Back in 19676, John Graves Sr., who lived on Taunton Hill, called me to come up to see the damage that was being done to his fruit trees by a bear. I drove up, and John took me over to his neighbor’s home across the road to the old Bachelder Farm (now owned by Alex Bernhard and Myra Mayman).
Near the garage and large shed there were two fruit trees – a pear tree and a peach tree. Limbs were broken off, lots of fruit was on the ground, much of it half-eaten, and a lot of bear “up-chuck.”
John asked me if I would come back up that night, sit up in the second story of the garage attached to the barn, and try to shoot the bear. So, at 10 PM, I went up with a lawn chair, blanket, and my rifle.
There was a large door on the second floor so that I could sit safely up there and yet be able to see the bear. I sat about five feet inside the door. I slept off and on and nearly fell off the chair a few times. It was cold and nothing happened – no bear!
I went back again the next night. My wife was sure I was nuts! It was another long, cool night.
Sometime about daybreak, I heard a loud snort, almost a growl. I picked up my rifle and had an attack of “buck fever!” At the end of the long driveway I could see a large bear in one of the trees eating pears. He then moved to the peach tree some 35′ or 40′ from me. He climbed up into the tree and began to shake the peaches off.
When he dropped down out of the tree, I fired my rifle one time. The bear stood there looking in my direction; then he walked into the driveway, and I fired two more shots. He then laid down. Then I felt sorry for him!
I was shaking and climbed down out of the garage and ran towards the house to get Mr. Graves. Part-way there I met him running with his rifle, still wearing his pajamas, but with no bullets!
Together we went back to check the bear, and he was dead. John then went home to get dressed and to get his tractor and a rope. We proceeded to tie the rope around the bear’s neck and forelegs and picked it up with his bucket loader. We took it to the large barn. With a pulley and a rope tied to a beam in the barn, we hoisted the bear up so that we could gut it.
How have things changed since “the old days,” when this story unfolded? The Beacon asked Andover’s Heidi Murphy, a lieutenant in the Law Enforcement Division of New Hampshire Fish and Game. Here’s her reply:
The law still states that landowners are allowed to protect themselves or their property if they feel they are in imminent danger or if the wildlife is doing substantial damage. However, with bigger game like a bear, we ask that our office is called first so that we may come up with solutions to fix the problem other than shooting the animal. By law, if an animal is shot, it has to be reported to our office within 12 hours, and we have to see evidence of the damage. Generally, we do not allow the landowner to keep the animal.
John said, “Wow! He is huge!” Being excited, I went home to tell my wife. I took a hot shower and changed my clothes. By then our door bell had begun to ring. I don’t know how folks found out about the bear so quickly.
Sargent Jessie Scott (from New Hampshire Fish and Game) came with our local warden, Dan Tibbetts. They gave me a permit to keep the bear and said to refer anyone with questions to them.
It was an exciting morning, and I don’t think I ever wrote the story down until now. I think the bear weighed about 640 lbs, but it might have been 460 lbs. The warden told me it was the largest one they had ever seen.
We ate bear meat (it was pretty tough) and passed it out to anyone who wanted to try it. My wife was not too thrilled with it!
After that a lot of my friends referred to me as the “bear jacker.”