402 THE GRIZZLY BEAR. 
has been affixed to the Grizzly Bear by Major Smith, and the creature has, in one or two 
hunters’ narratives, been erroneously deseribed as the White Bear. 
In its earlier years, the young Grizzly Bear may boast of a really beautiful fur, which, 
although very long, thick, and shaggy, is not of that coarse, wiry texture which is notable 
as belonging to the coat of the adult animal. The fur of the juvenile Bear is of a brown 
colour, with a dark stripe along the spine, and is so enormously thick and long, that as 
the animal shuffles along, it shakes up and down with every step. The gait of this 
creature is rather peculiar, as it swings its body in a curious and exceedingly awkward 
manner, and rolls its head from side to side in unison with the movement of its body. 
The fore-limbs of this animal are enormously powerful, and the feet of a full-grown 
adult are eighteen inches in length, and armed with claws of five inches long. These 
claws are extremely sharp, and when the animal delivers a blow with its paw, the sharp- 
edged talons cut the adversary’s frame as if they were so many chisels. A singular pecu- 
liarity is found in these claws. The animal possesses the power of using them separately, 
and has been repeatedly seen to grasp a dry clod of earth in its foot, and to crumble it to 
pieces by the mere movement of the claws upon each other. The head is extremely large 
in proportion to the body, and the tail is so short that it is entirely hidden beneath the 
heavy fur that covers the hinder quarters. The native Indians are in the habit of amusing 
themselves with the perplexity of persons who are not aware of this circumstance, and 
whom they persuade that the carcass of a dead Grizzly Bear is easily lifted if seized by 
the tail,—a proceeding which bears a strong analogy to the method of capturing a bird 
by covering its tail with salt. 
All animals stand in great fear of this formidable beast, and display the greatest terror 
even at the sight or the scent of a Bear-skin that has been stripped from the body. 
Even the powerful bison falls a victim to the Grizzly Bear, which has been seen to spring 
upon the foremost bull of a herd, dash it to the ground, and destroy it by a succession of 
tremendous blows with its armed paws. Another of these animals contrived to carry off 
a bison that had been shot by a hunter, and, after dragging it to some distance from the 
spot where it fell, to bury it in a pit which it had dug for the reception of its prey. It is 
said that the other predaceous animals hold the Grizzly Bear in such respect that they 
will not venture to touch a deer which has been killed by this powerful creature, and that 
the very imprint of the Bear’s feet upon the soil is a warning which not even a hungry 
wolf will disregard. 
As might be expected, this disinclination to meddle with the Grizzly Bear extends to 
the dead animal itself, and to its skin and earcass. One of these creatures had been shot, 
and its skin taken from the body, but as the hunter was not strong enough to carry the 
weighty hide, he was forced to leave it unguarded for fifteen hours, exposed to the attacks 
of the myriad nocturnal prowlers that swarm in those regions. Yet, when he came at 
daybreak next morning to secure his prize, he found that neither the skin nor the carcass 
had sustained the least damage from the teeth of the wolves, although any other animal 
would have been totally devoured in a very short time. Horses evince such terror at the 
sight and smell of the Grizzly Bear that they will not permit the skin to be laid on their 
backs until they have been carefully trained to the unwelcome task, 
They are not very easily tamed, except when captured at an extremely early age ; but 
even in that case, they are rather rough in their manners, and are but dangerous play- 
fellows. They are extremely playful creatures when young, and are very amusing in 
their habits. One of these animals, which was captured by Mr. Palliser, behaved in a very 
amusing manner during the voyage homewards, and caused much mirth by its absurd 
pranks, “Indeed,” as the writer observed, “the Bear proved to be the most entertaining 
member of the whole ship’s company. He ate, drank, and played with the sailors, and 
proved such a source of amusement to them, that the captain, whom I have since had the 
pleasure of meeting, told me that he would gladly engage always to take a Bear with him 
when he went to sea in future.” 
On board of a passage-boat, a sudden shower of rain drove all the passengers, including 
the Bear, below deck, and Mr, Palliser’s attention was roused by peals of laughter over 
the dining cabin. “On going above, to discover the cause of the merriment, I saw that 
