Jim Kershner’s this day in history

From our archives, 100 years ago

Two sons of Francis Cook were attacked by a “monster black bear” near their road-building camp on the slopes of Mount Carleton (Mount Spokane).

The boys said they had been fishing with two other members of the group and were returning to camp with their catch. They heard a sudden commotion in the brush nearby, and then a huge black bear dashed into the open followed by a smaller bear.

The bears charged the boys, two of whom raced into the pines and climbed up trees (apparently not realizing that black bears are excellent tree-climbers).

Yet the bears ignored them and chased the two Cook brothers, who were “obliged to stand their ground” with only their fishing rods and an old shotgun loaded with birdshot. The birdshot was not sufficient to kill the bears but sufficient to drive them away.

One of the boys had bruised shins and the other had “tattered trousers,” but it was unclear whether the bears did the damage or the boys hurt themselves while trying to get away.

They said that 1912 was proving to be a big year for bear encounters because of a scarcity of huckleberries.

Also on this date

(From the Associated Press)

1936: The Summer Olympics opened in Berlin with a ceremony presided over by Adolf Hitler.

1981: The rock music video channel MTV made its debut.