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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

100 years ago in Spokane: Dogs used to track escaped zoo bear also go missing

From our archives, 100 years ago

Bear hunter Tom Hopper was no longer chasing the escaped Manito Park Zoo bear; instead, he was chasing after his own bear hounds.

Hopper and the other searchers left the dogs behind the night before, and when they returned the next day, they could not find them. They spent the day scouring the Spangle area with no luck. They also kept an eye open for the bear, but Hopper was of the opinion that the bear was never going to be caught.

But he said he “could not afford to lose his bear dogs.” He went to farmhouses around the area asking them to watch for his bear hounds.

Hopper scoffed at people who said the bear could be baited into a trap with bread. During winter, bears have no appetite and “you could not tempt a bear with honey, beefsteaks, bread or anything else.”

Hopper reiterated that they could have shot the bear hundreds of times, and at one point, he could have hit it with a club. But the goal was to bring the bear back unharmed.

From the execution beat: Edward Mayberry, condemned to hang for murder three weeks hence, was convinced that he would be granted clemency by President Woodrow Wilson.

In fact, said the paper, He “displays more concern for his personal appearance, which has suffered through jail confinement, and the appearance of his cell, which he is decorating.”