Bear Hunt on Main Street
A surprise visitor causes a stir in a small town.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
A crowd of men was seen hurrying to and fro on Main street last Wednesday with here and there a gun in sight, and for a few seconds horrible sights flashed before the imaginary vision of those who were not informed as to their purpose. A lone shot was heard in the vicinity of the Big Bend block and as the crowd congregated at that point a reporter timidly approached from the opposite side of the street, expecting to find the mangled remains of some dear friend or bank robber cold in death. He was agreeably disappointed, however. Before his gaze lay the bulky form of a brown bear, the result of a rifle shot from the unerring aim and keen eye of J. M. Rose. The wild beast had been shot in the eye. Mr. Rose afterwards informed the reporter that the eye was the safest place to shoot a bear, as it was sure to destroy eyesight, even if it failed to kill. It has been a long time since a bear was killed on Main street, and as it is late in the season it is not likely that another will be seen this winter.
“A crowd of men was seen hurrying to and fro on Main street last Wednesday with here and there a gun in sight.”
While Washington’s urban landscape has shifted dramatically, the occasional sighting of large wildlife remains a part of life in the Pacific Northwest, though rarely involving a hunt on Main Street. This report reflects the era's frontier spirit where wild nature and city development existed in immediate, often violent, proximity.
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