Old Ephraim, the Grisly Bear 53 



even say without doubt that a very large set 

 of skins and skulls would not show & nearly 

 complete intergradatipn 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 



