Come on, Steve. Don't leave us hanging. Details on that bear charge, young man, details!!!Did I ever tell you about the a monster black bear that charged me while turkey hunting in New Mexico?...
ps...I kept my shorts as a survival memento...
SoCal black bear?
- Thread starter Cmays0909
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Dr,
I've told the story a number of times, but for the new guys....
I was in the Gila NF with old friend and former teammate at USC, Cal...The afternoon before, I had gotten a big Merriam in a place called Rattlesnake Canyon...I had hunted this place a number of times and I always saw a lot of bear scat...It's also full of caves and steep walled side canyons...After getting my bird, I found their roost trees and meadow they were flying down to.
The next morning we go into the canyon at dark-thirty and by moonlight only...There's a small stream to cross...I jump across, but Cal missed the opposite bank and falls into the bog...Wet and slowed, I push ahead, as it's getting a little light...After going about a 100 yds on an elk trail...I just happened to look up and here's a bear in full charge (making growls & grunts too)...My gun is across my back and I'm holding the decoys...All I could think of in this split second is, stand tall, throw my hands up and yell...Too my surprise, the bear comes to a screeching halt at about 15 yds...Looks at me, turns and runs...A minute or so later, Call meanders up..."Hey, was that a cow?"...No, that was pretty much a bear...lol...About that time, the bear comes out of the willows along the creek at about 80 yds...Then literally scales the wall of the canyon in seconds.
ps...Don't know if it was my yell or the bear walking right thru the flydown meadow...The turkeys went up hill and we never did get one.
.
Did you crawl into the cave and try to reason with the bear?Dr,
I've told the story a number of times, but for the new guys....
I was in the Gila NF with old friend and former teammate at USC, Cal...The afternoon before, I had gotten a big Merriam in a place called Rattlesnake Canyon...I had hunted this place a number of times and I always saw a lot of bear scat...It's also full of caves and steep walled side canyons...After getting my bird, I found their roost trees and meadow they were flying down to.
The next morning we go into the canyon at dark-thirty and by moonlight only...There's a small stream to cross...I jump across, but Cal missed the opposite bank and falls into the bog...Wet and slowed, I push ahead, as it's getting a little light...After going about a 100 yds on an elk trail...I just happened to look up and here's a bear in full charge (making growls & grunts too)...My gun is across my back and I'm holding the decoys...All I could think of in this split second is, stand tall, throw my hands up and yell...Too my surprise, the bear comes to a screeching halt at about 15 yds...Looks at me, turns and runs...A minute or so later, Call meanders up..."Hey, was that a cow?"...No, that was pretty much a bear...lol...About that time, the bear comes out of the willows along the creek at about 80 yds...Then literally scales the wall of the canyon in seconds.
ps...Don't know if it was my yell or the bear walking right thru the flydown meadow...The turkeys went up hill and we never did get one.
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Snake Charmer
Happiness is a warm gut pile
The Apaches had nothing to do with that part of the world, (Look at southern Arizona for that) Maybe the Mescaleros but probably not them as well, You would need to do homework and look and explore the prehistoric tribes that came through and disappeared before they came. Maybe the Navajo's or Utes. Most likely precurseres to the current tribes that inhabit the four corners region but as far as the researchers go it's still a mystery when it comes to science and genetics. I have family that has lived in New Mexico since the late 1700's and actually logged and recorded the europeans through the jobs assigened to them by the rulers of Spain that came in after the conquistadors and took the land from the natives. The native tribes that lived in central New Mexico as far as research goes came out of Southern Mexico and thrived there during a periods when rain was plentiful and the were able to grow corn, squash and domesticate local animals. It to me is a very fascinating part of the world because it cannot be explained entirely as to who came first and my ancestors interacted with the last decendants before it all fell apart. Ther are many books writen about this lack of what happened if you care to do the homework. I was in that part of the world a few weeks ago and because of my interest talked with as many locals as would talk to me. BTW my family were cattle ranchers and still are in that part of the world and according to what I have been told would never occupy a space that the natives had used due to superstition
Interesting Fred...But this is Geronimo country (Apache)...I am just north of Silver City, Mimbres, (famous for their pottery), and in the Gila NF...You may want to check your history again on this region.
A Brief History...The Geronimo Trail Scenic Byway is named for Geronimo, a famous Apache warrior. He was born Goyakla, meaning 'one who yawns,' in the 1820s near the headwaters of the Gila River. This would be in the Gila Wilderness area of Southwestern New Mexico today.
With all due respect, please research the Jicarilla Apache tribes. They lived a nomadic lifestyle and spent a great deal of time in southern Colorado and northern New Mexico. One area they roamed was what is now the Gila National Forest. The Jicarilla Apache reservation itself is in northern New Mexico and is the ancestral territory of the Jicarilla Apaches.
I'm still looking for this guy...
www.sandiegouniontribune.com
Black bear spotted in video east of San Diego
Black bear spotted in video east of San Diego
www.sandiegouniontribune.com
Snake Charmer
Happiness is a warm gut pile
Certainley the Apaches were there but they were the johnny come lately to the scene. There is much recorded history of that. The people I was speaking about are what are called the ancient ones who built the cliff dwellings and occupied the area for sometime around 700 to 800 a.d. and disappeared around 1200 a.d. There culture stretched through northern Arizona, New mexico, Colorado and Utah There is no oral or written history of them and not much is known. You should visit the Gila cliff dwelling while you are there it is fascinating. The culture was different than the Mescaleros in that they were not nomadic and lived in a communal environment where agriculture was the main way of life. If you ever make it into southwest Colorado Mesa Verde is a must see.
Snake Charmer
Happiness is a warm gut pile
P
Please check the post I wrote in ressponse to Sprig. I was speaking of the ancient ones that disappeared before the europeans arrived. Certainley the Jicarilla and Mescaleros have a known history in that region but were better known during the time of the conquest of the west when europeans arrived. The ancient ones came and went before then. It is believed that drought drove them away in the early 1200's
Fred,
I'm not going to beat this horse, but your 1st statement was..."The Apaches had nothing to do with that part of the world"...I have close friends that live there and are very aware of the Apache & Mimbres ancestry/history in this region...I'm sure like many others cultures, the native Americans were always looking to expand or conquer new lands...Much like the Conquistador's and European's did after them in these lands.
I'm not going to beat this horse, but your 1st statement was..."The Apaches had nothing to do with that part of the world"...I have close friends that live there and are very aware of the Apache & Mimbres ancestry/history in this region...I'm sure like many others cultures, the native Americans were always looking to expand or conquer new lands...Much like the Conquistador's and European's did after them in these lands.
Snake Charmer
Happiness is a warm gut pile
Me neither Steve, As I said they were there but not the predominant people that settled the land before the europeans and became most noted because they resisted the europeans when they came and that made for good history . The ancient ones left no oral or written history and to me that is what is so fascinating because we know so little about those that originally setteled those lands and how they were so sophisticated and far beyond what the nomadic tribes left when they came. My mothers side of ancestry were part of the folks that came and took the land after they were long gone. I have traced my ancestry to 1765 in what is now known as Santa Fe and was what we would now call a county recorder. I have a long a deep connection to my family there and have spent much time there in my youth which is long gone. Bottom line to me is that land was settled by native americans that came before the Mescaleros and Jicarilla came to be the predominant people of that area. Visit the Gila cliff dwellings its close by and will offer you a different view. The southwest is so diverse and full of stories that none of us are wrong in our views, I love this part of the world because of that and will never be far from it. Beyond that the supernatural things that have happened and are still happening are beyond explanation in those places are still under investigation there appears at the moment that the ancient ones had some sort of connection to another world we don't understand as of yet.
Something that I never knew but learned when I visited with some archaeologists [did I spell that right?] is that the Apaches in eastern Arizona and western New Mexico had established trade routes going as far as into Central America and South America. Can you imagine that? Talk about hunting skills!!! That is 6000+ miles, on foot, almost all the food obtained by hunting or gathering or fishing along the way. Wish I could sit down and talk with those incredible Americans and learn their hunting skills. Makes me look like a big fat zero. Talk about balls the size of grapefruit!!