Chapter VI: Part 6

The fur of the grizzly, like any fur, is composed of a fine, thick fleece lining and long, coarse hairs which project from it. The under fur may be of any color, but the hairs that project through this are, I believe, invariably dark with a silver tip. Commonly the fur is long and shaggy on the grizzly's flanks and shoulders.

The grizzly is from six to seven feet long and in contour is pointed in front, and heavy, though well-rounded, behind. His shoulders are high. The body of the grizzly is longer, straighter along the back line, and less humped on the haunches than the black bear's. The grizzly's head is narrower, the jaws and nose longer and less blunt, than the black's.

The grizzly always appears larger than he really is. The average weight is between three hundred and fifty and six hundred pounds; males weigh a fourth more than females. Few grizzlies weigh more than seven hundred pounds, though exceptional specimens are known to have weighed more than one thousand. Adams gave the weight of "Samson," a California grizzly, as fifteen hundred pounds, and a few Alaskan grizzlies, judging by their skins, may have weighed more than "Samson." It may be that years ago, when not so closely hunted, the grizzly lived longer and grew to a larger size than he attains to-day.

The grizzly looks capable and substantial. His massive proportions suggest strength rather than bulk. With back broad and well-rounded, and feet pulled well together beneath him, he may at first appearance seem top-heavy. But this impression is forgotten the instant his movements display his ease of adjustment and nicety of balance. Without effort he raises himself on hind legs to his full height gracefully and stands with the repose of a statue.

Many of his movements appear awkward and clumsy. He is loose-jointed and sometimes is rather lumbering; he often shuffles as though wearing a large, loose wooden shoe on each foot. Commonly he travels along with a gait neither walk nor trot. Yet the bear is exceedingly speedy and few horses can overtake him. His endurance is astounding.

He has extraordinary strength. I have known him to drag the carcass of a cow or a steer of twice his own weight. In several instances this was dragged up the mountain-side over fallen logs, yet it was apparently moved without extraordinary effort.

The grizzly is exceptionally expert and agile with his paws. With either fore paw he can strike like a sledge-hammer or lift a heavy weight. He boxes or strikes with lightning-like rapidity. Most grizzlies are right-handed; that is, the right fore paw is most used. If a small object is to be touched or moved, he will daintily use but one claw. The black bear would use the entire paw.

The fore-foot prints made by the grizzly are much shorter than the tracks made by his hind feet. His hind foot leaves a track similar to the bare-footed track of a man, while the track of the fore foot has the appearance of the grizzly's having walked upon the front of his foot,--the ball and toes,--with the heel upraised. The fore claws are from two to five inches long, the hind claws much shorter.

The fore ankles of the grizzly are smaller than the black bear's, the hind feet relatively larger; the claws are much longer and less curved. The grizzly's claws do not curve as sharply downward as a black's, but the claw-points extend well beyond the ends of the toes. The black's curved claws are much used in climbing; the grizzly's claws are used mostly for digging.

The largest grizzly-track that I have measured was slightly more than thirteen inches long, and seven and one half inches wide at the widest point. These measurements did not include the claw-marks. In places where this bear had slipped on snowy or muddy ground the track with claw-marks was of most formidable appearance. Many of the big Alaskan grizzlies have large feet, sometimes making a track eighteen inches in length. However, in the Rocky Mountains I have seen a large track that had been made by a comparatively small bear. More than once I have seen bears weighing less than four hundred pounds whose feet were larger than those of other bears who weighed upwards of six hundred pounds. A large grizzly bear track does not necessarily indicate that it is the track of a large bear.

There is marked difference in the ordinary ways of the black and the grizzly. The grizzly is energetic, thorough, works hard, and takes life rather seriously; while the black bear is lazy, careless, does no more work each day than is necessary, and is more playful. The grizzly's hibernating-den is usually a substantial, complete affair, while that of the black bear is more or less of a makeshift. The black bear likes to play with other bears, while the grizzly enjoys playing alone. The black climbs a tree easily and often sleeps in a tree-top; the grizzly bear rarely climbs after he passes cubhood.

Most of the time the grizzly is silent. When he does say anything it is in a queer, but expressive, language. He utters a choppy champ of a cough; he says "Woof," "Woof," with various accents; he growls eloquently; he grunts and he sniffs. The youngsters say something like "Eu-wow-wow," and when forlorn give an appealing cry I cannot translate into words.

Little is known concerning the mating-habits of wild grizzly bears. The majority of authorities maintain that mating takes place in June and July, while a few believe that it occurs late in the autumn. The few times that I have seen males and females together were in late June and July.

Although known to the white race only a little more than a century, the grizzly has been a part of the life and legends of the Indians for countless generations. Often feared, frequently admired, his brain and brawn are featured again and again; he is always the acknowledged chief and master of the wilderness.

Many are the names that he carries: grizzly bear, silver-tip, white bear, bald-face, cinnamon bear, roach-back, range bear, and others.

The first printed mention of the grizzly that I know of is one by Edward Umfreville, who, in writing concerning Hudson's Bay in 1790, mentions the "Grizzle Bear." In 1795 Sir Alexander MacKenzie writes of the "Grisly Bear." But the grizzly was given a definite place in history when Lewis and Clark mentioned him in their Journal, in April, 1805, as the "white bear." Much that they wrote was made public, and the bear's career started, by Governor DeWitt Clinton in an address before the Literary and Philosophical Society of New York, May 4, 1814.

As is shown by Guthrie's Geography, George Ord, the naturalist, described and first classified the grizzly as _Ursus horribilis_, in 1815. This was from information which Brackenridge had gathered, chiefly from the Journal of Lewis and Clark, and was based on the "white bear" of the type locality of the Missouri River a little above the mouth of Poplar River, northeastern Montana.

Dr. C. Hart Merriam is the supreme authority concerning bears. Following I give his classification of the grizzly and big brown bears, together with quotations from his introduction to "North American Fauna, No. 41" (1918):--

"REVIEW OF THE GRIZZLY AND BIG BROWN BEARS OF NORTH AMERICA (_Genus
Ursus_)

"WITH DESCRIPTION OF A NEW GENUS VETULARCTOS

"When Audubon and Bachman published their great work on the Mammals
of North America (1846-1854), and in fact up to the year 1857, it
was commonly believed by naturalists as well as by hunters and the
public generally that there was only a single species of grizzly
bear--the one described by Lewis and Clark in 1804-5, and named
_Ursus horribilis_ by Ord in 1815. Baird, in 1857, described another
species, from Coppermines, New Mexico, which he named _Ursus
horriæus_.

"Nearly forty years later, in my 'Preliminary Synopsis of the
American Bears,' eight grizzlies and big brown bears were
recognized, of which five were described as new. It was not then
suspected that the number remaining to be discovered was anything
like so great as has since proved to be the case. The steady influx
of specimens resulting from the labors of the Biological Survey,
supplemented by the personal efforts of a number of
hunter-naturalists, brought to light many surprises, most of which
have been published; and beginning in the spring of 1910, a fund
placed at my disposal made it possible to offer hunters and trappers
sufficient inducement to tempt them to exert themselves in securing
needed specimens. As a result, the national collection of bears has
steadily grown until, in number of species represented, in
completeness of series, and in number of type specimens, it now far
excels all other collections in the world together.

"Nevertheless there are many gaps in the series. Knowledge of the
big bears is by no means complete and many years must pass before
the last word on the subject will be written. Many bears now roaming
the wilds will have to be killed and their skulls and skins sent to
museums before their characters and variations will be fully
understood and before it will be possible to construct accurate
maps of their ranges. Persons having the means and ambition to hunt
big game may be assured that bears are still common in many parts of
British Columbia, Yukon Territory, and Alaska, and that much
additional material is absolutely required to settle questions still
in doubt....

"Some writers have advanced the view that the various species of
bears freely interbreed. Let those so minded ask themselves the
question, If promiscuous interbreeding were to take place, what
would become of the species? From the nature of the case, the
stability of species depends on the rarity of crossings with other
species, for if interbreeding were to take place frequently the
species so interbreeding would of course cease to exist, having
merged into a common hybrid. Hybrids now and then occur,
particularly in zoölogical gardens, but among wild animals in their
native haunts they are exceedingly rare.

"The number of species here given will appear to many as
preposterous. To all such I extend a cordial invitation to visit the
National Museum and see for themselves what the bear skulls show.
Recognition of species is a matter of interpretation. If the
material is adequate there can be little room for difference of
opinion; if inadequate, many important points must remain in doubt.
It is not the business of the naturalist either to create or to
suppress species, but to endeavor to ascertain how many Nature has
established, and having discovered this, to point out their
characters and learn as much as possible about them.

"One of the unlooked-for results of the critical study of the
American bears is the discovery that the big bears, like mice and
other small mammals, split up into a large number of forms whose
ranges in some cases overlap so that three or more species may be
found in the same region.

"Another surprising result is the discovery that Admiralty Island in
Southwestern Alaska appears to be inhabited by no less than five
distinct species, each of which is obviously related to and
representative of an adjacent mainland species....

"SEXUAL DIFFERENCES

"In most species of bears the males are much larger than the
females. In some the disparity in size is very remarkable, as in
_middendorffi_ of Kodiak Island and _magister_ of southern
California. In a few cases the difference is slight, as in
_kidderi_ of Alaska Peninsula.

"AGE DIFFERENCES

"Bear skulls undergo a series of changes from early life to old age,
and in most species do not attain their mature form until seven or
more years of age. In species having the frontal shield highly
elevated, as in _middendorffi_, _kluane_, _stikeenensis_, and
_mirabilis_, the frontals reach their maximum of arching or bulging
in early adult life (about the sixth year), after which they
gradually become flatter....

"CLASSIFICATION OF GRIZZLY AND BIG BROWN BEARS

"The differences formerly supposed to exist between the grizzlies
and the big brown bears appear, in the light of the material now
available, to distinguish certain groups of species from certain
other groups, rather than the grizzlies collectively from the big
brown bears collectively. In other words, the differences between
the grizzlies on the one hand and the big brown bears on the other
are neither so great nor so constant as at one time believed. And
there are species which in the present state of knowledge cannot be
positively referred to either group. In fact, it seems at least
possible that certain species which appear to belong with the
grizzlies are closely related to certain other species which clearly
belong with the big brown bears. The typical brown bears differ from
the typical grizzlies in peculiarities of color, claws, skull, and
teeth. The color of the former is more uniform, with less of the
surface grizzling due to admixture of pale-tipped hairs; the claws
are shorter, more curved, darker, and scurfy instead of smooth; the
skull is more massive; the fourth lower premolar is conical, lacking
the sulcate heel of the true grizzlies. But these are average
differences, not one of which holds true throughout the group. Most
of the specimens in museums consist of skulls only, unaccompanied by
skins or claws, leaving a doubt as to the external characters; and
in old bears the important fourth lower premolar is likely to be so
worn that its original form cannot be made out. And, worst of all,
some of the grizzlies lack the distinctive type of premolar, leaving
only the skull as a guide to their affinities. The present
classification, therefore, must be regarded as tentative and subject
to revision....

"The present paper is merely a review of the existing state of
knowledge of the grizzlies and big brown bears of America and does
not include either the polar or the black bears. It is not intended
as a monographic revision, but aims to supply a list of the species,
together with descriptions and comparisons of adult skulls, chiefly
males. Little is said of external characters, for the reason that
little is known, only a few skins with claws being available for
study.

"LIST OF SPECIES AND SUBSPECIES OF GRIZZLY AND BIG BROWN BEARS, WITH
TYPE LOCALITIES.[1]

[Footnote 1: "Nearly 130 years ago Prof. Zauschner proposed the name
_Ursus saribur_ for an animal 'from the region of Canada' (Bestimmung
der Hundsart Krokute, und der Bärenart Saribur, p. 8, 1788), but the
species appears to be impossible of identification."]

(_Classification provisional._)

_Horribilis_ group:
_Ursus horribilis horribilis_ Ord Missouri River, northeastern
Montana.
_horribilis bairdi_ Merriam Blue River, Summit County,
Colorado.
_horribilis imperator_ Merriam Yellowstone National Park,
Wyoming.
_chelidonias_ nobis Jervis Inlet, British Columbia.
_atnarko_ nobis Atnarko River, British Columbia.
_kwakiutl_ Merriam Jervis Inlet, British Columbia.
_nortoni_ Merriam Southeastern side Yakutat
Bay, Alaska.
_warburtoni_ Merriam Atnarko River, British Columbia.
_neglectus_ Merriam Near Hawk Inlet, Admiralty
Island, Southeastern Alaska.
_californicus_ Merriam Monterey, California.
_tularensis_ Merriam Fort Tejon, California.
_colusus_ Merriam Sacramento Valley, California.
_dusorgus_ nobis[2] Jack Pine River, Alberta-British
Columbia boundary.

_Planiceps_ group:
_Ursus nelsoni_ Merriam Colonia Garcia, Chihuahua,
Mexico.
_texensis texensis_ Merriam Davis Mountains, Texas.
_texensis navaho_ Merriam Navajo country near Fort
Defiance, Arizona. (Probably
Chuska Mts.)
_planiceps_ nobis Colorado (exact locality
uncertain).
_macrodon_ nobis Twin Lakes, Colorado.
_mirus_ nobis Yellowstone National Park,
Wyoming.
_eltonclarki_ Merriam Near Freshwater Bay, Chichagof
Island, Alaska.
_tahltanicus_ Merriam Klappan Creek ( = Third
South Fork Stikine River),
British Columbia.
_insularis_ Merriam Admiralty Island, Alaska.
_orgilos_ Merriam Bartlett Bay, east side Glacier
Bay, Southeastern Alaska.
_orgiloides_ nobis Italio River, Alaska.
_pallasi_ Merriam Donjek River, southwestern
Yukon.
_rungiusi rungiusi_ nobis Rocky Mountains, headwaters
Athabaska River, Alberta.
_rungiusi sagittalis_ nobis Champagne Landing, southwestern
Yukon.
_macfarlani nobis_ Anderson River, 50 miles
below Fort Anderson, Mackenzie.
_canadensis_ Merriam[2] Moose Pass, near Mount
Robson, British Columbia.

_Arizonæ_ group:
_Ursus arizonæ_ Merriam Escudilla Mts., Apache County,
Arizona.
_idahoensis_ nobis North Fork Teton River,
eastern Idaho.
_pulchellus pulchellus_ nobis Ross River, Yukon.
_pulchellus ereunetes_ nobis Beaverfoot Range, Kootenay
District, British Columbia.
_oribasus_ nobis Upper Liard River, Yukon.
_chelan_ Merriam East slope Cascade Mts.,
Chelan County, Washington.
_shoshone_ Merriam Estes Park, Colorado.
_kennerlyi_ Merriam Mountains of northeastern
Sonora, near Los Nogales,
Mexico.
_utahensis_ Merriam Salina Creek, near Mayfield,
Utah.
_perturbans_ nobis Mount Taylor, northern New
Mexico.
_rogersi rogersi_ nobis Upper Greybull River, Absaroka
Mountains, Wyoming.
_rogersi bisonophagus_ nobis Black Hills (Bear Lodge),
northeastern Wyoming.
_pervagor_ Merriam Pemberton Lake (now Lillooet
Lake), British Columbia.
_caurinus_ Merriam Berners Bay, east side
Lynn Canal, Southeastern
Alaska.
_eulophus_ Merriam Admiralty Island, Southeastern
Alaska.
_klamathensis_ Merriam[2] Beswick, near mouth Shovel
Creek, Klamath River,
northern California.
_mendocinensis_ Merriam[2] Long Valley, Mendocino
County, California.
_magister_ Merriam[2] Los Biacitos, Santa Ana
Mountains, Southern California.

_Hylodromus_ group:
_Ursus hylodromus_ Elliot Rocky Mountains, western
Alberta.
_kluane kluane_ Merriam McConnell River, Yukon.
_kluane impiger_ nobis Columbia Valley, British Columbia.
_pellyensis_ nobis Ketza Divide, Pelly Mountains,
Yukon.
_andersoni_ nobis[2] Dease River, near Great
Bear Lake, Mackenzie.

_Horriæus_ group:
_Ursus apache_ Merriam Whorton Creek, south slope
White Mts., eastern Arizona
(a few miles west of Blue).
_horriæus_ Baird Coppermines, southwestern
New Mexico.
_henshawi_ Merriam Southern Sierra Nevada,
near Havilah, Kern County,
California.

_Stikeenensis_ group:
_Ursus stikeenensis_ Merriam Tatletuey Lake, tributary to
Finlay River, near head
Skeena River, British Columbia.
_crassodon_ nobis Klappan Creek (= Third
South Fork Stikine River),
British Columbia.
_crassus_ nobis[2] Upper Macmillan River, Yukon.
_mirabilis_ Merriam[2] Admiralty Island, Alaska.
_absarokus_ Merriam[2] Little Bighorn River, northern
Bighorn Mountains,
Montana.

_Alascensis_ group:
_Ursus alascensis_ Merriam Unalaklik River, Alaska.
_toklat_ Merriam Head of Toklat River, north
base Alaska Range, near
Mount McKinley, Alaska.
_latifrons_ Merriam Jasper House, Alberta.

_Richardsoni_ group:
_Ursus richardsoni_ Swainson Shore of Arctic Ocean, west
side Bathurst Inlet, near
mouth of Hood River.
_russelli_ Merriam[2] West side Mackenzie River
delta, Canada.
_phæonyx_ Merriam[2] Glacier Mountain, Tanana
Mts., Alaska (about 2
miles below source of Comet
Creek, near Forty-mile
Creek, between Yukon and
Tanana Rivers).
_internationalis_ Merriam Alaska-Yukon boundary,
about 50 miles south of
Arctic coast.
_ophrus_ Merriam Eastern British Columbia
(exact locality unknown).
_washake_ Merriam North Fork Shoshone River,
Absaroka Mts., western
Wyoming.

_Kidderi_ group:
_Ursus kidderi kidderi_ Merriam Chinitna Bay, Cook Inlet,
Alaska.
_kidderi tundrensis_ Merriam Shaktolik River, Norton
Sound, Alaska.
_eximius_ Merriam Head of Knik Arm, Cook
Inlet, Alaska.

_Innuitus_ group:
_Ursus innuitus_ Merriam Golofnin Bay, south side
Seward Peninsula, northwestern
Alaska.
_cressonus_ Merriam Lakina River, south slope
Wrangell Range, Alaska.
_alexandræ_ Merriam[2] Kusilof Lake, Kenai Peninsula,
Alaska.

_Townsendi_ group:
_Ursus townsendi_ Merriam Mainland of Southeastern
Alaska (exact locality
uncertain).

_Dalli_ group:
_Ursus dalli_ Merriam Yakutat Bay (northwest
side), Alaska.
_hoots_ Merriam Clearwater Creek, a north
branch of Stikine River,
British Columbia.
_sitkensis_ Merriam Sitka Islands, Alaska.
_shirasi_ Merriam Pybus Bay, Admiralty Island,
Alaska.
_nuchek_ Merriam[2] Head of Nuchek Bay, Hinchinbrook
Island, Prince
William Sound, Alaska.
_Gyas_ group:
_Ursus gyas_ Merriam Pavlof Bay, Alaska Peninsula.
_middendorffi_ Merriam Kodiak Island, Alaska.

_Kenaiensis_ group:
_Ursus kenaiensis_ Merriam Cape Elizabeth, extreme
west end Kenai Peninsula,
Alaska.
_sheldoni_ Merriam Montague Island, Prince
William Sound, Alaska.

_Vetularctos_ genus nobis (pp. 131-133, 'North American Fauna, No. 41'):
_Vetularctos inopinatus_ nobis Rendezvous Lake, northeast
of Fort Anderson, Mackenzie.

[Footnote 2: "Reference to group provisional."]

Will the Grizzly be Exterminated?

The grizzly bear is vanishing so rapidly that without protection he is likely to become extinct. If there is good reason--and there is--for the protection of deer, elk, and the bighorn, there is every good reason why we should protect the grizzly. He is a destroyer of pests, he helps sustain a hunting-industry, he encourages many individuals to take mental relaxation and healthful exercise in the outdoors, he carries more popular and sustained interest than any other animal, and, in most respects, he is the greatest wild animal in the world. It will benefit the human race to perpetuate the grizzly, and to do this will require a few years of legal protection.

A close season for a period of years is needed. If there is an open season this should be restricted to two or three States, and it should be short. The number taken should be limited to one per person, unless a mother grizzly with cubs be killed, in which case the cubs also may be captured. The use of steel trap, deadfall, poison, spring gun, and dogs should be prohibited and the sale of hides forbidden.

Most big game has had some protection for years; the grizzly has had none. He is not a bad fellow, there is no just claim against him, but he has paid the penalty of being misunderstood. He has been classed as a menace and relentlessly pursued as though a dangerous criminal. Men follow him the year round, with guns, dogs, horses, traps, and poison. He is even trailed to the hibernating-den and slaughtered without any chance for his life.

Fear of bears and prejudice against them is all too often taught and developed in childhood. Mothers and nurses hush children by telling them, "Bears will get you if you're not good." People, however, are now learning that bears are not ferocious, that they do not eat human flesh, and that in the wilds the grizzly flees from man as though from a pestilence.

Mr. Pocock, in "A Man in the Open," with quaint, satirical philosophy goes to the bottom of the grizzly question. He says:--

"The coarse treatment grizzlies gets from hunters makes them sort of
bashful with any stranger. Ye see, b'ars yearns to man, same as the
heathen does to their fool gods, whereas bullets, pizen, and
deadfalls is sort of discouraging. Their sentiments gets mixed, they
acts confused and naturally if they're shot at they'll get hostile,
same as you and me. They is misunderstood and that's how nobody has
a kind word for grizzlies."

Grizzlies are walking mouse-traps. They are, like birds, destroyers of pests, and give us services of economic value. They are useful for what they eat; their food is made up in part of mice, rats, rabbits, ants, grasshoppers, and stray carcasses, and the remainder may be considered of little or no value to man.

A grizzly came down into a rancher's meadow in southern Colorado and "rooted it up like a hog." The owner was up in arms and one morning killed the invader. Curious as to what the grizzly could have been eating, he sent for a local butcher. His "insides" showed, among other things, the remains of thirty-four mice, one rat, and one rabbit.

Rarely does a grizzly kill cattle. This killing, when done, is by one grizzly. Perhaps ninety-nine out of every hundred grizzlies never kill any stock or big game. Then, too, when a grizzly kills cattle he usually makes a business of it, and if one should get the habit he could be specially disposed of. Protection to the grizzly would not be at the expense of live stock or big game.

During rambles in the mountains through the years I have investigated more than fourteen cases in which the grizzly was charged with killing cattle. In a number of instances there was not a trace of a grizzly near the carcass. There were traces of other animals, but the guilty one could not be determined. There were eleven carcasses that had been visited by grizzlies; six of these animals had been killed by lions, one by poisonous plants, one by wolves, two by stones that rolled from a land-slip. In the eleventh case neither the carcass nor its surroundings gave any conclusive evidence for determining the cause of the cow's death. The carcass had been fed upon by coyotes, wolves, lions, and both black and grizzly bears. But what killed the cow? It might have been lightning or disease, a wolf or a lion, or possibly a hunter. Many hunters are not up on natural history and shoot at the first object that moves. The only evidence against the grizzly was entirely circumstantial; he had eaten a part of the carcass.

The killing of wild life is not in my line. I am not a hunter. But in the hunting-industry the grizzly heads the list. The hunter will pay more for a shot at a grizzly than for a shot at any other, and often all other, big game. Hunters frequently spend from one thousand to many thousands of dollars in going after the grizzly. They will work harder and longer for a grizzly than for any other animal.

But the grizzly-hunting industry is coming to an end through decreasing numbers of grizzlies. A short time ago the "Saturday Evening Post" said: "The betting is a thousand to one that you will never kill a grizzly inside the United States. There are a few left but not many; and all are highly trained in suspiciousness and resourcefulness."

If the hunting of grizzlies is to continue, the grizzly must promptly have some protection. Mr. J. A. McGuire, editor of "Outdoor Life," has been working for years to bring about legal protection and intelligent understanding of bears. At last it looks as though he would succeed. But much work is yet to be done before all States give bears proper protection, before bear natural histories are rewritten and bears are appreciated at their real, their high, worth. Writing as a hunter-naturalist, Mr. McGuire says:--

"When the grizzly bear shall have passed--and he is found in such
lamentably small numbers now that his exit from our midst is but a
question of years--there shall have disappeared from our mountains
one of the sublimest specimens of animal life that exalts the
western wilderness. As a sporting trophy, his hide stands at the top
of the list of American wild animals--one which sportsmen from all
over the world have come here to secure. Nowhere else in the world
can the grizzly bear be found except in western North America, and
we as sportsmen naturalists should see to it that his demise is not
hastened and that his life shall be preserved to posterity."

Shooting is not all there is to hunting. Hunters while hunting often take on a new lease of efficiency, even though they do not get the grizzly. Often, too, they make the intimate acquaintance of another hunter, or of a guide, and return with enlarged views into human nature; or they develop a new and worth-while outdoor interest. So that, considered solely for hunting purposes, the grizzly has both a commercial and a higher value.

Any one who sees a grizzly bear in his rugged mountain home or even in a National Park, which is a wilderness-land, will receive a lasting impression. It is the character of this animal that stands out. He is of heroic size and powerfully built, but he is at all times so dignified, and so wide-awake, that his individuality never fails to impress you. The splendid animal and the scene wherein he stood will often be recalled. Again and again you will wonder concerning him and his life, his neighbors, and his territory. The interest which you have received may lead you to revisit the wild, revivifying mountain-land in which he lives.

When the hunter ceased firing in the Yellowstone National Park, the grizzly bear was the first of the big wild animals to discover that it was safe to show himself. The wildest animal, extremely shy of being seen even at long range, he showed his superior intelligence, his strong character, in being the first to realize that times had changed and that man had ceased trying to kill the wild folks on sight. It took the other big animals a long time to learn that they were protected. Many of them relied on old experiences, and for years, on the approach of man, they ran for their lives.

National Parks are developing a friendly interest in grizzlies, and there is a growing appreciation of the grizzly's true worth. But just at present this appreciation and this sentiment are not strong enough to protect the grizzly without the formal assistance of a grizzly-protection law.

During the past twenty-five years the grizzly population has enormously decreased. The grizzly is in danger of extermination. In California, where he was once numerous, he is now extinct. He has also gone from extensive areas in all the other Western States. In the areas where he still exists the population is in most places sparse.

It is doubtful if he is holding his own anywhere within the bounds of the United States, unless it be in Glacier National Park. The grizzly population of the Yellowstone National Park is variously estimated from fifty to one hundred. But each year numbers of cubs born inside the Park are trapped just outside of it, and old bears whose home is inside the Park are occasionally shot outside the boundary-line. It may be that the bears coming in from outside, a few of whom each year appear to move into the Park to live, may maintain the normal or possibly slightly increase the population; but this is doubtful. There are a few grizzlies in the Rocky Mountain National Park, perhaps a few in the Mount Rainier Park, and a number in four or five of the Canadian National Parks. Alaska is the grizzly country at present; but dozens of hunters are each year putting a check on its increase in grizzly population, except in the Mount McKinley National Park.

The grizzly needs protection at once, needs your active interest now. He is making his last stand and is surrounded by relentless foes. Protection only will save him and enable him to perpetuate himself. Without the grizzly the wilds would be dull, the cañon and the crag would lose their eloquent appeal. This wild uncrowned king has won his place in nature which no other animal can fill. We need the grizzly bear--the King of the Wilderness World.

With a closed season everywhere in the United States for a few years, the bears would increase in numbers and in due time areas now depopulated would be again peopled by them. Among the grizzlies there are always adventurers who wander far away looking for new scenes. These exploring grizzlies, as numbers increased, might redistribute themselves. Grizzlies in western Oregon might wander southward and even restock the four National Parks of California, where there is now not a grizzly. But this would require a cessation of the shooting of grizzlies for a number of years.

The population might be more quickly affected by restocking. A few grizzlies could be trapped in Yellowstone and set free in these other National Parks. The problem of restocking unoccupied areas would not be difficult if there could be for a few years a general closed season. In restocking these areas the zoos could not help. So far grizzlies have not been successfully bred in confinement.

The grizzly is an educational factor of enormous potential value. An acquaintance with him will give a lively interest in the whole world of nature, in both natural history and the natural resources of the earth. A knowledge of these will increase the enjoyment and the usefulness of every one.

In learning natural history the grizzly might well be the first life studied. Interest in him could be used to arouse interest in all life. In the very beginnings of interest in any living thing there is a desire for information concerning its food. Soil, directly or indirectly, produces the entire food-supply of the earth. Thus the trail of the grizzly bear would lead one to the wonderful story of soil-creation and the strange, almost enchanting powers it has over our strange existence.

For the young, and perhaps for the older, the grizzly has qualities which should make him the supreme mental stimulus of the great outdoors. A better acquaintance with him will be beneficial of itself, and an interest in him would inevitably extend to his wild neighbors and to the whole wide world of beauty and grandeur wherein he lives his adventurous life.

The eagle, our emblematic bird, has prowess; he soars, he dares the storm, and he explores the cloud scenery of the sky. He makes an appeal to the interest of a few, but the bear stirs the minds and the hearts of many. In most respects the grizzly would rival the eagle for an emblematic animal and would excel all animals in arousing a nature interest around the world.

Perpetuate the grizzly in our wild places and National Parks, and this will fill all wild scenes again with their appealing primeval spell--the master touch which stirs the imagination. An educator has called the imagination "the supreme intellectual faculty"; it is creative, original, refreshing. The imagination will be alive so long as the grizzly lives.

In art alone the grizzly is a subject worthy of the sculptor. He will help quicken and develop the creative imagination of any one who knows him--the grizzly of heroic art.

The grizzly probably heads the animal list in brain-power. He is still developing. He appreciates play and he has marked individuality. He is the greatest animal that is without a voice. Stories of "this animal that walks like man" ever appeal; he is the most impressive animal on the continent. He is the dominant and the most distinguished animal of the world.

THE END

Index

Abundance, 231.
Accordion, 177, 178.
Acrobatic pranks, 13.
Adams, James Capen, 166, 170, 196, 207, 251;
quoted, 196, 220, 242;
and his pet grizzlies, 216-21, 242.
Adventure, 185.
Age, 58, 59.
Agility, 253.
Alaska, 53, 54, 205, 206, 248-50, 259-61, 281.
Ants, 107.
Arizona, 150, 151.
Audubon, John James, quoted, 198.

Bear, black, and hard-tack, 7;
and grizzly cubs, 114, 115, 212, 222, 223;
colors, 251;
contrasted with the grizzly, 254, 255.
Bear, polar, 94, 249.
Bears, origin and evolution, 247, 248.
Bears, big brown, 257-69.
Beaver, 29.
"Ben Franklin," 216-21.
Brackenridge, Henry M., 256;
quoted, 199.

Cactus, 150, 151.
Can, tin, 6.
Carson, Kit, 196.
Catsup, 213.
Cattle-killing, 13, 14, 73, 75, 76, 155-58, 275, 276.
Caution, 72, 157-62.
Chapman, Frank M., 170.
Classification, 249, 256-69.
Claw-marks on trees, 47-49, 131.
Claws, 253, 254.
Clinton, DeWitt, 256;
quoted, 202, 203.
"Clubfoot," 14.
Coasting, 126, 127, 144, 145.
Colors, 249-51.
Courage, 17, 18, 191.
Cow, dead, 7-9.
Coyote, 146.
Cubs, and dead mother, 23-25;
birth and nurture, 25, 26;
size, 25, 26;
color, 27;
care and training from mother, 27-29;
experiences with, 29-37;
weaning, 31, 32;
mimicry, 32;
play, 35, 36;
eating honey, 37;
family ties, 37, 38;
selection of home territory, 43.
_See also_ Pets.
Curiosity, 54, 55, 175-87.

Death, 59, 60.
Dens. _See_ Hibernation.
Digging, 3, 4, 71, 125, 126, 131, 132.
Dignity, 233.
Disposition, 236-38.
Distribution, 248-50.
Dogs, 109-11, 163, 217-19.
Drummond, Thomas, 175, 176, 196.

Economic value, 275-78.
Eluding followers, 4, 5, 243.
_See also_ Trailing.
Exploration, 56, 57.

Feet, 253, 254.
Feigning death, 14.
Ferocity, undeserved reputation for, 192-206.
Figgins, J. D., on hibernation, 94-98.
Fighting qualities, 204, 205.
Fire, 179, 180.
Fish, catching, 69, 70, 234.
Food and feeding-habits, 63-77, 82, 92, 93, 105-07, 206, 230, 231,
236-39, 275, 276.
Form, 251, 252.
Fur, 251.

Gait, 15, 252.
Garbage, 206, 236-39.
Glacier National Park, 237.
Grace, 252.

Hallett Glacier, 81.
Hammock, 179.
Hard-tack, 7.
Headache, 235.
Hearing, 6, 229, 230.
Hibernation, 52, 81-98, 215, 216.
Home territory, 38, 39, 43-53.
Hornaday, William T., quoted, 197.
Hunting, 161-70, 277, 278.

Indians, 203, 255.
Intelligence, 3-19, 243, 244.

Jenny. _See_ Johnny.
Johnny and Jenny, 101-15.

"Lady Washington," 242.
Lewis and Clark, 53, 176, 192, 197, 256;
quoted, 199-202.
Lion, mountain, 52.
Log, 139-43.

McClelland, George, 165.
McGuire, J. A., 277;
quoted, 278.
MacKenzie, Sir Alexander, 256;
quoted, 198.
Magpie, 141.
Maimed, 17.
Man, as an enemy, 17, 18;
not eaten by the grizzly, 76, 77;
attacked, 162-70.
Mating, 255.
Merriam, Dr. C. Hart, quoted, 257-69.
Migration, 57.
"Miss Grizzly," 211-16.
"Miss Jim" and "Mr. Bessie," 221-26.
"Mose, Old," 155, 156.
Mud, 143, 144.
Muir, John, 170, 194;
quoted, 194, 195.
Music, 177, 178.

Names, 256.
National Parks, 280-82.
Nutcracker, Clarke, 141.

Ord, George, 256.
_Outdoor Life_, 277.

Pets, 101-15, 211-26, 240-42.
Pies, 225.
Play, 54, 139-52.
Pocock, Roger, quoted, 274, 275.
Protection, 273, 274, 280-83.

Raspberries, 105-07.
Rifles, 203.
Rocking-chair, 112.
Rollins, Philip Ashton, 207, 221;
quoted, 222-26.
Roosevelt, Theodore, 170.
Roping, 167.

Sagacity, 3-19, 243, 244.
"Samson," 251.
_Saturday Evening Post,_ quoted, 277.
Sawmill, 211, 212.
Scenery, 186, 187.
Scotch, the collie, 109-11.
Scott, William B., quoted, 247.
Senses, 5, 6, 229, 230.
Sensitiveness, 229, 230.
Seton, Ernest Thompson, 170.
Shadow, 147-49.
Sheep, mountain, 35, 72, 73.
Sheldon, Charles, quoted, 248, 249.
Size, 251, 252.
Skin of soles of feet, 91.
Slicker, 180, 181.
Smell, sense of, 6, 230.
Social life, 45, 46, 53.
Solitariness, 44, 149.
Strength, 252, 253.
Swimming, 50, 51.

"Three-Toes," 14.
"Timberline," 46, 47, 119-35.
Tooth-marks on trees, 47-49, 131.
Toothache, 235.
Tracks, 253, 254
Trailing, 9-13, 49, 50, 56, 57, 119-36, 146-49, 169, 170.
Trapping, 157-60, 162.

Umbrellas, 109, 182.
Umfreville, Edward, quoted, 198, 256.

Voice, 255.

Wheel, 182.
Wolves, 16, 17.
Wright, William H., 164, 170, 195, 207;
quoted, 195, 196, 226, 238, 239.

Yellowstone Park, 58, 206, 232-39, 280.

The Riverside Press
CAMBRIDGE . MASSACHUSETTS
U . S . A

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TRANSCRIBER NOTES:

Archaic, alternate spellings (including hyphenation), and obsolete
words have been retained with the exception of those listed below.

Page 120: "railing" changed to "trailing" (The most impressive
thing I had early learned in trailing and studying the grizzly).

Page 175: "observavation" changed to "observation" (In old bears
curiosity is accompanied with a keenness of observation).