“ The Terror of the Hills ” By Jerry Berry
The article ( in its original wording ) titled " The Terror of the Hills appeared in the June 23 , 1904 Libby newspaper--the Western News ." For years there has been known to exist in the Cabinet range back of Troy and Libby [ Montana ] a mammoth grizzly bear . He has been seen numerous times by trappers and hunters and on account of his size and the wonderful feats attributed to his prowess , together with the apparent fact that he was impervious to the power of powder and shot and too wily to be caught in any trap set for him , he became known as the " Terror of the Hills ."
With each recurring season of late years , it has been the ambition of hunter and trapper alike to get this monster . With each recurring failure the prize has become a more valuable one and the most careful inquiry was made of all who came from the mountains if anything was known of the big grizzly .
THINGS I REMEMBER
The most wonderful stories are told of this animal . One night several years ago he came out of the mountains near Troy and broke into a pig pen of a rancher living near the place . During the night he killed over 20 full grown hogs out of some 36 in the pen and of these he carried off into the mountains 14 . And the most remarkable thing about it is that although his trail could be followed for several miles into the hills no one ever found where he cached all that pork .
One hunter relates that he met this animal twice and each time the circumstances attending the meeting would tend to the belief that his was a charmed life . On one occasion , he saw the animal standing on a reef of rocks not to exceed 40 yards away . The hunter says he fired 23 times , all the cartridges he had , at the animal , who stood perfectly still during the fusillade , never making an effort to get away . None of the shots took effect , though the man is counted one of the best marksmen in the camp . On the other occasion he suddenly came onto Mr . Terror of the Hills when the latter was knawing [ sic ] at the carcass of a dead animal and he was not over 60 feet from him . Leaning against a tree he took a careful aim and pulled the trigger . The cartridge failed to go off . Another shell and another , until 16 , again all he had with him , were tried and none of them would go off . While not superstitious , this hunter thinks things are not what they might be when dealing with the big bear .
And so on . There are many stories , enough to fill columns of space were they printed , connected with this animal . However , he is now no more among the living . He was caught in a monster trap about two weeks ago in the mountains back of Troy and Libby by Frank Gerrad . As big as the trap was the captured animal had almost succeeded in gnawing it to pieces , and in this endeavor he had broken nearly all of his teeth . He weighed about 1500 or 1600 pounds , his hide is about 12 feet long by eight and a half wide and the claws are over five inches in length .
The hide is valued at a hundred dollars by Mr . Johnston . It should be bought by some society or club , to the end that it be preserved and that many people could see it .
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