INCIDENTS OF THE CHASE

Morgan County, Jackson Township

                         One day Mr. Daugherty discovered a half-grown bear near his cabin. The details of the encounter which occurred are not fully known, but were about as follows: He took his rifle and a big butcher knife and accompanied by his dog cautiously approached the bear, which he fired upon but for some reason only gave it an ugly wound. The shock prostrated the animal and Mr. Daugherty, who was near, hurried up to bleed it, but when within a few feet of it the savage animal sprang up, and in a moment was upon the settler with mouth open and eyes of fire. Mr. Daugherty was a man of great physical strength and courage, and when he thus found himself in the embrace of the bear, he began to ply his butcher knife with all his strength and skill. Ere many blows were struck, however, the knife was knocked from his hand. In the meantime, the doge had been gnawing industriously at the posterior extremity of the bear, but seemed to make scarcely any impression. About the time the knife was knocked down, Mrs. Daugherty appeared upon the scene, armed with a sharp case-knife, and probably the broom, and Mr. Daugherty called out to her to hand him the knife, which she quickly did, and the bear, which was weakening from the effects of the rifle shot, was soon dispatched. The struggle had been very short, and was within a few rods of the cabin. The above is the way the story was told to the writer. Another incident is told of one of the Kemps, equally as thrilling. This settler, while hunting in the woods with his big dog, saw a catamount, which he shot at and wounded in the shoulder. He was so close to the animal that as soon as he had fired, enraged with the pain of the shot, it turned and bounded for the hunter, but was met by the dog, and in an instant the two animals were fiercely locked together. Notwithstanding the wound which had been inflicted upon the catamount, the fight had scarcely begun ere it became evident that the dog would come out, so to speak, at the little end of the horn. The catamount seized it by the neck and was furiously shaking it, when Mr. Kemp, who could not bear to see his faithful old dog torn in pieces, rushed up, knife in hand, leaped astraddle of the beast and drove his knife into its neck. This stroke seemed to settle affairs, as the catamount released its hold on the dog, and was soon dead. During the first few years, wolves were very numerous and often troublesome. Sometimes in the night, when the weather was very cold and snow lay deep upon the ground, they became so hungry and fierce that they did not hesitate to attack even man. On one occasion, Hugh Adams went probably in the southern part of the township for piece of fresh beef, and upon his return was somewhat belated. He had gone but a short distance before the wolves scented the fresh meat on his shoulders, all he could conveniently carry, first heard the howl of a solitary wolf. This was repeated, and another was heard and then another and another, until the woods behind him were filled with a chorus of the terrifying sounds. The traveler, anxious for his own safety as well as for that of the beef, hurried on as fast as he could with his load. The wolves came closer and closer and then seemed to hesitate, though they still kept coming up. On ran the settler and on came his pursuers. In a little while, the clearing of home was reached, and soon both meat and settler were safe in the cabin. It was a narrow escape, as he would no doubt have been attacked. He could have thrown down his beef, which would have delayed them, but they would have been all the hungrier and fiercer for the morsel. Incidents like these might be multiplied without limit.

Source: Counties of Morgan, Monroe and Brown, Indiana. F.A. Battey & Co., Publishers, 1884