OLD EPHRAIM* THE GRISLY BEAR. 61 



that which is most likely to fall a victim to the 

 grisly, when the big bear is in the mood to 

 turn hunter. Wapiti are found in the same 

 places as the grisly, and in some spots they 

 are yet very plentiful ; they are less shy and 

 active than deer, while not powerful enough 

 to beat off so ponderous a foe ; and they live 

 in cover where there is always a good chance 

 either to stalk or to stumble on them. At al- 

 most any season bear will come and feast on an 

 elk carcass ; and if the food supply runs short, 

 in early spring, or in a fall when the berry 

 crop fails, they sometimes have to do their 

 own killing. Twice I have come across the 

 remains of elk, which had seemingly been 

 slain and devoured by bears. I have never 

 heard of elk making a fight against a bear ; 

 yet, at close quarters and at bay, a bull elk 

 in the rutting season is an ugly foe. 



A bull moose is even more formidable, being 

 able to strike the most lightning-like blows with 

 his terrible forefeet, his true weapons of defense. 

 I doubt if any beast of prey would rush in on 

 one of these woodland giants, when his horns 

 were grown, and if he was on his guard and 

 bent on fight. Nevertheless, the moose some- 

 times fall victims to the uncouth prowess of 

 the grisly, in the thick wet forests of the high 

 northern Rockies, where both beasts dwell. 

 An old hunter who a dozen years ago wintered 

 at Jackson Lake, in northwestern Wyoming, 

 told me that when the snows got deep on the 

 mountains the moose came down and took up 

 their abode near the lake, on its western side. 



