82 The Grizzly Bear 



and when I first saw this track I thought that another 

 bear had come into the game, but found, on following it 

 around, that it was the same bear. 



From this point the animal went in rather a straight 

 line along the mountain for several miles. Then he found 

 the den of a family of marmots which he proceeded to 

 unearth. For half a mile before reaching the place I 

 could see the dirt piled up on the snow, and knew I had 

 gained several hours on the bear. The hole he had dug 

 was larger than miners are annually required to excavate 

 in order to hold a mining claim. The den ran in under 

 several layers of loose flat rocks, some of which were two 

 or three feet long by half as many wide, and several 

 inches thick. These he had ripped out easily and thrown 

 down hill, and the dirt and small boulders had been 

 hurled out and now covered the snow all about for a space 

 of ten or twelve feet. 



On the rocks and snow were large spots and blotches 

 of blood, telling of the feast that had rewarded his labors, 

 and that there had been more than one marmot was 

 shown by the numerous tracks. These animals had bur- 

 rowed down some six or seven feet into the side of the 

 mountain, and under a large flat stone they had scooped 

 out a little cave, some three feet in diameter, where they 

 had a soft bed of grasses that they had carried in. When 

 the grizzly broke his way into their home, there had been 

 a great rush for freedom. And as the sides of the hole 

 dug by the bear were rather steep, the marmots, in trying 

 to escape, were at a disadvantage. The whole story was 

 plainly written in the soft earth and the snow. Large 

 impressions in the sides and bottom of the hole showed 



