A Close Call in the Cascades
A mountain hunting trip turns into a terrifying chase when a mother bear takes offense at a hunter's pursuit of her cub.
Messrs. Parker, McKinney, Strobach, and McCoy returned on Tuesday from a trip to the coal lands of the Cascades. While alone and riding in the mountains, Fred Parker came upon an old bear and two cubs. He fired four times to bring down one of the cubs, driving the mother into the woods. Parker dismounted to retrieve his game, but the enraged mother came galloping at him at full speed. His horse had bolted, and while retreating down a hill, Parker’s spur caught, sending him tumbling head over heels. When he reached the bottom, he managed to pull his revolver and fired his remaining two cartridges into the face of his pursuer. Bruin turned tail and disappeared. Parker recovered his horse, loaded the cub, and returned to camp, well satisfied that the episode was not more serious.
“In leaping down a hill Mr. Parker’s spur caught and he tumbled head over heels to the bottom.”
While bear encounters are still a part of life in the nearby Cascade foothills, the romanticized 'sportsman' narrative of the 1890s now sits in tension with modern wildlife conservation and wilderness stewardship.
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