Who hunted bear with a knife?

[Certus]

Hey guys,

Trying to recall the name of the guy (I think 1900ish?) who used to hunt bear with a knife and hounds.

Not much to go off but anyone know who I’m talking about?

 

[Tundra Tiger]

Ben Lilly perhaps?

 

[Wishfulthinker580]

Hey guys,

Trying to recall the name of the guy (I think 1900ish?) who used to hunt bear with a knife and hounds.

Not much to go off but anyone know who I’m talking about?

Maybe?

Amazon.com

 

[Red Leg]

Not sure how he dispatched the one at three, but he reportedly killed one with a butcher knife.

 

[flatwater bill]

I have never seen a bear with a knife................FWB

 

[Wishfulthinker580]

Maybe?

Amazon.com

Just fyi I bought this book for my dad years ago and it said it was “real good and pretty interesting”.

 

[MRBlack]

I believe you may be thinking of Holt Collier. He also guided Teddy Roosevelt on the famous “Teddy Bear” hunt.

 

[Rocked and Loaded]

I have never seen a bear with a knife................FWB

You only see that in the bad parts of the forest.

 

[cash_tx]

I have never seen a bear with a knife................FWB

"Chicago Bears". ;-)

 

[Aaron N]

"Chicago Bears". ;-)

Da Bears!

 

[Kdgj]

Meshach Browning hunted bears in the 1840s. He used knives, branches, and whatever else to kill them. This was in the Maryland area. His notes were published in a book called “Forty-Four Years of the Life of a Hunter”. The book was originally printed in 1859.

Ken

 

[Tundra Tiger]

I believe Ben Lilly is your huckleberry. From an online site....

Lilly usually wore a huge knife on his belt where it was easiest to grab– the favored harpoon of a graying landlocked Ahab. A product of the passion-soaked South, he joined James Bowie in often preferring a blade over a gun. A favorite way of dispatching a bear on the ground was to get in close and strike deep with the big knife. That way he didn’t have to worry about hitting his dogs with an errant bullet, as they run circles around the raging bruin… and it gave him the opportunity to make things personal.

He fashioned large numbers of “Lilly knives” over the years using any old tool steel he could find, and he was known for giving the smaller ones away as gifts to the many hospitable folks he met on his trips. He forged a special dirk for bear, a massive “Arkansas Toothpick” tempered in panther oil, and featuring a blade with an exaggerated S-curve similar to an Asiatic Kris. He believed its wavy shape contributed to bleeding and being sharpened fully on both sides he could not only stick it deep into his quarry but also cut in either direction.

 

[freefall]

My brother-in-law, according to hm, killed a 150? lb black bear with a knife in the swamps around Dunbar AK in the late 70's. I saw the hide, supposedly the knife, I did not witness the deed.

 

[Certus]

May also be thinking of Wade Hampton..now I have 4 names to go check up on and see if any ring any more bells.

 

[Alaska Luke]

When we ran short of food once a Canadian friend half joked about stunning a bear with our packraft paddle and then stabbing it with a large pocket knife he'd been teasing me about. I was so hungry (and somewhat running on adrenaline) that I was seriously thinking about it. I think my brain said "no we probably can't run it down"

But I read a story somewhere of Ben Lilly killing a mountain lion with a knife.

 

[Bullthrower338]

I’m also going with Ben Lilly, an amazing man

 

[fourfive8]

No doubt Ben Lilly. Died 1936. Buried in Silver City NM. Called the Silver City area home most of adult life. Probably the last true Mountain Man. Was a houndsman and much of the time traveled on foot. Tracked down problem black bears, mtn lions and some of the last grizzly bears in the southwest US, including Mexico. Much of his history is well documented and considered accurate.

 

[HankBuck]

No doubt Ben Lilly. Died 1936. Buried in Silver City NM. Called the Silver City area home most of adult life. Probably the last true Mountain Man. Was a houndsman and much of the time traveled on foot. Tracked down problem black bears, mtn lions and some of the last grizzly bears in the southwest US, including Mexico. Much of his history is well documented and considered accurate.

Fourfive8: That Ben Lilly sounds like a “Real Man” — nothing like him left around….now I’ve got to find some articles about him and read them because I’m sure he would be an interesting study.

 

[fourfive8]

Even has a connection to Teddy Roosevelt hunting in Louisiana... search origin of the "Teddy Bear".

 

[BeeMaa]

I have never seen a bear with a knife................FWB

…but when you do, it pays to have a gun.