Montague Stevens And Grizzly Bears In Catron County Montague Stevens, an Englishman, was one of the first and the last to hunt grizzly bears in Catron County. Stevens moved to New Mexico Territory in the 1800s and went into the cattle business establishing ranches near Alma, Reserve and Datil with his headquarters at Horse Springs. He published a book in 1942 titled Meet Mr. Grizzly and wrote about his move to New Mexico: “It was in the fall of 1882 that I bought my first ranches from early settlers and so little was known of New Mexico in the East that I was several times asked if we had monkeys and parrots here … I have ranches scattered over an area of some 80 by 30 miles, generally known as the SU Ranches and range, the SU being my cattle brand.” Grizzly bears were a major problem for Stevens and early settlers. They often attacked without warning, taking livestock and supplies. Stevens and his ranch foreman, Dan Gatlin, started training hounds to hunt grizzlies in 1889. By trial and error, Stevens and Gatlin raised an exceptional group of hunting dogs, which consistently tracked down grizzly bears when other hounds failed. Bounties were offered on troublesome grizzlies. Stevens described two grizzly bears and the naming of Bear-Trap-Canyon in the San Mateo Mountains. He wrote, “On a mountain 30 miles southwest of Magdalena, two grizzlies had been killing a good many cattle and a generous bounty was offered to anyone who would kill them. Two trappers, therefore, decided to try to catch a big grizzly in a bear-trap, so they camped near the place where the tracks of these bears seemed to show up the most and set their trap.” They waited outside the trap for longer than a week, but did not see the grizzlies. Next, they built a log cabin, about 8 feet by 10 feet with sturdy log walls. A trap door was placed at one end and a deer carcass at the other. When the trappers returned the next morning, the trap had been sprung and was empty. They found another grizzly had dug under the trap from the outside and helped free the one inside. They both escaped, and since the area has been referred to as Bear-Trap-Canyon....
Monday, November 10, 2008
Montague Stevens And Grizzly Bears In Catron County Montague Stevens, an Englishman, was one of the first and the last to hunt grizzly bears in Catron County. Stevens moved to New Mexico Territory in the 1800s and went into the cattle business establishing ranches near Alma, Reserve and Datil with his headquarters at Horse Springs. He published a book in 1942 titled Meet Mr. Grizzly and wrote about his move to New Mexico: “It was in the fall of 1882 that I bought my first ranches from early settlers and so little was known of New Mexico in the East that I was several times asked if we had monkeys and parrots here … I have ranches scattered over an area of some 80 by 30 miles, generally known as the SU Ranches and range, the SU being my cattle brand.” Grizzly bears were a major problem for Stevens and early settlers. They often attacked without warning, taking livestock and supplies. Stevens and his ranch foreman, Dan Gatlin, started training hounds to hunt grizzlies in 1889. By trial and error, Stevens and Gatlin raised an exceptional group of hunting dogs, which consistently tracked down grizzly bears when other hounds failed. Bounties were offered on troublesome grizzlies. Stevens described two grizzly bears and the naming of Bear-Trap-Canyon in the San Mateo Mountains. He wrote, “On a mountain 30 miles southwest of Magdalena, two grizzlies had been killing a good many cattle and a generous bounty was offered to anyone who would kill them. Two trappers, therefore, decided to try to catch a big grizzly in a bear-trap, so they camped near the place where the tracks of these bears seemed to show up the most and set their trap.” They waited outside the trap for longer than a week, but did not see the grizzlies. Next, they built a log cabin, about 8 feet by 10 feet with sturdy log walls. A trap door was placed at one end and a deer carcass at the other. When the trappers returned the next morning, the trap had been sprung and was empty. They found another grizzly had dug under the trap from the outside and helped free the one inside. They both escaped, and since the area has been referred to as Bear-Trap-Canyon....
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment