CHAPTER XI 



MY GRIZZLY-BEAR DAY 



Rubbing-Trees of Bears — Fresh Grizzly "Signs" Reported — A Trip 

 to the Goat Remains — A Silver-Tip at Work — Her Death — The 

 Autopsy — Amateur Photography and its Results — The Bear's 

 Cache — Wolverines Observed — A Jollification in Camp. 



When one can start out from camp, and in a walk 

 of two hours find at least a dozen rubbing-trees of grizzly 

 bears, each one with bear hair clinging to its bark, then 

 may one say, "This is bear country!" That was what 

 we found in the green timber of Avalanche Valley, be- 

 tween our camp and Roth Mountain, six miles below. 

 All the rubbing-trees we saw were from eight to twelve 

 inches in diameter, as if small ones had been specially 

 chosen. I suppose this is because there are no large 

 spur roots to interfere with the "Standing bear; besides 

 which, a small tree offers a sharper edge. 



On those trees we saw where several of the rubbing 

 bears had bitten the trunk, high up, tearing the bark 

 open crosswise. We also found, on some, raking claw- 

 marks across the bark. Charlie Smith said that the 

 tooth-marks are always made by grizzlies and the claw- 

 marks by black bears. 



As before remarked, Mr. Phillips and Charlie Smith 

 were very desirous that I should find and kill a grizzly, 

 but for several reasons I had little hope that it would 



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