212 The Grizzly Bear 



the Big Hole country, in Montana. It was rather late in 

 the fall, with a veneer of snow on the ground, and he found 

 the den by trailing the bears, an old female and two cubs. 

 It is sometimes claimed that when the denning time 

 comes, the male and female go into the same den; but 

 this, I think, is a false notion. Not only do I believe that 

 the male bear would kill and eat the cubs after they were 

 born, but I have never discovered a den that showed evi- 

 dences of having been occupied by more than the old 

 female bear. In the case of a barren she bear, a partner- 

 ship arrangement as to winter quarters may possibly be 

 made, now and then; but I cling to the belief that no two 

 full-grown grizzlies go into the same den for the winter. 

 In the Selkirks, where the bears den along the high moun- 

 tain tops, and in the spring come down from their winter 

 homes over the deep snows, it is an easy matter to back- 

 track them and find where they have wintered. I have 

 often done this and, having gone into the mountains two 

 or three weeks before a bear track could be found, have, 

 when the first track appeared, taken the trail and followed 

 it back to the den. 



I have seen as many as four grizzlies come from one 

 den. But they were of about the same size, and were 

 youngsters not over two years old, and presumably all of 

 one litter that had not yet been broken up. 



James Capen Adams, in describing his capture of Ben 

 Franklin in the den whence the cubs' mother had just 

 issued to her death, says that, before going into the dark 

 den to look for the young bears, "I trembled for the 

 moment at the thought of another old bear in the den; but 

 on second thought I assured myself of the folly of such an 



