40 THE STORY OF THE BEAR. 



the European brown bear, and may indeed prove to be the connecting Hnk 

 between it and the typical grizzly. 



The accounts of the size and weight of the grizzly are probably much 

 exaggerated; most of the measurements having been taken from pegged- 

 out skins, while the weights are mere estimates. It is said that the finest 

 grizzlies hail from Alaska, but it is probable that those formerly inhabiting 

 the Pacific flanks of the high Sierra Nevada were really the largest. These, 

 however, have been nearly or completely exterminated by the shepherds, 

 who poisoned them on account of the ravages they committed on their 

 flocks. These Sierra grizzlies are reported to have been of the enormous 

 weight of 1, 800 pounds; and there seems no doubt that instances of 1,400 

 and 1,200 have been reached. Probably the best estimates are from 900 

 to 1,000 pounds. The skin of such an animal will measure 9 feet 3 inches 

 from the nose to the hind-foot, when pegged out without undue stretching. 



That the grizzly is a man eater is admitted by all. They have been 

 known to attack the huge bison that once fed on the Western plains, and 

 wherever elk are abundant there will grizzly bears be found. Failing to 

 get meat they thrive on acorns, nuts, etc., and are especially fond of the 

 pine nut stored away by the mountain squirrels. 



The grizzly is a bad climber and seldom resorts to trees. Its strength 

 is prodigious. It can break the neck of an ox with one blow of its paw, and 

 it frequently carries off the carcass of an elk weighing i ,000 pounds. 



Some writers have said that the grizzly bear will run away if he comes 

 across the scent of men. This is denied, and it has been stated that the 

 man is more likely to run away from the bear than the bear from the man. 

 The American Indians fear it so much that a necklace of its claws, which mav 

 only be worn by the individual who destroyed the bear, is a decoration 

 entitling the wearer to the highest honors. 



These formidable claws are five inches long, and cut like so many chisels, 

 so that the Indian of former days, armed only with bow, spear, and knife, 

 fully deserved honor for overcoming so savage and powerful a brute. Since 

 the introduction of fire-arms, the grizzly bear affords a rather easier victory, 

 but, even to one armed with all advantage of rifle and pistols, the fight is 

 sure to be a severe one, for when the bear is once wounded, there is no 

 attempt to escape, but life is pitted against life. 



The following thrilling experience of two amateur hunters will show the 

 man-fighting qualities of the grizzly: 



The two young men were resting beneath some trees, their guns lying 



