The Bear Hunter of First Avenue
When a bear threatened a farm near Seattle, one determined man took matters into his own hands—and his own shotgun.
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 bear had been hanging around Mr. Cady’s farm for some time and, being of a destructive turn of mind, had killed some pigs and made a nuisance of himself. Mr. Cady, weary of the creature’s visits, armed himself and started toward the edge of town, determined to drive the bear out or kill him. As soon as the bear saw him, he showed his teeth, bristled up, and started toward the man. Mr. Cady, realizing the beast intended to charge, did not hesitate. He fired a double shot, and the bear, with a howl of pain, retreated. Cady followed the trail, tracking the beast for a long distance until he finally came upon him. The bear rose up on his hind legs, ready to fight, but Cady proved the quicker shot. He dispatched the bear and brought the trophy back to show the town, ending the menace once and for all.
“The bear rose up on his hind legs, ready to fight, but Cady proved the quicker shot.”
In the 1880s, the frontier was still pressing right up against the city limits of Seattle, with bear hunts reported as local news. Today, that same proximity to nature remains a hallmark of Pacific Northwest identity, though the 'nuisances' are now more often mountain lions in the suburbs or the perennial, modern struggle with urban wildlife management.
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