Welcome back to Scary Bear Attacks!
Today’s episode takes us to the untamed frontier of Central Idaho.
The headwaters of the Middle Fork of the Salmon River is sparsely populated by people, even
now.
The steep decomposed granite mountains are covered with pine and fir trees and low growing
berry bushes like blueberry, huckleberry, elderberry and raspberry.
These berry bushes provide seasonal nutrients, sugars and minerals to animals ranging from
chipmunks to grizzly bears.
Mountain BlueBirds stand out as they flit through the green scrub bush that screen the
privacy of the deer and elk that roam the valleys.
This area is still extremely rugged and very isolated but in June of 1886 it was the kind
of country that beckoned to tough frontier people.
Old Ike was one of the most successful bear hunters in the Rocky Mountains and called
Central Idaho his home.
With ranches and farms springing up across the newly formed state, the demand for a bear
hunter was at an all time high.
Many of the ranchers and farmers in Idaho had to raise their food and hope for enough
to sell to others.
Bears didn’t bother following the customs of human society and would simply kill and
eat whatever livestock they would need to survive.
That is when Old Ike came into the picture.
He would study the bear and its pattern and carefully set up a confrontation that he knew
he would win.
He would get a nice grizzly hide and some meat, and some very useful bear tallow out
of the deal and they would also pay him for his services.
There were safer jobs a man could do, but most of those jobs are taken by men who aren’t
brave enough to be a bear bounty hunter.
Old Ike was a hunting legend as he single handedly killed around 100 grizzly bears bringing
safety to livestock herds and prosperity to ranches and farms throughout Idaho.
Old Ike has been contacted about a huge grizzly up the untamed Salmon River headwaters that
is terrorizing local ranches. Old Ike and a few younger partners head toward
the area and in a few days are speaking with the ranch owners about the problem bears in
the area.
Most ranchers feel like they can handle the black bears of the area, but this giant grizzly
bear that calls an area called Dagger Falls his home is far too fierce for them to handle.
Old Ike agrees with his partners to head out and find the giant griz and bring him a little
frontier justice.
As Old Ike and his group arrive in the area they survey the lay of the land.
Being familiar with grizzly bears Old Ike knows that the bears will use certain resources
at certain times and other resources at other times, and this early in the summer the bears
will be hunting deer and elk calves along the mountain meadows.
Predators, including wolves, cougars and bears, use the transition in cover between forests
and meadows to sneak up on their prey.
Ike knows this and begins searching meadow edges for bear track and scat.
The hunters are about two weeks into their stalk when they come across some huge and
very promising tracks along a small creek.
They are definitely grizzly bear tracks and big enough to be the tracks of the dominant
bear in the area.
Old Ike is certain it is the bear he is looking for.
The hunters set up a few baits and traps to see if they can lure the big bear into the
open and it isn’t long before they are seeing some interesting progress.
They find the bear's tracks leaving a marsh and follow him for several miles.
At the far end of the meadow they see the big bear striding across to the edge of the
trees.
The men hustle to a point at which they can intercept the bear and their hard work pays
off with a good shot.
Old Ike follows his instincts and is rewarded with a good solid hit on the big bruin.
When shooting a large bear, the hunter will ideally strike a bone of some sort.
The most damaging shots will break the bones of the shoulder, legs or hips.
This will keep the bear from going too far too fast and will hopefully keep it from killing
you.
Old Ike’s shot passed through the bear's ribs and created a nice blood trail but definitely
didn’t break anything structural like a bone.
The men trailed the bear until its blood trail led into a patch of very thick, small trees.
This type of tree patch is called a Jack Pine patch and consists of shorter pine trees typically
under about 8 feet in height.
Their branches grow wide and low and create an environment that is easy to move through
but very difficult to see even medium distances in.
Old Ike knows how bears and other animals use Jack Pine stands to conceal themselves
or their escape routes so he slowly follows each drop of blood into the stand, moving
from drop to drop and splatter to splatter.
The old man is not what he was in his youth as his vision and hearing are losing their
sharpness.
He can see the larger blood splatters easily but misses some of the smaller drops.
His hearing still picks up the lower louds tones but doesn’t quite get the higher pitched
sounds anymore, like small twigs snapping just a few yards to his right.
Unbeknownst to Old Ike the wiley grizzly bear has set up a trap to catch his hunter.
Being a predator himself, the bear knows that if walks in a straight line then circles back
to within just a few yards of his trail, his hunter will walk right in front of him without
knowing how close the bear is.
And, that is exactly what the giant grizzly bear does.
As Old Ike follows the blood sign and tracks further into the Jack Pine stand, he incrementally
follows a path that leads him right in front of the concealed bear.
Just as Old Ike walks past the bear, the giant bruin leaps from his hiding spot and shoves
the hunter to the ground.
This bear is so large that the frail and gaunt old man is no match for him and thumps on
the ground.
The enraged and wounded grizzly next opens its enormous mouth and bites into Old Ikes
chest.
As the bear closes his jaws, his canine teeth puncture the skin and penetrate Old Ikes rib
cage.
Then the bear crushes the old man's chest in a single bite.
Old Ike’s hunting partners can hear the yelling and growling coming from the Jack
Pine patch and rush in to see what is going on.
As they approach they can see the bear standing over Old Ike and run the bear off so they
can help their friend.
Shooting at the bear as it stood over Old Ike could easily have wounded or killed their
friend and the bear fled the attack scene quickly anyway.
Old Ike is in bad shape and he is struggling to breath.
His face is wrinkled in pain and his color is fading as he is losing the battle for his
life.
In only a few minutes his breaths shorten and he dies from the injuries imparted by
the grizzly bear.
Old Ike’s legacy as a bear bounty hunter is cemented into Idaho history with his passing
and many farmers and ranchers say he brought stability and safety to the frontier, but
today there are some who say he decimated a species he may have misunderstood.
What do you think?
Do you think Old Ike performed a necessary service to the area farms and ranches or do
you think he did more damage than he helped?
As you post your response I want to make sure to remind you that if you enjoyed today’s
episode you can show us by liking our video and subscribing to our channel, and then click
that bell icon to make sure you are notified of our latest episodes.
Sharing our videos to your friends on your social networks is a great way to share the
fun.
Also, in our merch store we have some amazing deals on camping sandals and flip flops.
They are high quality and bring out the camping spirit while you are enjoying the great outdoors.
We also have drink koozies, PJ’s for the whole family and all kinds of drink holders
from water bottles to coffee mugs to keep your camping drinks delicious!
Next time you go camping, do it in style with Scary Bear Attacks camping gear!
Thank you for watching scary bear attacks and please be careful especially in bear country!