SOME PECULIARITIES. 293 



bear, the grizzly does not hug his victims to death. A 

 blow or two from his formidable paw usually is suffi- 

 cient to kill or cripple his antagonist. His first instinct, 

 as we have seen, on perceiving a strange or unusual 

 object is to uprear himself on his hams and take a 

 steady stare. He then seems to make up his mind for 

 an attack, and rushes straight on, regardless of every 

 consideration save that of gratifying his ferocious pro- 

 pensities. 



It seems the grizzly possesses a mobility of claw 

 denied to the other varieties of his tribe. He can move 

 each of his claws independently, so that when searching 

 for larvae in the decayed fragments of a dead tree he 

 can crumble the wood to atoms by moving his claws in 

 succession. 



"Old Ephraim," as he is familiarly styled by the 

 hunters of the West, impresses a profound respect for 

 himself upon the inferior denizens of the wild. Wolves 

 will not venture to touch a carcass which has been 

 left by him, although every other carrion which falls 

 in their way is greedily devoured. 



Another peculiarity of the grizzly has often been 

 noted namely, that of burying either the bodies of his 

 victims or of those which he casually comes across. 

 This has often been taken advantage of by hunters 

 whose every other resource had been exhausted in a 

 contest with this animal. Feigning death, the bear 

 ceases hostilities and drags away the body of the hunter, 

 which he buries in some convenient spot. Several 



