Treed by a Dead Bear

1872: Near the White House Dairy, on Steele's ranch, near Pigeon Point, a monster grizzly bear had killed a cow. Mr. B[arzilla] M. Scofield, the owner of the cow, placed a bucket of syrup, well poisoned with strychnine, near the place where the cow had been killed.

The next night the bear came back and ate the syrup and died on the spot.

In the morning a group of people, including a Chris Coffin, a teamster, approached the spot. They saw the bear quietly sleeping near the place where the poison had been left. The whole party were seized with fright that they were so close to a such a  huge a monster, (he was about twelve hundred pounds) and Chris, hurriedly climbed a tree near by, while the rest of them made their escape, running as fast as they could, thinking the bear was at their heels.

Hours passed and the bear failed to wake up. Chris first ventured a whistle, but that did not wake him so then he gave a huge bark, like a dog, this did not move him. 

So Chris came to the conclusion that the bear had eaten too much and was very fast asleep. So he slowly climbed down.

How do you think he felt on finding that the bear was dead, not asleep after all, after spending so long in the tree?

As reported by the Santa Cruz Weekly Sentinel: "Chris. Says [sic] the balance of the company have not returned yet, so badly were they frightened at the sight of the dead bear."

Paul Sweet’s Escape

Circa 1850s: There are several versions of this story that have been recounted over the years. This is as told by Richard C. Kirby, local tanner and husband of libertarian Georgiana Bruce Kirby, to Caroline H. Dall and published by her in My First Holiday, 1881:

"We drove by the old tannery once kept by Paul Sweet. When Mr. K. first came to it, great grizzly bears, each weighing from eight hundred to a thousand pounds, used to steal into the cattle-yard every night. On one occasion one of these creatures caught a calf by the nape of the neck, and leaped a tall fence. A revolver was fired, but the animal dropped the dead calf and escaped. The next day they followed the bear with hounds, and took him.

Paul Sweet and his wife Margarita,
Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History

One day Paul met a grizzly bear with cubs, in the wood. She caught him by the waistband, plunged into a hollow, dug a large hole in the sand, and buried Paul out of sight. After a while the tanner worked his way up to the surface, but Mistress Grizzly was watching. She darted forward, and snugly tucked him in with two or three strokes of her big paw. This time Paul was more wary. The sand was loose, and after the creature had gone off to her cubs, he crawled home entirely unhurt."

You can read more about Paul Sweet by clicking here.

Casa del Ursa - Rancho del Oso

In 1864, Waddell’s Creek was also known as Casa del Ursa. Ursa being Latin for Bear, Casa being Cottage. It was named for the large number of grizzlies that lived in the area.

"Waddell’s Mill – W. W. Waddell & Co. of Santa Cruz have been engaged, for more than two years last past in the extensive preparations for manufacturing lumber. Their situation is below New Year’s Point (punta den ano nueve) on the Casa del Ursa, more familiarly known as Waddell’s creek."

Grizzly at the Rancho del Oso
Nature & History Center.

Later it became Rancho Del Oso (Spanish for Bear Ranch) and is now part of Big Basin Redwoods State Park. The Rancho del Oso Nature and History Center has on display a grizzly bear that was shot with a bow and arrow in the Yellowstone area by Arthur Young on a special expedition with Saxton Pope to secure a group of grizzlies for display at the California Academy of Sciences in 1920.

The bear weighed nearly 1000 pounds when it was shot and skinned. The kill was documented in the book Hunting with the Bow and Arrow by Saxton Pope:

"Next day, just at sunset, we got our first view of the great bear of Dunraven Pass. He was coming down a distant canyon trail. He looked like a giant in the twilight. With long swinging strides he threw himself impetuously down the mountainside. Great power was in every movement. He was magnificent!"

"... the monster grizzly was romping back and forth in the shaded forest not more than sixty-five yards away. With deep booming growls like distant thunder, he voiced his anger and intent to kill. As he flitted between the shadows of the trees, the moonlight glinted on his massive body; he was enormous.

Young discharged three arrows at him. I shot two. We should have landed, he was so large. But he galloped off and I saw my last arrow at the point blank range of seventy-five yards, fall between his legs. He was gone. We thought we had missed the beast and grief descended heavy upon us. The thought of all the weary days and nights of hunting and waiting, and now to have lost him, was very painful."

San Francisco Chronicle,
July 4, 1920.

"... We had no idea that we hit the great bear, but just to gather up our shafts, we went over the ground where he had been.

One of Young's arrows was missing! That gave us a thrill; perhaps we had hit him after all! We went further in the direction he had gone; there was a trace of blood.

We trailed him."

"... We let ourselves down the sheer descent, came upon a narrow little ledge, and there below us lay the huge monster on his back, against a boulder, cold and stiff, as dead as Caesar. Our hearts nearly burst with happiness.

From Hunting with Bow and Arrow
by Saxton Pope, 1923.

There lay the largest grizzly bear in Wyoming, dead at our feet. His rugged coat was matted with blood. Well back in his chest the arrow wound showed clear. I measured him; twenty-six inches of bear had been pierced through and through. One arrow killed him. He was tremendous. His great wide head; his worn, glistening teeth; his massive arms; his vast, ponderous feet and long curved claws; all were there. He was a wonderful beast. It seemed incredible. I thumped Young on the shoulder: 'My, that was a marvelous shot!'"

In their souvenir booklet about the North American Hall, the California Academy of Sciences wrote:

"It is deeply regretted that this Museum cannot show a habitat group of grizzlies from California, but the next best thing has been done; a group of a closely related form, the Imperial Grizzly (Ursus horribilis imperator), still existing in north-western Wyoming, is here presented.

California Academy of Sciences Postcard.

Photograph by Ansel Adams.

The individuals arranged in this group were taken with bow and arrow in the Yellowstone Park region in July, 1920, by the late Dr. Saxon Pope and Mr. Arthur Young, both of San Francisco."

Grizzly Bear, Ursus arctos horribilis 
on display at the Rancho del Oso
Nature & History Center.

"Chawed up"

1851: As told by Elihu Anthony in 1885

Elihu Anthony,
Santa Cruz County, California ...,
W. W. Elliott & Co., 1879

The first mail was brought to Santa Cruz on horseback over the mountains from Santa Clara in the winter of [18]'50. The mail consisted of one letter and two newspapers.... We hadn't enough mail to put in a bag until we began to receive a regular mail once a week in [18]'51. When the news was heard of a steamer arriving in San Francisco with the Eastern mail the whole white population waited anxiously for the mail, which brought them news from home and friends.

Loma Prieta by William Keith, 1874

Lard & Davis had the first contract to carry the mail. This was in '51. Lard's boy, who carried the mail on a mule, once, while coming over the mountains, ran down a cub or young bear. He tried to make the cub come out, but couldn't make it do so. The mail bag was lashed to the saddle, you see, and when the young Lard whipped up the mule, the old bear, who was watching the proceedings, came after him. The boy heard the bear coming, and gave one glance around and then put the spurs to the mule. The bear gained on him and when near enough sprang on the mule's back, scraping the flesh off and taking the mail bag. I tell you when the boy reached town he was as pale as a ghost and frightened almost out of his wits. Well, to cut the story short, we sent a man back to find what mail the bear was kind enough to leave. The strangest thing of all, was that the man returned with the mail, but he reported that the bear had "chawed up" the leather bag and did not damage the mail.

California Indian Bear Hunting

In his book The Ohlone Way, author Malcolm Margolin tells the story of a bear hunt as described by a descendant of the Yokut people, neighbors of the Ohlone:

Yokut Indians, neighbors of the Ohlone,
hunting on the bay of San Francisco.
Drawn by Louis Choris in 1815

"… twelve men each with bow and arrows started for the bear’s cave.…[they] arranged a semi-circle of stakes, driving them into the ground in front of the cave. They took shooting positions behind these. Holoansi [the first runner] went to the cave entrance to lure the bear …"

In the book Sixty Years in California, William Heath Davis describes a bear hunt during the Mission era:

"The Indians of California used artfully constructed traps for bears. They dug a large hole, about five or six feet deep, directly under the branch of a tree, covered it with brush and a light coating of earth, and made it all smooth on top. From the branch would be suspended a quarter of beef. Bruin would scent the meat, and, approaching without suspicion, would fall headlong into the pit. Shooting with bow and arrows, the Indian, having come out of his place of concealment, would presently kill the bear."

Ohlone and Grizzlies

Prior to 1769, the Ohlone were the only peoples to inhabit the Santa Cruz area. Their total population once numbered 10,000 or more with a least 600 villages in and around Santa Cruz. Village populations ranged from 50 to 500. In the smaller seasonal villages, the villagers would take advantage of seasonal sources of food, such as game, fruits, and nuts.

Many foods were favorites of both the Ohlone and grizzlies. Acorns, one of a grizzly's favorite foods, was a staple food for the Ohlone. It likely resulted in confrontations during the acorn harvest season or a grizzly raid on a village acorn storage site. Other foods they both ate included seeds, berries, roots, deer, fish, and whale. 

In 1776, while in what is now San Mateo County, the second Anza Expedition encountered, and killed, a large grizzly. Father Font wrote in his diary:

"There are many of these beasts in that country, and they often attack and do damage to the Indians when they go to hunt, of which I saw many horrible examples."

In the book Three Years in California [1846-1849], Walter Colton describes the grizzly:

"Nature has thrown over him [the grizzly] a coat of mail, soft indeed, but impervious to the storm and arrow of the Indian."

Archaeologist Mark Hylkema:

"…grizzly bear remains [are found] in the archaeological sites, and it is interesting to recognize that these large semi-aggressive omnivores co-existed with native people for millennia. The skins were used by high status men and various membership societies used them as totems."

"…[grizzly remains are] not infrequently seen as ornament and display among human burials. They occur as canine teeth pendants with drilled apertures for stringing, and claw necklaces." 

In 1776, while on the San Francisco Peninsula, Father Font described bear skin clothing in his diary:

"Among the men I saw a few with a little cape like a doublet reaching to the waist and made of bear skin, and by this mark of distinction I learned that these were the owners or masters of the launches."

Collection of the Los Altos History Museum

This California grizzly bear claw was found in a Los Gatos cave by Albert Thirkell. It is not known what date it was found.

It was given to Los Altos Hills amateur historian Florence Fava around 1970. She wrote:

“This is but one of several which made up a necklace which crumbled when removed from the cave it was found in.”

Recent Black Bear Sightings

1999: In August, County sheriff’s deputy Larry Roland saw a bear running across Lompico Road. “It ran down from the hillside on the left right in front of me and down into the creek,” Roland said.

Also in 1999, near Felton Nancy McFarlane reported a glimpse of what she thought could be a bear. A follow-up search by field scout Rich Coats discovered bear scat near Graham Hill Road. Click here for examples of black bear scat.

2001: A bear was hit and killed by a car on Skyline Boulevard near the Crystal Springs Watershed in June. Vicki Sliwa saw the bear lying in the road. “It was a Sunday afternoon, driving south on Skyline, and then suddenly, there it was, a bear lying in a heap on the gravel shoulder,” Sliwa said. “Traffic was light, but everybody was slowing down to look at it.”

By the time CalTrans and the Department of Fish and Game (DFG) arrived, the bear was gone. A DFG spokesman said that it was likely a passing driver illegally picked up the animal.

2008: Two sightings of black bears in the Santa Cruz Mountains were reported; one at Rancho San Antonio in the Los Altos Hills, and the other along Skyline Boulevard near Sanborn-Skyline County Park and Castle Rock State Park. 

The bear at Rancho San Antonio was spotted by a senior couple who saw the bear cross Rogue Valley Trail about a third of a mile east of the park’s pond. The other, along Skyline, was reported by two hikers.

A Bear or a Bull?

1902: In 1902, the Santa Cruz Sentinel newspaper re-published a rather confusing story from the San Jose Mercury. A San Jose butcher, Charles Thomspon, hung a side of meat in his shop and to it attached a sign saying “Bear.” To Charles Wampach he admitted that the bear had been caught in the Big Basin by Andrew P. Hill.

Soon half a dozen butchers from around town gathered at the shop to admire the “fine specimen.” Then Thompson retracted his story, saying no it is not a bear but a calf. The butchers didn’t buy the story - they knew the difference between bear and beef! So Wampach sought out Hill for clarification.

Hill confirmed the story, and stated that the bear had "come at me" while he was photographing in the Big Basin and that he and John Richards, who was accompanying him, killed the bear together.

The story implies that Thompson, the butcher, was deliberately staging a joke and that Hill somehow guessed this and followed along with the pretense.

Perhaps it would not have been prudent to be advertising the fact that there were bears in the Big Basin at the same time as one was advocating it as a State Park. Big Basin became a State Park in 1902, second only to Yosemite which had by then become a National Park. Hill was the highly influential, official artist of the Sempervirens Club, the club that was so actively working to petition for the establishment of the park.

Later, Hill ran a photography and art studio in Big Basin Redwoods State Park. When his health was failing in 1922, he advertised for someone to assist him. Forest Roy Fulmer applied for the position.

He worked closely with Hill over the next few months until Hill’s death. Fulmer took over the studio. One of the multitudes of postcards published by Fulmer’s Studio depicts a photograph taken by Hill of the Grandmother Tree. On the back it states, “This tree is hollow at the base. A bear was killed in this tree about 1900.”