Susan Larson's Blog - Posts Tagged "death"

A guy I know upcountry killed a bear with a longbow last week. He was alone in the woods in the early morning. He was not on a platform in a tree; he was on the ground on his two feet when he saw a big black bear on the trail. My friend knew he had to drop the bear with one shot or he would be vulnerable to an attack. He waited until the bear lifted its front leg to walk over a log, and he drew and hit it in the lungs. The animal ran several yards and collapsed. The hunter approached cautiously. The bear was dying. It took a long terrible time, and there was nothing to do but stand there and witness the death. Then he called his buddies who helped him dress the bear and carry it out of the woods.

Those are the bald facts; how do we feel about this death? Do we think of it as gratuitous slaughter of a beautiful animal? An act of courage and skill? Killing a bear with a longbow is not for sissies. It takes steady nerves. Does it help to know that my friend is going to eat the bear? Does it make you more sympathetic if I told you he wanted to make a rug out of the bear's pelt, but he couldn't afford to get it done, so he sold the bearskin to somebody else?

This hunting and killing is country business, and it seems harsh to urban folk. In my book "Sam (a pastoral)" poor folk poach deer for food. Farm kids eat their pet pig. Good people raise veal calves in close confinement because they need the money. There is blood on every hand. The difference may be that country people acknowledge the blood and we city people get to pretend there is no blood.

Am I willing to make a moral call on this story? I really don't think I am.