GRIZZLY BEAR. 215 



the particulars of his fight and described his wounds with 

 great animation and gusto, smoking his pipe the while, 

 and wound up with the remark, ' Anybody can fight bear 

 that wants to ; I've had enough grizzly in mine.' I thought 

 he had. 



A year or two ago two soldiers from Fort Wingate 

 foolishly attacked a grizzly on foot. Both were terribly 

 torn, and I believe both died. Only a year ago a soldier 

 of the 3rd Cavalry died from injuries received from a 

 wounded bear, which he rashly followed into a thicket. 



In 1870 a small party of citizens were going up the 

 Chaquaque canon. The trail led along a bench high 

 above the bottom, in which were trees and thickets. The 

 piping of young turkeys was heard in the thicket, and 

 one of the citizens who carried a shot-gun proposed to 

 go down and kill some for supper. The party waited for 

 him. He had hardly disappeared in the thicket before 

 he reappeared in full flight, while close at his heels fol- 

 lowed a huge she-grizzly with two cubs. In a few seconds 

 she overtook and struck him a powerful blow with her 

 fore paw, knocking him senseless. She then deliberately 

 smelt over the prostrate body, and, apparently satisfied 

 that he was dead, went slowly back to the thicket. The 

 party above had been unable to do anything. As soon 

 as the bear left they hastily consulted together, and some 

 of the boldest were about to go down when the body 

 sprang to its feet, and made the best possible time to the 

 top of the hill. An examination disclosed the fact that 

 the bear's claws had struck the man's body behind, just 

 below the waistband of his trousers ; and though every 

 particle of clothing, upper and under, had been torn from 

 that part of the person, the skin was not broken nor the 

 man injured beyond some slight bruises. He explained 

 that the blow, throwing him forward on his stomach, had 

 knocked the breath and consciousness out of him. When 

 he recovered his senses the bear was smelling at him, and, 

 knowing the consequence of moving, he laid still. I have 



