This story, passed down in the family over the years, is also recounted in pioneer reminiscences published during the early 1900s in the Ailsa Craig Banner. William’s encounter with the bear had occurred about forty-five years earlier, putting him in his late twenties or early thirties at the time.
Even though a great deal of McGillivray Township would still have been heavily timbered in the 1850s, the tone of the article suggests that bears so far south in Ontario were already considered a rarity. The bear pursued during William Dixon’s brush with local fame is only described as a “large bear”, possibly a black bear of the type usually found further north.
The newspaper article recounts some boys, after sighting the bear near Brinsley, briefly chasing it with two dogs before losing track of it. The dogs, however, were able to continue the chase, apparently barking noisily as they did so. It is at this stage that William appeared on the scene. The newspaper article recounts:
“William Dixon, who lived nearby, ran
to see what all the fuss was about and came singled handed upon the bruin. With the dogs he followed closely. The bear
ran to the north, the dogs and Mr. Dixon in hot pursuit. The bear got into a dam of water … swimming
around and casting ugly glances at Dixon finally deciding to put him out of
business by coming out of the water to attack him. Mr. Dixon raised a large stone and struck him
on the head. The bear turned in the
other direction.”
The chase then continued with the bear for a time sheltering between some logs and injuring one of the barking snapping dogs. William and the other dog (how is not explained) succeeded in ousting the bear from his shelter and the chase continued to the north.
“A number of brush fences were met in
the way and, in climbing these, the bear was only a few feet in advance of
Dixon who, with a good hand spike or club, might have killed the bear. However, he had nothing in his hand and
although he could get nothing as a useful weapon, he made sufficient noise to
be heard from both concessions to the east and west.”
William passed a shanty whose owner was known to possess a gun. Quickly advised of the situation, this man fired a futile shot when the bear was at long range. By now, another neighbour made aware of the situation, rode up and, as the bear again turned on his pursuers, the neighbour fired a fatal shot to the bear’s head.
“Mr. Dixon was much admired and
praised for his daring and courage following the animal so closely without even
a stick in his hand. The carcass was
skinned, the meat divided among the crowd that soon gathered, and one of the
most exciting episodes that took place in the community for some time was
over.” The carcass was skinned, the meat
divided among the crowd that soon gathered, and one of the most exciting
episodes that took place in the community for some time was over.”
Present day environmentalists would be no doubt horrified by the actions of William and his neighbours. It is likely, however, that a wild bear was seen as no friend of farmers and their livestock. It also seems, as evidenced by the last sentence in the story, that the bear may also have been viewed as a potential food source. Whatever the reason, the tale left William with some modest fame in his farming community.
The tale in the retelling no doubt lacks some of the excitement of so long ago. Be that as it may, William Dixon, his status as a local hero long forgotten, can at least still be remembered by his family as the man who, whether courageously or recklessly, tracked and pursued the last bear killed in McGillivray Township.
David Arntfield
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