BEARS ROAMED THE FORESTS OF PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND IN 1853

It was the year 1853, when Daniel Mooney and his son, Tom, accompanied by their small dog, entered the forest in Greenvale to peel bark from trees which they used to insulate their log cabins.

They had pushed their way farther than usual into the forest to procure good bark. The place that they selected that day was situated between two brooks in a thick grove where white birch trees were plentiful.

They had advanced but a short distance when, to their amazement, they came in contact with two bear cubs. The mother bear was not in sight, but when the dog began to bark, the old bear soon appeared to rescue her young. The quick action of the dog, and the presence of the two men, appeared to confuse the bears, and they kept their distance.

Daniel was an expert with a gun, but the nearest gun was three miles away in Little Harbour. He thought about sending Tom to fetch it, but he knew that he could not find his way through the dense forest. Daniel abandoned the use of their axes, since that would bring them into close quarters with the bears. The dog grew more furious, but always keeping at bay. Finally, one of the cubs ran up a tree, and the mother bear and the other cub moved off some distance.

Daniel instructed his son, Tom, to climb a tall tree which had thick branches. This was to prevent the bear from attacking the boy, because a bear will climb only a tree having a clean trunk and no branches. The dog still followed the other two bears, always keeping out of their reach. Daniel climbed the tree in pursuit of the bear which he planned to kill with his bark knife. He had to contend with more danger than he anticipated, as the young bear was much larger than expected, and naturally put up a desperate, stubborn fight for life.