip home.
My granddaughter wanted to go horseback riding and wanted me to go with too. I had to fill out a questionaire, two of the questions….. my age, and the last time I rode, had to put down 30+ years.
To add to the little issues I was having about the questionaire, they didn’t put me on a horse that was already ready for riding, they went and got this huge, old horse, had to be lifted up to get to the stirrup. By the time we went through all that, my granddaughter lost her courage and we didn’t ride.
BTW, not only do we have the cougars in Missouri I’ve mentioned before, here in Illinois they had an article two weeks ago in our local paper about a cougar that was sighted in the forest preserve behind my house, the sighting was three miles down river from here. Sheesh!
Sadly, they are killing off all the deer because of disease, I’m sure all the gun shots have encouraged the cougar to move on. it sounds like a war zone on the weekends.
Skookum-
That is an amazing story. What a loser that guy was. I can’t decide whether to feel sorry for him or angry at him. Probably both.
While you are talking about bears, I wonder if you would know the answer to a question about a bear I saw in captivity this past fall. We were in a nature center in NH that has a bear enclosed in what looks like a pretty desirable environment for a bear. It was large with a lot of land and trees and water such. But this bear wanted to do nothing but pace in the corner by the viewing window (we were well above the bear, he was below us.) And his pace was exactly the same each time. He would go maybe 3 or 4 steps in one direction, put his foot in a well worn spot, turn and go back 3 or 4 steps, put his foot in another well worn spot, turn, and so on. He did this over and over, putting his foot in exactly the same spot each time. We thought that seemed like there was something wrong with him. Do you know why a bear might do that?
could it be that he never came out of the mental shock of his capture that would be interresting to learn of theirs stress of change of active to no need of nothing doing, bye
Truth, honor and your sacred word. Things you hear little about in today’s iPod me me me world.
Lesson learned — Trust but verify. Never leave your gun on your shoulder when facing a dangerous animal, no matter who is doing the shooting. Shit happens, and lucky for you, you lived to tell the tale.
Very, very nice story. Superb!
Missy, it s fairly safe to ride those old horses, the reason they asked you to fill out a form is that people love to overstated their equestrian skills and request a horse that is more horse than the rider can handle. This way they have the boasts on paper in case the expert rider loses control and winds up in a lawyer’s office.
Try riding again, the big boys are intimidating, but the more you ride, the more you ride. An old phrase from people who have made a living in the saddle, for them time is measured in months and years not hours.
You didn’t say how old your granddaughter is, we all have different fear levels fr different things. Most females love caring and communing with a horse. Fifty years ago, it was a man’s sport, still is in Europe: there must be cultural elements here that I haven’t been able to grasp. None the less, your granddaughter probably has those same warm feelings for horses that most females in North America have for the animal. I suggest taking her to a riding stable with a trainer who will take the time to introduce her to horses and put her with a horse or pony that loves kids. Sometimes they start out just grooming the horse, kids usually love using the brushes.
It is magic to watch kids respond to a loving horse, it is like releasing a kid to nature; they usually can’t wait to go back and visit Fluffy: you can imagine the leverage for getting kids to become more willing to do homework and clean their rooms.
It’s sad, but many children will only have that one chance in life to know nature and horses.
I am glad and proud that you enjoy the stories, you are a real confidence builder for me!
Skookum, always love reading your stuff. Great insights and parallels that work really well together.
I have seen two (actually three) bears in my life (in the wild) – but two encounters which are two too many for me. Even living in colorado, it is still extremely rare to ‘run’ into a bear. Reason being, is that you may not realize the bear is around, but it almost definitely knows you are around. The first time was in vail colorado. I was in 7th grade and the day before, my friend and I were fishing in a river and because of the day sun, weren’t even getting a bite. We realized that if we got up around 4-5am the fish would be out. The next day we got to the river around 4:30am and were fishing. At one point my friend all of a sudden turns to me and says, “dude, there is a bear!” Well Mike was known for doing that kind of stuff (all the time) so I actually didn’t believe him at first. Then I saw him duck under the bench we were on. I looked over to my left and saw this huge black bear in the path, just staring at us. It is one thing to see these things in a zoo, it is another to be in 7th grade and see one just staring you down less than 20 feet away. One that nonetheless, you didn’t even hear come up on you. I froze, and my first thought that crossed my mind was, ‘why is the bear here?’ because I know that they don’t usually just show themselves without some kind of reason. Well, I looked down and saw that my buddy was using the ‘fish scented bait in a jar’ stuff. The lid was off and laying next to it. So with trembling hands I screwed it back on, and joined Mike under the bench. I know I know… Less than 10 seconds later I looked up and the bear had vanished. We saw his prints leading into the river, but that was it.
The second encounter with a bear I had, was ironically where I live. I live in a townhome in colorado, and live in a part of the city where wildlife is still around (N. co springs). Its common that when we are driving in our neighborhood, to have to wait for a herd of deer to cross the road. In fact, a six point buck just walked past my window as I am writing this (most everyone around here do not like them, as they eat all the gardens). Anyway, I was taking our trash out to the dumpster (mid-day nonetheless). I have seen evidence of bears in the past getting into the trash, but never an actual bear. Anyway, I walk up and hear a rustling noise, I look over and see a neighbor looking through their mail, and saw a bunch of it in their hand. I was like, ‘oh, that was startling’. I walk into the enclosure – yes, the trash is in an enclosure with a door… very small area that fits two dumpsters against each wall with a small walk area down the middle. I walk in still hearing the noise.. I think to myself, hmm i wonder if a raccoon or cat got caught in the trash. The noise sounded very innocent. I open up the trash lid and start to put the bag in when I see a bear stretched out the length of the container looking up at me. The first thing I noticed was that it had very white to yellow fur. Second thing I realize is that its head is huge! I closed the the lid very quickly and tried not to run away. I stopped for a second, and turned around to see if it was following me. Seeing that it wasn’t, I ran home! I too am fairly big by some scale: I am 6’1, weigh 205 and can bench around 400 (sorry, not trying to brag or anything.. just putting things into some kind of context). I am not afraid of most things, much less to run from them. This was worth running from! My adrenaline was pumping like never before. I called the cops as it is still a neighborhood and would be dangerous if other peopled happened upon it.
I walked back to the trash containers and warned a couple people until the cops showed up. Long story made a little shorter, the cops walked in with pepper spray and didn’t see it. I told them that I most likely scared it off, but it had to be around. Shortly after I said that, we look across the ravine and see not one, but two very large brown bear cubs standing up and trying to get hold of a humming bird feeder. To their left was the mom, a /huge/ brown bear very slowly walking toward her cubs. I realized that the one I saw was just a cub, it was the length of the dumpster (probably just bunched up in there), and that there was A) a brother or sister around and B) mom very close by. I was also in an enclosure with the cub. All of those things mixed together made it a very dangerous happenstance. If I would have been attacked, no one would have blamed the bears. The commentary would have gone something like this: “Even though bear attacks are extremely rare, Liam just happened to face a brown bear in an enclosed area with another cub near by and the Momma bear in close support. Its unfortunate he became bear food, but who can blame them. Later on the bears polished off Liam with a hummingbird feeder cocktail” I have also stumbled upon a small black bear hunting elk. I have no clue why I have these types of encounters. We seem to always run into each other.
Missy, I can’t imagine the stress the cougar feels with so many hunters. It s sad that so many people want to experience the hunting sport.
The deer (including elk and moose) population fluctuates with disease and predators. It is natural and to be expected. Man in the wild card. Hunting pressure, outdoor activities, agriculture, and urban sprawl all put pressure on wild animals. Most of the human population of Southern BC is in the lower mainland and cougars are plentiful down there as well as elk.
Southern California has a thriving cougar population, they are very hard on joggers, but the jogger numbers are still up. If you think about a cat and a dog that isn’t a real cat killer, the dog will wait until the cat runs before chasing it, it is just the nature of a pursing hunter type. Joggers are already in the running mode and the big cats can smell the sweat from a mile or more away. Women joggers are especially tempting fate at certain times due to their biological cycle: to the big cat this is a weak and frightened animal that is running at a pathetically slow rate of speed. To him it is a gift from the Cat Spirit in the sky.
I don’t know what the results will be in the Midwest, but we shouldn’t be mad at the cats for wanting to reclaim their ancient hunting grounds and making off with the odd dog or jogger.
JanH, I appreciate the fact that zoos are building large natural enclosures for the captives, but animals have personalities and even a sense of devious humor now and then. In the horse world, this psychological condition is known as pacing. Not to be confused with the Standardbred race horse, who races with a sulky and either paces or trots at race speeds. Pacing and its variant weaving, where a horse stands and weaves the head back and forth for hours and days and months and years until the mind is gone. With horses, the solution is often simple; although sometimes impossible to do. The horse needs more stimulation by riding or work, or by being tuned out in pastures. This is a common psychological condition of race horses and other hot blooded horses that need stimulation and freedom.
Putting a man in a 8 x 8 cell is a type of torture, but it is still 64 square feet for a 200 pound man. A horse weighs on average 1200 pounds, we think a 12 x 12 stall is roomy, yet this is only 144 square feet for an animal that is six times bigger than a man. An animal that can run 45 miles an hour, an animal that is genetically programed to migrate and walk 3 to 4 thousand miles a year. Horses need a certain amount of free time to run and walk around being a natural horse. The horse is domesticated, although that distinction wears thin after a generation or two are foaled in a natural state. With a bear the problem is increased exponentially.
Bears have personalities! I have seen it and I will stick by that phrase, no matter how many clinical bear psychologists you throw at me. They can have a sense of humor, they can be mean, they can bedevil you on a ranch or trap line until you are driven to distraction, and they can be loving with their own kind. Jan, you didn’t mention whether the bear was a Grizzly or a Black Bear, there are enormous differences. Black Bears can thrive n close proximity to humans and have no hang ups about raiding garbage dumps or eating your dog food on the back porch or pulling down a moose carcase you have hanging from a tree in your yard! The Grizzly is generally a more solitary animal and to a degree is probably territorial. Males fight and probably to the death occasionally. They are wary of man and usually try to distance themselves from humans, usually Grizzly attacks are starving 2 year olds and old bears who can no longer run down game. Otherwise these magnificent animals need huge areas to hunt and procreate in. The salmon rivers of the Northwest are a contradiction because of the ample supply of fish during certain times of the year. The Grizzly, much more so than the Black Bear is a hunter, the thrill of the chase and the kill is a part of his genetics, if he can never feel that thrill it must drive him to distraction.
I don’t condemn the zoo for keeping Grizzlies, I have watched them in awe at certain zoos. To be safe and that close to a Grizzly s a rare feeling for me. It is nearly impossible to turn the bear out for a romp on say forty acres or to let him pull down an old horse to realize his hunting skills. PETA would have fit! Although if they were really concerned about the bear’s mental health, they would turn him out and let him bring down an old lame horse. But don’t underestimate the power of a kick from an old horse, theres danger in the hunt. That would be my solution. I have found most zoo people to be very dedicated people, who try to make the best of a difficult situation.
Bill, I think I could have used your help with the writing. I like the way you phrase that stuff! Yes, I was lucky to have survived that incident, after watching life for over 60 years, I am convinced that you either have a bit of luck or you don’t. I have been fortunate in this life on several occasions. I used to think that maybe G-d had something special for me to have been so kind to me: bu if there is something coming up, he hasn’t figured it was time to let me in on it.
The concept of honor and truth isn’t stressed like it was in my youth. Now it is obvious people lie in court, the lie to the police, our politicians lie one week and then change their story every week to gain the most leverage or for damage control. People lie to sell their cars, they lie to their spouse, they lie to their kids, they lie to their neighbors, sometimes they lie when the truth would serve them better. Truth has become the exception rather than the norm. Our youth, who worshiped Obama during the campaign, can now clearly see that they elected a liar and a fraud, how will they respond? Children are much more intuitive than adults, they have very little life experience to guide them, so they must rely on intuition. We have set a poor example for them with our politicians. Forget Left or Right for a few minutes and think of honor and integrity. How many politicians can we hold up as an example to be proud of? Please don’t get the idea that I am a sanctimonious bigot, I have my failings and my sins I carry around, but I still try to be a good example around young people. Otherwise, they depend too much on the Hollywood personality to use as a guide and many of our national politicians are no better as examples. Hitler, Stalin, and Mao all knew that the secret to preserving the evil of Socialism was in winning over and indoctrinating the youth. We are allowing our youth to be exploited by the evil of Socialism, the best we can do is to set a good example with integrity and honor until a more creative person comes up with a solution. The Progressives they have solutions, drive the kids into decadence so that they will rely more on the state when they take their inevitable stumbles.
I am lucky being in the horse business, I can engage many kids in conversation, ask them about school, give them tips about college classes and choosing instructors; it is fun and interesting to feel like you are giving them confidence by just being a friend. I have had a few really pleasant surprises when a grownup will come up and thank me for being a friend years ago and offering guidance or encouragement. Rarely do I remember the person as a kid, but they remember me!
Gil thanks for the kind words.
It was a black bear. It seemed to me that it had really quite a lot of space. It wasn’t in a little pen. It’s enclosure was, oh, maybe at least the size of two or three football fields? Maybe more than that. But maybe that is not enough for a bear to be happy in? It definitely didn’t get to hunt it’s own food. I don’t know if they put fish in it’s stream to give it something to do in the direction of hunting or not. Probably not. It was alone, though.
But you are right that animals have personalities. I have seen that myself. And some of them are quite peevish. I had a cat once who got me back good for leaving him alone over a weekend (I was still young enough to live with my mother and I don’t recall having a choice about either leaving or leaving the cat alone.) I used to make a bagel in the toaster oven for breakfast. It was also our habit to leave the broiler tray for the toaster oven on top of it. When we got back from wherever it was we went, the following morning I did my usual thing and stuck my bagel in the toaster oven. Not too long after the oven heated up there was a strong stench of cat pee. My mother finally traced it to the broiler tray on top of the toaster oven! The cat had climbed up on the counter and into the tray for the express purpose of peeing there because he was mad that we left him for the weekend! (Of course we left him with food and water in case anyone is wondering.) I suppose we deserved it. 🙂 He was a really good cat, though, and lived to a good age. My mother took him with her when she moved out of state but he always remembered me when we went to visit. He insisted on climbing up on my lap and napping there though he wouldn’t do that with anyone else. I guess he got over being mad. 🙂
Liam, it is always nice to survive a bear encounter. Fishing can be interesting because of a bear’s attraction to the exotic and enticing odors of fishing! I had a close encounter with a Grizzly at a kill site with just a fly rod. Needless to say, luck helped me survive that day. I think I will try to make that into a political analogy story, but there real isn’t much there, like most bear stories, they are really fairly simple.
I work in CO every spring and I remember reading that the last Grizzly was killed there some years ago. The Black Bear’s color can very to a Cinnamon color, I doubt if that was a Grizzly encounter. The Grizzly has an even greater variety of color than the Black Bear. My only other truly momentous experience was with a Black Grizzly and hat story is almost finished. The rest will be in third person, other than casual encounters or future encounters. I once had a humorous encounter with a grey that had the cross of a burro or as the Irish say the cross of Jesus over his withers and down his spine. A beautiful bear that I remember as clearly as if it happened yesterday.
It’s sad that so many people live in CO, but it is a beautiful state. I hope you continue to fish and enjoy the outdoors.
LIAM you have to keep that story in a safe place you can tell a dramatic story with such funny ways that i am sure all of us are laughing so much bye thank’s for it …JANH thank’s also as you said cats have their own personality
Jan, that sounds like a wonderful effort to keep a Black Bear in captivity. The bear may have developed the habit at another zoo and they were hoping he would overcome the habit.
I had an outfitter acquaintance who tried keeping a Black Bear in a semi-trailer with bars on one side as a pet. He found the bear as an orphan cub and raised it as a pet. Needless to say, it turned on him one day and nearly killed him and the bear had to be shot.
I’ve had several cats, although they usually lived outside. When my kids were small, they had a cat and a Labrador, they would hunt in tandem to kill the squirrels that tried to take up residence in the two and a half story log home I built (never again). At the time, we had a distant cousin from Poland staying with us to try and arrange immigration to anywhere, he was not overly manly but an okay young man. The cat would climb the log walls after the squirrels and make them jump and the the lab would bite them and leave them crippled for the cat to jump on them like a lion from the Serengetti. (Life is actually more fun without TV) Our Polish friend had just walked onto the front porch in a pair of baggy jeans, that he was quite fond of, while my kids and I were watching the hunting skills of the cat and dog. The cat was closing in on a squirrel on the log wall and the squirrel decided to make a desperate jump. He landed on the porch and ran up the inside of our young friend’s trouser leg. My kids and I were howling with laughter, while the young man screamed and started picking his legs up until his thighs were horizontal with his leg bent at a right angle at the knee, while turning slowly in a circle, in a bizarre dance I had never seen before or after. The squirrel made it to the guy’s crotch and he pissed his trousers just before the dog and the cat jumped on him and knocked him down. In the mean time my kids and I were still enjoying the show. The young guy made a real serious effort to get out of those trousers, it was obvious the dog and cat wanted that squirrel as much as he wanted to get rid of it. Finally the squirrel jumped out in a last chance for freedom, but like Christians in the Roman Arena the wild animals took him down and ate him. Life can be hard in the North Country.
Yeah Skookum, I heard that the last ones were killed a while back. Although, there have been more and more reports of seeing one or two in the wild here. I know that what I saw was not a grizzly. What I saw was like you said, a black bear that was brown. I thought there was a category of ‘brown bear’, but like you said that is reserved I think specifically for grizzly’s and kodiak? Either way, it was definitely big and they are always bigger in person (and inches or feet away). However, I doubt my encounters touch anything you have experienced in the north. I am a novice hunter, and only go after elk as it is one of my favorite meats to eat. I definitely love colorado and all that it offers. I find that people either love it here, or completely hate it. I am very much an outdoor-type person (despite my schooling and profession – computer science); going up north has long been on my list of things to do. I have even contemplated moving to Alaska, apply for a sustainable-hunting license (think that is what they are called) – where I can net huge salmon out of the river, and hunt to sustain my family. Kind of a pipe dream at the moment, but its still nice to think about.
Thanks for sharing your insight and stories. I think it is a nice breath of fresh air, compared to the plastic, commercialism garbage, our MSM loves to dish out for dinner everyday at 5pm.
@ilovebeeswarzone:
Thank you for the compliment. Whether or not I was truly endanger of being eaten, only our Lord knows – and I somewhat doubt – but I am glad that I am able to experience His creation. Many people will never see a bear, and more and more it becomes increasingly apparent most people will only see them in zoos.
I didn’t think of the bear being brought in from another zoo. That makes a lot of sense. Maybe that’s what happened.
That squirrel story is hilarious! Except I guess the squirrel didn’t think so. Life is definitely more fun without TV!
Liam, I suppose that you could do your computer work up North on the Net. My advice is, what are you waiting for?
As a computer science man you know to be cautious about your venture. Check everything out. What an adventure, that could be. Most of Alaska is inaccessible by road, especially in winter. I have never been there, just going on what I have heard from friends and customers. Oh if I were young and had the skills to use a computer to make a living; it would be North to Alaska. Float planes, boats, and snowmobiles are the norm. Using your head and keeping your powder dry are real important.
BC has been a hotbed of Socialist Philosophy for decades, they end up going broke and throw out the NDP once in a while to bring in some Conservative fiscal responsibility until the welfare group throws them out. It’s possible I might retire in the Yukon or Alaska. It depends a lot on the fiscal situation of BC. There is no reason to move into an area that is bankrupt like California and expect to pay for the stupidity of others.
Keep me informed. That kind of info pumps me up. Remember the first winter will test the steel of your family, they will require extra thought and consideration to make their life in the North enjoyable, in other words it is not all hunting and fishing. That’s enough preaching from an old bush ape.
Missy, you asked for a picture of my dogs. Ears up is Scooter, 6 YO Pit/ Catahoula Greyhound cross, a tough cookie, excellent with granddaughters hard on stray dogs and men. Ears down is Boomer, a 8 month Catahoula, (Black Mouth Curr). Doesn’t look like much of a bear dog right now, but he will be ready when I retire.
I have no problems with prowlers. I don’t think the average dog owner should get a Catahoula, they require the same careful training as a Pit or you will have a disaster. I’ve had them all my life.
The are only suited for farms and ranches, they run like the wind and pull down cattle and men with ease. Bears are tougher. Hope this works.
https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=5b6fb80622&view=att&th=126a52702c14baf2&attid=0.1&disp=thd&zw
https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=5b6fb80622&view=att&th=126a52cc43dbe8e6&attid=0.1&disp=thd&zw