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December 31, 2024 21 mins

Bears are rarely seen in Niagara today, but they were certainly here in the 19th century. In this episode I examine a story from a guidebook about a bear climbing into a fisherman's canoe in the middle of the Niagara River, and two poems also describing this incident.

Poems & other sources mentioned

Erieus (Adam Hood Burwell, known as the Pioneer Poet).  Journal of a Day’s Journey in Upper Canada in October, 1816

Charles Edwin Jakeway.   Laura Secord

George W. Holley, ed.  The Falls of Niagara.
Florio (Clement Clarke Moore).  A Legend of Niagara
McIntyre, James.  Bear and Falls

Information about recent sightings of bears https://www.wbfo.org/environment/2018-11-05/dec-confirms-resident-bears-in-niagara-county

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