Bill "Bones" Andrews?

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Drawdown
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Bill "Bones" Andrews?

Post by Drawdown »

I've probably asked this before, but I've never started or seen a thread about him. It's obvious from reading 3 of Townsend Whelens books, numerous other articles and articles other people have written about him.
But best I can tell, Whelens first trip ever to the far north- B.C., was in fact the trip he wrote about in "Red Letter Days in British Columbia". It doesn't say that in the article specifically, but from others it pretty clear. He was still young and un-experianced, and as Providence would have it, he met Bill Andrews, who basically "went with him, shared the hunt with him, taught him everything he needed to know"!
But I've never seen a single pic of him, heard anything else about him, or even heard him referred to, except when it involved Whelen!
Has anyone here seen pics of or know more about him? Whelen on this trip, wrote he used a Mod 1895 in 40-72 and Andrews a Mod 94 in 38-55, both shooting ammo Whelen had reloaded with lead bullets, black powder, over smokeless priming.
Andrews had to have been a very competent, good companion, for reading other books, Whelen mentions them hunting together a lot!
"Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life"

"Better drawdown Alvin!"
"If you gotta shoot, shoot don't talk"
Conservative since day one and until the last!
Bill in Oregon
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Re: Bill "Bones" Andrews?

Post by Bill in Oregon »

What an interesting post, Drawdown. Hope you get a response or two. If you don't, I would be happy to quote your post over on a Canadian hunting forum I know of.
Drawdown
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Re: Bill "Bones" Andrews?

Post by Drawdown »

Yes Bill, go right ahead its worth a try! I've searched a number of times, questioned, but never gotten any answers. It's obvious these two spent a lot of time together in the B.C. Wilderness! And I've read others acknowledge Bones plenty times, but always in relation to him just in the time spent with Whelen. And in at least one book I have, in the end Whelen will acknowledge contributions to his writings, either directly on the trips he's wrote about, or indirectly by info that helped him plan. And another companion who Whelen often hunted with was Stanley Clark. And in the end of the book I mentioned (I believe "Wilderness Hunting and Wildcraft"), he includes Stanley Clark as a contributor, but not Andrews, and there's lot more accounts it seems of time spent with Andrews! Whelen never even give a pic of Andrews in any of his writings that I've seen anyways, but a few of Clark he did.
But hopefully we'll get some info there, of what always sounded to me like, a very knowledgeable man who really was the one who taught Whelen most of what he knows!
"Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life"

"Better drawdown Alvin!"
"If you gotta shoot, shoot don't talk"
Conservative since day one and until the last!
Drawdown
Levergunner 3.0
Posts: 578
Joined: Sun Apr 11, 2021 4:19 pm

Re: Bill "Bones" Andrews?

Post by Drawdown »

In the recent Sporting Classics Magazine, the Guns issue, Wayne Van Zwoll had a great article about Townsend Whelen and His Cartridges! Great reading, and he clarifies well how Whelen and Andrew's came to meet! Still, I've never found anything else about him with any depth!
Also it clarifies that Whelen took a Mod 1894 in 30-30, in addition to his 1895 in 40-72, no doubt the same trip he's referring to in "Red Letter Days in B C." The same trip that Whelen grabbed his 30-30 to shoot a Grizzly, but forgot it was loaded with his 125gr reduced loads he kept for small game-camp meat. The Grizzly by God's Grace went on away wounded!
"Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life"

"Better drawdown Alvin!"
"If you gotta shoot, shoot don't talk"
Conservative since day one and until the last!
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