CONCERNING BEARS. 283 



pect, render him one of the most conspicuous objects there. Observe 

 his great broad head, with the small, cruel, brown eye, pointed muzzle, 

 and powerful jaws, which, opening occasionally, display a set of alarm- 

 ing teeth. His fore-limbs, by their size indicating enormous strength, 

 are each armed with live claws from four to five inches long, nearly 

 straight. These claws are not needle-pointed like the cat's, but come 

 to an edge like a chisel, and they are extremely sharp. His hind-limbs 



Fig. 1. Grizzly Beau (Ursus horribilis). 



are even more massive still, and are also armed with similar though 

 shorter and more curved claws. His tail is so short that it is hidden 

 by his coat. All this time he has been contemptuously eying us 

 from the back part of his cage, but now he has become impatient of our 

 scrutiny, and suddenly reaches toward us with open mouth, uttering a 

 savage sound between a sigh and a growl. He then turns to gallop 

 around his cage, and affords an opportunity to observe one of 

 his most striking peculiarities. This is his curious, shambling gait. 

 His fore-limbs go in a canter, while his head sways from side to 

 side, and the rest of his body slides along upon the soles of his 

 hind-feet. Mr. Darwin would be sure to call this sliding moyement 

 an inherited peculiarity, acquired by the grizzly's ancestors in slid- 

 ing down the glaciated sides of the Rocky Mountains. He has it, 

 whatever may have been the manner of its coming to him, and con- 

 stant practice of it has worn the floor of his cage white and smooth. 

 The grizzly is the largest member of his family; a full-grown male 

 being from eight and a half to nine feet long, and the girth of the 

 body is equal to the length. The average weight is about 800 

 pounds. The one we have been regarding is a fine specimen, being 

 between seven and eight feet long. The color is not uniform, being 

 in some cases of a dull brown, in others almost black, and in still others 



