io6 Hunting the Grisly 



denly to give way, his head drooped, and he 

 rolled over and over like a shot rabbit. Each 

 of my first three bullets had inflicted a mortal 

 wound. 



It was already twilight, and I merely opened 

 the carcass, and then trotted back to camp. 

 Next morning I returned and with much labor 

 took off the skin. The fur was very fine, the 

 animal being in excellent trim, and unusually 

 bright-colored. Unfortunately, in packing it 

 out I lost the skull, and had to supply its 

 place with one of plaster. The beauty of the 

 trophy, and the memory of the circumstances 

 under which I procured it, make me value it 

 perhaps more highly than any other in my 

 house. 



This is the only instance in which I have 

 been regularly charged by a grisly. On the 

 whole, the danger of hunting these great bears 

 has been much exaggerated. At the begin- 

 ning of the present century, when white hunt- 

 ers first encountered the grisly, he was doubt- 

 less an exceedingly savage beast, prone to at- 

 tack without provocation, and a redoubtable 

 foe to persons armed with the clumsy, small- 

 bore, muzzle-loading rifles of the day. But 

 at present bitter experience has taught him 

 caution. He has been hunted for sport, and 



