Something of a Cold Case
This tragedy, caused by a single bear, was reported on for about twenty-three days in total, and those records still ought to remain.
The state of agitation in the area of the attacks can be seen well in the evidence gathered there. Many discrepancies can be found in reporting the days of the attacks, the number of victims, their names, their ages, and the state of affairs.
Communication technologies were in their very infancies in the 1910s, and to make matters worse, the impressions coming from the snowy Tomamae frontier were unimaginable, or so say the old-timers.
The first notice of the calamity befalling the Ōta family on the 9th reached the government of Hokkaidō on the 12th. News of the tragedy at the Miyoke house on the 10th arrived late, also on the 12th. Word of these attacks was printed in the newspapers at the first possible opportunity: the Hokkaidō Times (now called the Hokkaidō Newspaper) and the Otaru Newspaper ran with the story on the 13th, five days since the start of the attacks. It took the Hakodate Newspaper until the 19th, an inexplicable eleven days since it began. It was about 180 kilometers from the site of the attack to the Hokkaidō government offices in Sapporo, a distance which a good walker could cover in three days, snow or no snow. The Hokkaidō Times, perhaps because information was slow in coming out, ran a feature between the 15th and 18th on animal attacks on humans the in eleven years between 1904 and 1915 called “Bear Story” on pages one, two, three, and five. A remarkable effort on the part of the newspaper. Let’s look at some of the headlines of articles on the bear attack from December 13th to December 25th, 1915:
13th: Giant Man-eating Bear!
14th: Statement on Bear Attacks (Oddity in Tomamae)
15th: Bear Story (front page): People Eaten by Bears in the Past Eleven Years
16th: Bear Story (second page): People Eaten by Bears in the Past Eleven Years
16th: Bear Attack: 12 Dead or Wounded (Bear Still at Large; People in State of Absolute Panic)
17th: Bear Story (third page): People Eaten by Bears in the Past Eleven Years
18th: Bear Story (fifth page): People Eaten by Bears in the Past Eleven Years
20th: Giant Bear Brought Down at Last! (Savage Beast Beyond Compare Shot 500 Times)
21st: In-Depth Report on the Bear Tragedy
22nd: In-Depth Report on the Bear Tragedy (cont)
23rd: In-Depth Report on the Bear Tragedy (cont)
23rd: News in Brief
25th: In-Depth Report on the Bear Tragedy (cont)
Next, some excerpts from articles on the 13th, 14th, and 23rd, for sake of reference:
Giant Man-eating Bear! (13th)
On the 10th a bear of great stature did appear in Sankebetsu, in the village of Tomamae, devouring two, and on the night of the 11th five were killed and five injured. The least that can be said it that it is a great tragedy. (Tomamae Dispatch)
Statement on Bear Attacks (Oddity in Tomamae) (14th)
As was reported in yesterday’s edition, at around seven on the evening of the 9th, a bear attacked the farm of one Ōta family, in Sankebetsu, in the Imperial Forest of Tomamae, in Teshio Province. Ōta Tsuneo (9) was bitten and perished. The whereabouts of his mother, Mayo (sic), are unknown, but she is believed to have been savaged by the beast, according to telegram from government office. On the 12th the bear attacked again, killing five and wounding five. According to a statement from the Department of Public Safety, the Haboro chief of police is assembling a team out of the region’s Young Mens’ Hall, including Ainu, to hunt down the bear and reassure the townsfolk. The chief will also command the villagers and coordinate activities to neutralize the bear.
News in Brief (23rd)
The Imperial Diet was thrown into disarray when Prime Minister Ōkuma Shigenobu appeared on the central stage. More than three hundred senators all together. A great scuffle ensued.
A great bear appeared in Tomamae, Hokkaidō, killing seven, some of whom were eaten, and wounding ten. A rare act unheard of in previous years.
In no year before have bears run so rampant. These repeated bear attacks evoke fear of the highest order.
Reports say that the Tomamae bear was brought down at last by more than twenty rifles and five hundred members of the Young Mens’ Association.
Though the bear has but a single leg, its reign of terror, having lasted for over a year, has yet to be stopped.
The Diet resembles this bear; however, while the politicians are fools while the Diet is in session, even when out of session they are not observed to have hunkered down and hibernated. (…)
Next, let’s take a look at headlines from the Otaru Newspaper:
13th: Fierce Bear Kills Seven, Wounds Five (12th, Tomamae dispatch)
16th: Kotanbetsu Young Mens’ Assc. Organizes Bear Hunt
19th: Baying in the Mountains, Roaring in the Fields: Ferocious Bear in Sankebetsu Savages Young and Old Alike
20th: Bear Exterminated at Last! Relief to All in and Around Sankebetsu (19th, Tomamae dispatch)
22nd: How the Bear was Beaten: Driven Out at Gunpoint
24th: Six Days of Discontent: Looking Back at the Extermination of the Killer Bear of Sankebetsu (Part 1)
25th: Six Days of Discontent: Looking Back at the Extermination of the Killer Bear of Sankebetsu (Part 2)
26th: Six Days of Discontent: Looking Back at the Extermination of the Killer Bear of Sankebetsu (Part 3)
29th: Ten Gold for the Exterminators
January 27th: A Visit to Exterminator Yamamoto Heikichi: The Man Who Brought Down the Bear (Part 1)
January 28th: A Visit to Exterminator Yamamoto Heikichi: The Man Who Brought Down the Bear (Part 2)
Here are some excerpts from the articles published between the 13th and 29th:
Fierce Bear Kills Seven, Wounds Five (13th)
On the 10th, in Sankebetsu, in the village of Tomamae, two were killed by a ferocious bear, and on the night of the next day, five were mauled to death and five were wounded, sending the village into a state of panic.
Ten Gold for the Exterminators (29th)
The previously reported bear attacks in Sankebetsu have been brought to an end by a team of seven shooters from the same frontier area. They were awarded ten gold pieces each in gratitude, and they plan to give their prize to those who suffered due to the bear’s attacks (at present, fifty people).
And the Hakodate Newspaper ran the following headline a tardy eleven days since the incident had begun:
19th: Unprecedented Bear Attack, Unborn Baby Devoured, Five Hundred Men Working in Tandem
Finally, a look at the Hokkaidō Dispatch (established in 1911 as the Sapporo Daily and revamped into an evening paper in 1914) from December 17th, 1915:
At around seven on the evening of the 9th, a bear attacked the farm of one Ōta family, in Sankebetsu, in the Imperial Forest of Tomamae. A boy, Tsuneo (aged 9) was killed, and his mother was dragged off by the beast. The same bear appeared again on the 12th, mauling five to death and leaving five with injuries. (Tomamae dispatch).
From looking at these newspapers, one can pick up on the fact that chaos and disorder lasted long in the area of the attacks.