Old Ephraim, the Grisly Bear 53 



even say without doubt that a very large set 

 of skins and skulls would not show a nearly 

 complete intergradation between the most 

 widely separated individuals. However, there 

 are certainly two very distinct types, which 

 differ almost as widely from each other as a 

 wapiti does from a mule deer, and which exist 

 in the same localities in most heavily timbered 

 portions of the Rockies. One is the small 

 black bear, a bear which will average about 

 two hundred pounds weight, with fine, glossy, 

 black fur, and the fore-claws but little longer 

 than the hinder ones; in fact the hairs of the 

 fore-paw often reach to their tips. This bear 

 is a tree-climber. It is the only kind found 

 east of the great plains, and it is also plentiful 

 in the forest-clad portions of the Rockies, be 

 ing common in most heavily timbered tracts 

 throughout the United States. The other is 

 the grisly, which weighs three or four times as 

 much as the black, and has a pelt of coarse 

 hair, which is in color gray, grizzled, or 

 brown of various shades. It is not a tree- 

 climber, and the fore-claws are very long, 

 much longer than the hinder ones. It is found 

 from the great plains west of the Mississippi 

 to the Pacific Coast. This bear inhabits indif 

 ferently the lowland and mountain; the deep 



