Spafford and A Bear

In the mid-1700s, a hunter named Spafford was known to frequent a lake that today bares his name.  One day he was fishing in his flat-bottom boat when he spotted a swimming bear.  He tried to shoot it, but his musket powder was wet. Much to Spafford’s surprise, the bear swam right up to the boat, climbed in, sat down in the front, and proceeded to completely ignored him.

The slightly rattled Spafford turned the boat around and headed back to the shore. However, this did not please the bear.  It turned its head around, bared its teeth and growled loudly. Spafford tried turning the boat around three to four times. But, each time the bear’s responded with more bared teeth and louder and deeper growls.

However, if Spafford headed the boat in the direction where the bear had been heading, Mr. Bear was quite content to sit in the front, upright on its bottom, like any other regular passenger.  Being no fool, and keenly aware that 150 lbs of muscle with big teeth and claws was sitting just a few feet away, Spafford gave up and rowed the boat in the bear’s desired direction. When the boat reached the shallow shoreline water, the bear jumped out, nearly tipping the boat over.  Spafford silently grabbed the gunnels and waited out the wobble while he watched the bear disappear into the woods. Then, he took up the oars and rowed to the opposite side of the lake, thinking this is one "fish" story no one would believe. 

Photo by Robin Turnbaugh