THREE HARDY MOUNTAINEERS 243 



deep ciiiining tluit looks like stupidity. He walks usu- 

 ally ou all fours, but can also charge standing upright, 

 looking like some giant or ogre in a fairy tale. 



^^ His broad footprints, for he is a sole walker, also 

 have sonietlnng strangely human about them, and hunt- 

 ers, fancying that they looked like moccasin tracks, 

 dubbed the Grizzly 'Moccasin Joe.' But the likeness 

 to a foot disappears when you see the long, cruel claws 

 that end the toes — claws that are both weapons for 

 tearing and tools for digging roots, hollowing out a 

 den for the winter sleep, or burying the food he cannot 

 eat at once." 



'' Do big Bears like this have to sleep in winter ? I 

 should think they could keep warm enough to stay 

 awake with such a thick coat," said Nat. 



" In the cooler parts of the country they ' den up,' — 

 the length of time they stay in varying from a few Aveeks 

 to six months, and depending upon the weather. When 

 a Bear makes up liis mind to go to sleep, he is generally 

 very fat and his fur is at its best. I'm quite sure a thin 

 Bear Avould have sense enough not to risk curling up 

 until he had collected some fat about his bones to feed 

 his winter life fire. 



" Now you must imagine a picture of Moccasin Joe 

 in addition to the drawing, then take a good look at 

 the Bighorn and Mountain Goat, for it was in hunting 

 for one of these two that I met a Grizzly ' out walk- 

 ing,' as Dodo says. 



'' Tlie Bighorn is a shapely, well-built f ourfoot, about 

 the size of a year-old heifer (or in round numbers three 

 and a half feet to the shoulder), with all the firm plump- 

 ness of a sheep, having the poise and swiftness of a 



