Century-old bear story makes some descendents growling mad
JERRY AULDS

These days, the bears roam and rule Wall Street. So maybe the stock exchange big boys oughta take a tip from some Wharton County good ole boys who solved their "bear problem" back in 1910.

This bear take-out tale is well documented, from the original story in the Louise News, to the late '50s account in the El Campo newspaper, to the Victoria Advocate columnist and historian Henry Wolff's 1981 column.

All the scribes agree on who was at the bear hunt, its duration, the route taken, and that the bear met his demise in a big thicket called Devil's Pocket.

Additionally, the newspapers concur that the bear was the last bear in the Sandy Creek area, and that before the pack of hunters trapped and killed him, the bear snuffed out the life of legendary bear dog, "Old Catch."

All the press accounts have the identities of the hunters: Mike Wright, James Bradley, T. L. Haymes, Jim and John Goff, Woodie Townsend, Alvin and Tom O'Briant and Pete Townsend.

Further, the press accounts note that at the successful completion of the bear chase, the proud hunters issued President Teddy Roosevelt an invitation to join their next Big Bear Hunt. The president declined, claiming there was no need for another bear hunt, since there were no longer any bears in Sandy Creek.

The concurrence of the various press accounts that Haymes fired the shot that felled the bear still rankles many descendants of the original hunting party.

"The gospel according to our family historian is that Uncle Jim Goff took Haymes' 30-30, crawled into the deep thicket, and finished off the enraged bear," said my friend, Ken Goff, who still farms in the Sandy Creek area under the corporate name of Devil's Pocket, Inc.

However, Goff told me his family's claim is also challenged.

"I was talking with Susan D'Egidio recently, who said her relative, Obie O'Briant, vigorously maintains that it was his father, Alvin O'Briant, who downed the bear with a double load of buckshot."

To substantiate his family's claim, Goff added another detail left unacknowledged in any of the other press accounts.

"Our home place was the closest to Devil's Pocket, so my uncle and all the other hunters hauled his trophy over there, whereupon my then-20-year-old grandmother served up fried bear to all the hunters," Goff told me.

Which hunter actually administered the "coup de gras" to the last bear on Sandy Creek back in 1910? Which family's legend rings most true with you? Which of the many claims do I, this columnist, believe? Well, let's just say I have to go with the "bear facts."

My tip for those Wall Street stock hunters?

Better get the bear before the bear gets you!

This classic Jerry Aulds column first appeared in the El Campo Leader- News on Oct. 5, 2002.