The Scouting Report: A weekly digest

Noem’s bear hunt, Hugh Glass frontiersman, plight of the pinyon jay, senior pranks

Gov. Kristi Noem provoked a stir on Twitter, as she often does, this time by posting a picture of herself posing with a rifle and dead bear. She wrote that she had been on a bear hunt. The outfitter that hosted the hunt, Safari River Outfitters, is based in Saskatchewan, Canada and, according to its website, boasts a near “100 percent opportunity at harvesting a beautiful black bear.”

“Our high hunting success rate is directly attributed to our large, game-rich hunting area and hard-working, knowledgeable guides who are willing to get back into the 550,000 acres of almost continuous isolated terrain to assure you the best chance at a trophy bear – and a memorable experience.”

Many responses to the Tweet accused the governor of sacrificing the animal for a photo opportunity. Others cheered the governor. 

If he were alive today, it’s likely that Hugh Glass would have approved of Noem’s bear hunt. Glass, a trapper and frontier explorer, was famously mauled by a grizzly bear in Perkins County, South Dakota and left to die by his companions. He struggled for several weeks to traverse hundreds of miles to the safety of Fort Kiowa near present-day Chamberlain.

Almost three months before the bear encounter, Glass had been on Gen. William Ashley’s Missouri River expedition. Arikara Indians attacked the group, killing 15 members and forcing the group to retreat down the Missouri to safety. The skirmish took place 200 years ago on June 2.