His Fierceness 233 



I have met the grizzly under many circumstances 

 and in many places. I have hunted him where he had 

 been but little disturbed, and had seldom come into con- 

 tact v^ith man, and I have seen him change his habits 

 as his range was encroached upon and his existence 

 threatened. But I have never found him the ferocious 

 and ill-natured brute that he has the reputation of being. 

 On the contrary, I have always found him wary and 

 alert, ready to give one the slip if possible and able to 

 tax one's ingenuity in matching his cunning. He adopts 

 new wiles as new necessities are forced upon him and 

 becomes more cautious as greater caution is required; 

 but even in the wildest and most untrodden portions of 

 his range he is no more on the lookout for a scrap than 

 any other wild animal. I think the fact that now and 

 then an ugly, pugnacious brute is encountered is merely 

 the exception which, if it does not prove, certainly does 

 not invalidate the rule. 



I am very far from wishing to assert that the grizzly 

 will not fight. That would not only be untrue but would 

 be a most dangerous assumption to act upon when deal- 

 ing with him. When it becomes necessary, or when he 

 thinks it is necessary, there is no animal of his size that 

 can put up a fight to equal him. Nothing but instant 

 death on his part or, occasionally, a quick, powerful 

 and effective counter attack, will arrest one of his mad 

 charges. When brought to bay by dogs it is very danger- 

 ous to go near him, as he will then charge everything 

 that moves and every bush that shakes. And a she 

 grizzly with cubs is at all times an uncertain customer. 



But there are not half a dozen instances on record 



