THREE HABDY MOUNTAINEERS 241 



"They may in time, but the idea, I believe, is to trap 

 the harger beasts if they increase too freely and send 

 them to Zoological Gardens where people may see 

 them." 



" How long do wild animals live ? " asked Dodo. 



" That depends upon the species. House Cats and 

 Dogs, you know, are considered quite old at twelve, and 

 seldom live longer than fifteen years. Horses Avill 

 average twenty-five, while on tlie other hand Squirrels 

 and Rabbits are old at seven or eight." 



" How long do Bears live ? " 



" Perhaps twenty or twenty-five years, but it is very 

 difficult to judge about wild animals. It is impossible 

 to keep track of them out of doors. In confinement 

 they are seldom perfectly healthy, and so do not live 

 out their natural lives. In fact, among these flesh-eating 

 four-foots, every one eats some one else, and it is prob- 

 able that very few live to die of old age." 



"Do Grizzly Bears and Bighorns and Goats live no- 

 where but in the Rockies ? " 



" Grizzlies were once found in all the mountains and 

 foothills of the west from Mexico north to the Barren 

 Grounds. They did not always stay in the mountains 

 either, but came across open country, poking their noses 

 most unpleasantly into the affairs of prairie travellers, 

 and carrying consternation into the very glare of the 

 campfire. 



"Now 'old Ephraim,' as the Grizzly is nicknamed, 

 has been driven from his more southerly haunts only to 

 increase and thrive mightily in the cold northwest ter- 

 ritory, where the largest are found. When a Grizzly 

 Bear undertakes to grow as large as lie can, then take 



