DEATH GULCH. A NATURAL BEAR-TRAP. 



479 



lying scattered about the floor of the ravine about a quarter of a 

 mile from the point where we had left Cache Creek. Approaching 

 cautiously, it became quickly evident that we had before us a large 

 group of huge recumbent bears ; the one nearest to us was lying with 

 his nose between his paws, facing us, and so exactly like a huge 

 dog asleep that it did not seem possible that it was the sleep of 



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Looking down the Gulch — the Latest Victim, a Large Silver-Tip Grizzlt. 



death. To make sure, I threw a pebble at the animal, striking 

 him on the flank; the distended skin resounded like a drumhead, 

 and the only response was a belch of poisonous gas that almost over- 

 whelmed us. Closer examination showed that the animal was a 

 young silver-tip grizzly (Ursus horribilis); a few drops of thick, 

 dark-red blood stained his nostrils and the ground beneath. There 

 proved to be five other carcasses, all bears, in various stages of decay ; 

 careful search revealed oval areas of hair and bones that represented 

 two other bears, making a total of eight carcasses in all. Seven were 

 grizzlies, one was a cinnamon bear (Ursus americanus). One huge 



