328 Hunting Trips on the Prairie 



the bear after a short, brisk struggle, as he was in 

 the midst of a most determined charge. 



In 1872, near Fort Wingate, New Mexico, two 

 soldiers of a cavalry regiment came to their death 

 at the claws of a grisly bear. The army surgeon 

 who attended them told me the particulars, as far as 

 they were known. The men were mail carriers, and 

 one day did not come in at the appointed time. Next 

 day, a relief party was sent out to look for them, and 

 after some search found the bodies of both, as well 

 as that of one of the horses. One of the men still 

 showed signs of life; he came to his senses before 

 dying, and told the story. They had seen a grisly 

 and pursued it on horseback, with their Spencer 

 rifles. On coming close, one had fired into its side, 

 when it turned with marvelous quickness for so large 

 and unwieldy an animal, and struck down the horse, 

 at the same time inflicting a ghastly wound on the 

 rider. The other man dismounted and came up to 

 the rescue of his companion. The bear then left the 

 latter and attacked the other. Although hit by the 

 bullet, it charged home and threw the man down, 

 and then lay on him and deliberately bit him to 

 death, while his groans and cries were frightful to 

 hear. Afterward it walked off into the bushes with- 

 out again offering to molest the already mortally 

 wounded victim of its first assault. 



At certain times the grisly works a good deal of 

 havoc among the herds of the stockmen. A friend 

 of mine, a ranchman in Montana, told me that one 

 fall bears became very plenty around his ranches, 



