This is my bear hunting story.
The American black bear, E. Americanus,
inhabits forests of North
America and climbs trees easily
I went into the woods early in the morning. It was cold about 10 below 0. There is about 5 inches of fresh snow on the ground and it is the last day of hunting. I have not seen any deer all season. Oh yes I am deer hunting but bear hunting is at the same season. Where I went hunting was in the mountains and I was either walking up a hill or down a hill. The mountain I was hunting on is called Long Mountain and I went right up the face of the mountain and I do not know why I chose to go there, I think it was because it was there. Well in about 3 hours I was at the top and from the top I could see the rest of the world. I could see for miles and miles. It was real quiet and the smells of the forest was so fresh and peaceful. I found a big rock to set on and I was going to spend some time there to think. I started to look around and listen for sounds of wild game. There was squirrels in the trees and birds looking for something to eat. I sure would like to see a deer to take home so we could have some venison for the long winter. Venison is the name of deer meat. That is the way it is for people in Maine, I guess we are hunters here. Where I am setting I can see a brook running down the side of the mountain. Well the brook was made because of the melting spring snows. On the other side of the brook there was a bear looking for a place to spend the winter. They go to sleep for the winter. It is called hibernating. He did not know I was around, Well I said he but I didn't know what it was. I pulled up my rifle and put the sits on him. It was going to be an easy kill. I said to myself, my mom is going to be proud of me bring back bear meat for the long winter ahead. BANG my rifle went and the bear just laid down. I could see that he was hit right between the eyes and there was brain matter coming out of his head. I jacked out the spent round and put in a new bullet. He was only about a 100 yards from me by the way the crow flies but I had to climb down the wash or brook and up the other side. After I finally got to the bear I was pooped out and I sat myself down to rest. The next thing I had to do was pull my knife and cut his belly open and clean him open. He is laying on his belly and I have to roll him over on his back so I can cut him. Now I can see it is a male. It is very important to cut the testicle off because if you don't it will spoil the meat. Well I have him ready and I start to cut into him. As the knife starts to cut, there is a nervous reaction and the bear moves. I knew he was dead because his brain was all over his head. I have his scrotum in my hands and that part is done. I push the knife into his belly and I get more movement. I am thinking it is like when you cut a chickens head off and they jump around. Well after I cut into him I have my fingers holding his guts down so my knife does not cut into them. I have him cut all the way up to his rib cage and then I pull all of his guts out on to the ground. There is a steam coming from him because it is so cold and he is so warm. There is a diaphragm that holds his hart and lungs up and I cut that open and pulled his stomach, lungs and hart out. His hart is still beating in my hand. Tell me he wanted to die. Well now he is all cleaned out. This is called woods dressed. The hart and liver are saved because this is good organ meat. I look at my watch and I had to hightail it back to the house before it gets dark. Well when I did get back to the house it was dark. I go in to my Mom and Dad's house and I am covered with blood. Dad said, what did you shoot and where is it. I said Dad I shot a big bear and he is still in the woods about 3 hours back on Long Mountain. Mom got on the phone telling everyone she knew and tried to find someone to help pull it out. Well she got a crew of 8 and we all got together the next day and into the woods we went. We had ropes and what ever. It was easy to find because of the snow. We just followed my tracks back into the woods. I let all the older men take charge because I was only 15 years old. They tied the ropes around his head and they put a stick to pull on the rope so a person could pull from either side more rope an other stick more rope and other stick. To end up with 4 strong sticks so we could have a 8 man pull. First stick two men, second stick two men, third stick two men, fourth stick two men. this is a 8 man hitch. Well off we went and it was 6 hours before we got back to the house. Mom called the newspaper and told them we were back with a big bear. We had him weighed in and he weighed 250LB woods dressed. My mom and I spent hours skinning the bear and cutting up the meat. She got on the phone again and told the others to come and get there share of meat. The fat was cooked down to bear grease, it is very good for leather boots to keep them dry.
That's my story.
Wayne Paul Andrews
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