The 375-pound bruin this hunter poses next to is not an anomaly in Arkansas. Photo by Keith Sutton

"DEVIL'S FORK OF THE LITTLE RED RIVER (Ark.) Feb. 15th, 1837

"Dear Mr. Editor, -- Being that this is a rainy day, I thought I would write you about the bear hunt."

So begins "Pete Whetstone's Bear Hunt," the first of 45 letters written by Charles Fenton Mercer Noland for the New York Spirit of the Times. One of Arkansas's earliest and most prolific outdoor writers, Noland moved to Batesville in 1826 and there, under the pen name Pete Whetstone, wrote many stories about his hunting and fishing adventures in Arkansas.

While Noland hunted deer, turkeys, ducks, prairie chickens and quail, his favorite sport was hunting bears. Some of his Batesville friends kept packs of bear dogs, and Noland frequently went along on hunts to areas around the town of Oil Trough, the Devil's Fork of the Little Red River and War Eagle Creek. "Pete Whetstone's Bear Hunt" chronicles one of those hunts, during which a "tremendous bear" was wounded by Whetstone and his hunting companions. Whetstone's dogs continued after the bear and finally cornered it.

"When we overtook them," Noland wrote, "they had him at bay; two dead and three crippled dogs told of the bloody fight they had had. Sam Jones fired; the wound was that time mortal. At the crack of the gun, the dogs again clamped him; with a powerful reach of his paw, he grabbed the old General, and the next moment fastened his big jaws on him; this was more than flesh and blood could stand: I sprung at him with a butcher-knife, and the first lick sent it to the handle. He loosened his jaws and Sam Jones caught the old General by his hind legs and pulled him away. I gave him one more stab, and he fell dead."

Tales like this one by Noland, and those of other writers such as Tom Breese, John Gaskins, William Quesenberry and Thomas Thorpe, made Arkansas nationally famous as an unrivaled bear hunting territory. In fact, the bears of which they wrote became larger-than-life symbols for frontier society. It was no accident, therefore, that Arkansas was unofficially nicknamed "The Bear State" early in its history.

Arkansas offers excellent bear hunting today as well. While black bears nearly became extinct in this state shortly after the turn of the century, concerted efforts by the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission have led to a phenomenal rebound in the population in recent years, and savvy hunters willing to devote time to scouting and hunting have an excellent chance of taking a trophy animal.

Rick Eastridge, the AGFC's bear biologist, probably knows more about these bruins than anyone. He's spent thousands of hours working with black bears in the Natural State and elsewhere. We asked if he would answer some questions about last year's season, give a forecast for the 2005 season, and share his insights on where hunting opportunities might be best, as well as provide tactical information that hunters can use to increase their chances for a successful hunt. Here's what he had to say.