AS FEEMONT FOUND HIM. 113 



which the baby grizzlies threw down from 

 the thick branches overhead. More than 

 this, he reports that the baby bears, on 

 seeing him, became frightened, and at- 

 tempted to descend to the ground and run 

 away, but the older bears, which had not 

 yet discovered the explorers, beat the 

 young ones and drove them back up the 

 tree, and compelled them to go on with 

 their work, as if they had been children. 



In the early '50s, I, myself, saw the griz- 

 zlies feeding together in numbers under the 

 trees, far up the Sacramento Valley, as 

 tranquilly as a flock of sheep. A serene, 

 dignified and very decent old beast was 

 the full-grown grizzly as Fremont and oth- 

 ers found him here at home. This king 

 of the continent, who is quietly abdicating 

 his throne, has never been understood. The 

 grizzly was not only every inch a king, but 

 he had, in his undisputed dominion, a 

 pretty fair sense of justice. He was never 

 a roaring lion. He was never a man-eater. 

 He is indebted for his character for ferocity 



