Cache Valley Bear Stories
Bear Hunts
In 1862, Father Graham and Andrew P. Shumway were cutting willows on Muddy River (Little Bear River), east of Mendon. A mother bear and two cubs attacked and killed Father Graham. Bishop Andrew P. Shumway came to Mendon and all the men armed and hurried to the river. After a good fight, the mother bear was killed by James H. Hill and the two cubs were captured. A bear attacked John Thatcher of Logan. He ran and climbed a tree. The bear thrust his claws into John's back just as John's brother shot it. Mr. Thatcher carried the scars as long as he lived.1
Old Grizzly
I was only twelve years old and my mind was full of fantasizes as I slept late under a buffalo robe this cold winter morning. It was Saturday and no school. As the fire crackled up the chimney of the fire place, I imagined I saw the heads and pushing shoulders of animals and heard their soft padded footfalls.
We had two fears, wild animals and Indians, but as the years passed the latter of these lost the early terrors with which we had associated them. We grew indifferent to their going and coming. All the while we regarded with respect the grizzly bear, the timber wolf and the mountain lion. The experiences of other settlers had taught us to avoid these furry creatures and give them ample elbow room.
Every settler had hair–raising tales to tell of encounters with one or the other of these animals. My own was to come this very morning. Uncle Tom Graham called me to go with him for dry willows down below town, on the Little Bear River. After a hasty breakfast of corn meal we pushed off for the river with a team of mules hitched to an old homemade bobsled. My young eyes were peering eagerly among the bushes on the alert for any moving object. Suddenly I saw at a little distance, and coming directly toward Uncle Tom, who was walking ahead on the ice of a slough that meandered toward the river, a great grizzly bear.
As it reared up on its hind legs; all the horrible stories I had heard of these ferocious animals flashed into my mind; for a moment I was dumb with terror. Then, I saw Uncle Tom swing his axe at the brute, which with one mighty switch of a powerful forearm literally tore Uncle Tom's head from his shoulders; I came out of my stupor and wheeled the mules around and raced for town; at my alarm men jumped on horses with every manner of a shooting iron and headed for the river. Some one rode to Wellsville and men from there came to the hunt. I drove the sleigh back loaded with men and boys. It was well that I did, to carry back the remains of my uncle who had been literally torn to pieces by the great beast.
This old she–bear was finally cornered in her den which was back in a thick clump of willows. James H. Hill followed his father through the brush toward the den; lined out behind these two, were several other men, with their guns primed and cocked. As they neared the den the old outlaw rushed at them. Alex Hill, James's father raised his gun, but it failed to fire, and he rammed the barrel down her throat and calmly turned around, casually remarking, "Boys, that's the first time she's ever refused to shoot." His son (James H. Hill) shot brought this great denizen of the river bottom down. It was estimated she weighed 450 pounds.
In the den they found two cubs. Joseph H. Richards killed one of them and the other was found the next day with fourteen bullet holes in its head. This bear family was wiped out.2
The Bear Marauder
A long time ago when people first came to Providence, they had to take very good care of their gardens because that was the only food they had. One summer when the food was getting ripe, there was a man whose name was Mr. Gates who had a wife and a big family. One morning when he went out to his garden, he saw that just about all of his vegetables were eaten up. He saw some very huge bear tracks. They were bigger than any bear tracks he had ever seen in his life. That night he set a trap. Then he tied a very strong rope to a big post. He wanted to make sure that the bear wouldn't get away. In the morning he went out to see if he had caught anything. He was very surprised when he saw what had happened. The garden was ruined again and the bear had pulled the log away. There were some drops of blood on the ground. He told all the men in Providence what had happened. The men had their horses and they brought their guns. Two of the men brought a wagon. After they had gone for a long time, they came to a mill and found the bear under some bushes. Mr. Gates went around it and was going to chase it up so the other men could shoot it but the bear knocked him off the horse. Mr. Gates tried to kick it but the bear chewed his leg. A man jumped on its head and shot it through its ear. They took Mr. Gates home in the wagon but he died before they got to Providence.3
Mary and the Bear
This is a true story about a little girl name Mary. Her mother and father had a flock of sheep and they lived close to the woods. One night a bear came out of the woods. It crawled through the fence and killed six sheep. The next morning when Mary's father saw the sheep he was very angry because he had told Mary to sit up and see that nothing harmed the sheep.
Marys mother and father had an old log shed with a straw roof. In the evening Mary climbed up on top of the shed. It got later and later. Around dusk a great, big, old black bear came crawling through the fence. Mary didn't dare shoot the bear because she might just wound him, so she thought she might sneak down from the shed and then maybe she could get behind the straw stack and hit him in the head. She got about half way and the bear saw her. She ran for the stack and fell. She lay there a moment then heard a bang and a squeal. A hand patted her shoulder. She looked up and saw her father. He said, "Mary, the bear got away."
The next morning Mary's father told her to go over to her Aunt Mae's and get some pork, so she went to the barn and got her pony Star, to ride. When half way there she saw a big, black bear come out of the brush, then she heard the yell of Indians coming around the bend. Off she rode as fast as she could. The bear came out in the road and stood up slashing and driving back the Indians making them turn back to camp.
Mary got to her Aunt Mae's, took the pork and started home. She thought she would take a short cut and started through the woods. After a time she found she was lost and when looking for a way out two Indians came running out of the brush. It frightened her so badly that she fainted. When she woke up she saw her father and the Indian chieftain standing by her. The chief told her he did not want to frighten her but his warriors were following her because he did not want the bear to harm her. After that time the Indians and Mary and her parents were good friends.4
The Baby Bears
Mr. Fuhriman and Mr. Humphreys went up the canyon to suervey a piece of land. They were up on a hill and saw a mother bear and two baby cubs run up a tree. Mr. Fuhriman and Mr. Humphreys caught the two cubs and sold one to Liberty Park (in Salt Lake City). Mr. Fuhriman kept the other baby bear. One day Mr. Fuhriman went up in the granary where he kept the baby bear and found out it had strangled itself.5
Mistaken for A Bear
On 30 August 1863, her (Agnes Steele Hill's) husband (John Hill) in company with other men were hunting a bear, that had been killing their cattle between Hyrum and Wellsville. He was mistaken for a bear by a party of men from Hyrum, who were hunting bear also and was shot and instantly killed. This left his wife in very sad circumstances, with four babies of her own, the oldest not yet three years old and five step-children to care for.
Logan
In Logan an interesting and amusing bear hunt took place west of the O.S.L. Depot in the fields. For some time a large grizzly bear had visited the gardens in this vicinity and feasted on carrots and other vegetables and tramped the plants in the ground. These were nightly raids and it was decided to organize a posse and surprise the bear. Mr. William Bell was the captain of the party and in a most serious manner he instructed the men to do exactly as they were commanded. They should not shoot or move without orders, as they were on a dangerous mission. The party got pretty close to the place of action when the bear was seen with two of her cubs. There was a small patch of growing flax between the hunters and the bear. The bear and her cubs were busy feeding and had not got the human scent. Captain Bell ordered a halt to decide on the best plan of action. When the bear got the scent and rose up, she immediately slapped one cub to the right and one to the left with mighty blows and charged. In just a moment she had landed on Captain Bell and crushed him to the ground. The men in their great excitement fired at the bear and in all directions and it was a wonder some of the party was not shot. Very shortly the bear took to the flax field and disappeared. Captain Bell got up in great excitement and shouted, "Men if you're alive run." After making a count, one man was missing. They shouted for him and a considerable distance down the road came the reply, "Here I am." It is not permissible to give the name of this man.
It was decided to be unwise to follow a wounded grizzly mother bear with two cubs in the dark so the next morning the search began. Captain Bell was not injured other than a few scratches. The bear was easily trailed through the high grass but there was not a bit of blood. This made the hunters suspicious and they thought the bear was not wounded seriously. She was found on the bank of the Muddy River (Little Bear River) dead. A number of bullets had entered her body but she was so fat the holes had closed up and she had bled to death inwardly. A number of juicy steaks were taken and the hide was a good one. The cubs were not found. (Other Cache Valley Animal Stories)
Hyrum
A number of the early settlements of the valley experienced some rather thrilling adventures with wild animals, especially with grizzly bears. Hyrum was no exception it this respect and on one occasion in particular the settlers became much excited. David Craft went into the fields west of Hyurm to hunt for his cattle and while there he met a large grizzly bear very suddenly. The bear apparently was somewhat startled especially with the loud yell that Craft gave and his quick get-away. Craft returned to Hyrum in great haste and excitement, with his hair pushing up through a hole in his hat, and gave the alarm.
A posse of men was at once organized and went well armed to hunt the bear. A dog located the bear in the clump of brush and while one group of men stood guard on one side of the clump, John G. Wilson, Ira Allen, Louis Miller and Joseph Askell approached on the other side. As they neared the brush it appeared to them as though the bear sprang over the top and was on to them instantly. The bear struck John G. Wilson on the side of the head with its paw and threw him several yards and then it struck Miller on the top of the head and flattened him to the ground. Just as it was getting prepared to rush Allen and Askell, Allen shot the bear with a heavy load of buckshot and this held him temporarily. Wilson had recovered his senses by this time and with a large bullet from his old Yager, he finished killing the bear. The bear was placed on a load of willows and hauled to Hyrum by James Unsworth. It was dressed and juicy steaks distributed among the people. The bullet from Wilson's gun passed nearly lengthwise through the bear and was found in one of its hind legs.
More Bears…
Bears were very numerous and were often killed. On one occasion we chased one into town from the west field, it ran across lots all up through town until it was finally cornered and killed on the lot on First and Second North. Another time we were all out on the Church farm having one of our big drills, when some of the men chased two bears out of the willows. The whole camp was soon out after them. It is a wonder someone was not killed as bullets were soon flying in every direction. I had a line on the bear and was ready to shoot when a man charged by in front of me full tilt. Another bullet struck the ground under my feet. Fortunately no one was hurt, but we had excitement enough for a few minutes. I think the bears got away.
Bears were very numerous those days and we had a number of exciting experiences. The Providence boys put out a trap in the willows near the Ballard Spring, and caught a large grizzly. The bear got hold of one of the boys and hurt him so badly that he died from the wounds. In 1861 the boys chased a bear into town from the West field. I was on what is now First North Street, when it came running up the street. There was an Indian near me with a gun and I told him to shoot the bear, he did so and wounded the bruin so that the boys were able to corner him and kill him.
Notes…
Bear Lake and Bear River were not so named for the lack of bears in the area, there were at one time a large number of brown and black bear in the valley and a few grizzly bears thrown in with the mix. They make for a fun read, now that the danger has long past… but at one time you had to be very careful out there.
I have always enjoyed reading the thoughts of the Cache County school children, as they describe the events that happened in the various settlements of Cache Valley. Most every town in the valley had a bear scrape of some kind or other.
- History of Cache County, compiled by Cache County School District Children and Teachers, et al., 1938 & 1946, page 117.
- History of Cache County, compiled by Cache County School District Children and Teachers, et al., 1938 & 1946, page 127.
- History of Cache County, compiled by Cache County School District Children and Teachers, et al., 1938 & 1946, page 128.
- History of Cache County, compiled by Cache County School District Children and Teachers, et al., 1938 & 1946, page 128-129.
- History of Cache County, compiled by Cache County School District Children and Teachers, et al., 1938 & 1946, page 128.