For an evening snack
that's different drop into
The
YUM YUM SHOPPE
CHINESE FOODS
Featured
LINOLEUM
New Patterns
COFFEE TABLES
Fold-Away Beds
•
Rhoades
Furniture Store
Wes Rhoades, Prop
THE
Cafe
Opposite Orpheum Theatre
AJ Miller, Owner
Bears Prowl On Kodtak
-i
(This condensed version of an
[article appearing in the October
i “Sports Afield” was written Dy
jCpl. Carl E. Davidson, Fort
Greely. Permission to reprint
was granted by that magazine )
The brown bears on the south
western coast of the Alaska
mainland and on the Alaska
Peninsula grow big but the
brown bears on Kodiak island
grow bigger, tougher, and suffer
from a terrific superiority com
plex. The Kodiak bear, largest
carnivorous animal in the world,
is a prize trophy for any sports
man’s den.
When the Army and Navy
came to rugged, rocky, Kodiak
island the bears resented the in
trusion. During the early days
of Fort Greely, bears roamed
within a 45-minute walk from
the main garrison. Sentries at
outposts were startled by bear
in the dead of night as they kept
their vigil on their lonely guard
posts. Once a sentry almost
stumbled over a bear which had
decided to take a midnight nap
in the middle of a path used by
soldiers. The bear gave a sleepy
grunt and the sentry beat a
hasty retreat. On several occas
ions marauding bears chewed up
Army electric cables and scatter
ed garbage cans all over the out
post area.
Prior to 1443 soldiers in Alas
ka were not permitted to pur
chase a resident big game hunt
ing license and, in that year the
game laws were amended to give
servicemen with 12 months or
more residence the right to a lic
ense at SI.
Many parties went out then,
and one in October, 1943 con
sisted of 1st Sgt. Stanley Bur
bank of Windom, Mmn. S—Sgt.
George H, Gabrielson of Lu
verne, Minn., and Sgt Merwin
Hunter, also of Windom. This is
the story of the trip as told by
Gabrielson:
We’d started early in the
morning and it was late after
noon when we reached a valley
which appeared to be pretty
good bear countrj'. We saw signs
of bear all around as we ap
proached the center of the val
ley
It was getting pretty late and
night wasn’t far away so we de
cided to make camp and begin
the hunt in the morning. Alter
making camp we made a brief
reconnaissance of the area. We
set out together and before we
had gone far we got the biggest
thrill of our lives Just no vve
climbed over a knoll we saw 3 |
large bears walking along an old
pack trail.
It was almost dark by that
time and there was one of those
cold mountain streams between
the bears and us. We were un
decided whether to go after the
bears or to go back to camp and
take up the trail in the morning
They seemed to be heading out
of the valley and we figured
that if we let them go they’d be
many miles away by daybreak
and we’d probably never catch
up with them, so we started
down the slope after them.
There was a lot of brush and
the going was tough but we soon
came to the stream and be' ieve
me it ran faster than any stream
I’ve ever tried to cross. We had
our hip boots on so we waded
right in but before we got across
the water was up to our waists.
We had to stop and empty
our boots which took precious
time, because we wanted to be
able to see the bears when we
reached them We finally got
our boots back on and started
along the old trail. The bears
must have heard us ana sioppea
to investigate, because when we
came through a tangle of alder
wood and salmon berry they
were right in front of us, a little
below us. The bears looked as
big as horses. They were big
ones, all three of them, but one
was a real giant.
Sgt. Hunter was closest to
them and he took careful aim at
the biggest and fired. The bear
staggered as the heavy slug hit
him, then reared up, roaring like
a mad bull and clawed the air
around him. We all had our gun*
ready to open up if he charged,
but I guess he wasn’t sure where
we were.
Hunter’s bullet apparently
had hit him in a vital spot.
Crazed by pain he spun around
and grabbed the trunk of a
large, dead tree and tore it out
of the ground. Then he lost his
balance and bear and tree went
rolling down the slope for 100
(continued on page 3)
KNUDSEN'S
KODIAK FOUNTAIN j
n— »
Ivory • Curios * Parkas • Furs ♦ Novelties [
Magazines Tobacco 1
i Ice Cream j
j Bricks — Bulk — Dish — Cone |
i i
| Christmas Cards * Alaska Scenes
A Pair of Alaska Moccasins
is just the thing for Dad for Christmas
| or any other member of the family
j a«— ■ m
| KNUDSSNS KODIAK FOUNTAIN
“cKext to the Largest Store in Town”
Alaska Transfer Co.
A
General Hauling
Freight
Baggage
Gravel
ROBERT C. KING, Owner
™ ruujj] fiiuB
For Members Only
OPEN
trom 2 pm to 2 am
Pinch’s J ewelry Store
'‘Shop Early for Christmas’
(Engagement Diamond Rings
Birthstone Rings
Army and Navy Rings
Ladies’ and Men’s Wedding Ring Sets
Children Rings
Men’s and Ladie’s Watches
Men’s Gold and Sterling Stretch Bands
Ladies’ Gold Stretch Bands
Army and Navy Identification Bands
(Water Proof Watches — 17 Jewel $44.00 inc. tax
Delta Pearls
Ladies’ Precious Stone Lockets
Luggage
Parker Pens
Kay-Woodie Pipes
Lektrolite Lighters
Genuine Meerschaum Pipes