The Skowhegan police chief shot dead a fleeing 600-pound bull believed to have escaped on its way to the slaughterhouse, avoiding capture for an hour-and-a-half before it met its fate, according to the Morning Sentinel. The bull had crossed into the Kennebec River and was headed toward a crowd of 50 onlookers who gathered to watch the chase when Chief David Bucknam shot the animal around 6 p.m., the paper reported.