HUNTING THE GRISLY. 121 



than any other animal. If the bear cannot 

 reach cover, however, his fate is sealed. 

 Sooner or later, the noose tightens over one 

 leg, or perchance over the neck and fore-paw, 

 and as the rope straightens with a " pluck," 

 the horse braces itself desperately and the 

 bear tumbles over. Whether he regains his 

 feet or not the cowboy keeps the rope taut ; 

 soon another noose tightens over a leg, and 

 the bear is speedily rendered helpless. 



I have known of these feats being per- 

 formed several times in northern Wyoming, 

 although never in the immediate neighbor- 

 hood of my ranch. Mr. Archibald Roger's 

 cowhands have in this manner caught several 

 bears, on or near his ranch on the Gray Bull, 

 which flows into the Bighorn ; and those of 

 Mr. G. B. Grinnell have also occasionally 

 done so. Any set of moderately good ropers 

 and riders, who are accustomed to back one 

 another up and act together, can accomplish 

 the feat if they have smooth ground and 

 plenty of room. It is, however, indeed a feat 

 of skill and daring for a single man ; and 

 yet I have known of more than one instance 

 in which it has been accomplished by some 

 reckless knight of the rope and the saddle. 

 One such occurred in 1887 on the Flathead 

 Reservation, the hero being a half-breed ; and 

 another in 1890 at the mouth of the Bighorn, 

 where a cowboy roped, bound, and killed a 

 large bear single-handed. 



My friend General " Red " Jackson, of 

 Bellemeade, in the pleasant mid-county of 



