The rogue bear, nicknamed “Old Groaner,” had reportedly been threatening camps in the area, but had miraculously escaped being shot…until now.
In 1923, on the upper Unuk River of Alaska, young Jess Sethington arrived after a long journey from the British Columbia border town of Stewart. He had come to trap for furs near Cripple Creek north of Ketchikan. The mystery that followed him would take more than a decade to solve.
Jess was carrying a .33 rifle and .38-caliber pistol for meat gathering and protection. When Jess didn’t return for several weeks, his friends and family recruited some experienced outdoorsmen to try and find him. The search party followed the route he’d planned to take and used his campfires and tracks to follow his trail. But at Cripple Creek they lost his trail, and even though they conducted an extensive search, Jess Sethington was never seen or heard from again.
As the years went by, several trappers and prospectors returned from the same area with reports of hearing a strange beast near their camps and being stalked by something that moaned and groaned. In time, some prospectors camping overnight at Cripple Creek discovered the sounds were coming from a large bear.
The rogue bear, nicknamed “Old Groaner,” had reportedly been threatening camps in the area, but had miraculously escaped being shot. It would come close to campfires and bluff-charge prospectors who merely scared it by shooting but never hitting it. The animal’s persistence and lack of fear was characteristic of a bear that had more than likely attacked or killed humans in the past. This thought was foremost in the minds of two prospectors who camped in the area with their dog in November 1935.
Early one morning one of the prospectors left camp with the dog to stake a claim notice. Taking his rifle, he was not unusually nervous as he approached the site. After all, it was broad daylight and “Old Groaner” had only been seen and heard at night. He looked around cautiously as he knelt on one knee, leaning his rifle against a tree, to prepare the location notice. Then, to his surprise, his dog ran past him, barking at something.
The prospector quickly stood up and to his horror saw the massive grizzly a few yards away. As he grabbed his gun, the bear charged with tremendous speed. His dog leaped at the predator, which easily swatted him away. The man had no time to raise his rifle, so he shot from the hip. The muzzle was only inches from the animal’s shoulder and the recoil sent the prospector backwards just as the momentum of the bear’s body sent it rolling past him.
The miner watched in shock as the giant beast tried to get up, but before it could charge him again, he put two more bullets into it, dispatching “Old Groaner” once and for all.
When the men measured the dead bear, its paws exceeded ten inches. They also found that this was not its first encounter with man. It had many injuries to its skull—and to its jaw in particular —which had been grossly deformed over the years and accounted for the strange noises it made.
What caused the deformity was three bullets from a .38-caliber revolver lodged in the gristle under the jaw and two .33-caliber (jacketed bullets) also in the right jaw. The five bullets proved to be Jess Sethington’s and confirmed the horror of his final moments as he desperately tried to save himself from the killer jaws of the massive grizzly.
Acclaimed wildlife artist and the preeminent painter of Theodore Roosevelt, John Seerey-Lester takes you on a historic journey to some of the most interesting places on earth. John’s paintings and writings will make you feel as though you are there, sharing the exciting adventures of the former president.
This book is the third in Seerey-Lester’s “Legends” series. The Legendary Hunts of Theodore Roosevelt, published by Sporting Classics, features over 60 chapters devoted to TR’s most spectacular hunts on three continents.
Complementing Seerey-Lester’s meticulously researched text are some 150 paintings and sketches, which altogether provide a unique glimpse into the life of the former president and his passion for wildlife and adventure. Shop Now
