168 CRUISINGS IN THE CASCADES 



of men who can give date and place where they 

 killed or helped to kill at least 1,800 pounds of 

 Bruin. 



4 ' Did you weigh it?' ' 



" No, we didn't weigh 'im; but every man as seed 

 'im said he would weigh that, and they was all good 

 jedges, too." 



And this is the way most of the stories of big bear, 

 big elk, big deer, etc., begin and end. Bears are 

 usually, though not always, killed at considerable 

 distances from towns, or even ranches, where it is 

 not easy to find a scales large enough to weigh so 

 much meat. 



The largest grizzly I have ever killed would not 

 weigh more than 700 or 800 pounds, and I do not 

 believe one has ever lived that would weigh 1,000 

 pounds. The flesh of the adult grizzly is tough, 

 stringy, and decidedly unpalatable, but that of a 

 young fat one is tender and juicy, and is always a 

 welcome dish on the hunter's table. 



The female usually gives birth to two cubs, and 

 sometimes three, at a time. At birth they weigh 

 only about 1J to 1 pounds each. The grizzly breeds 

 readily in confinement, and several litters have been 

 produced in the Zoological Gardens at Cincinnati. 

 The female is unusually vicious while rearing her 

 young, and the hunter must be doubly cautious 

 about attacking at that time. An Indian rarely 

 attacks a grizzly single-handed at any time, and it is 

 only when several of these native hunters are together 

 that they will attempt to kill one. They value the 

 claws very highly, however, and take great pride in 

 wearing strings of them around their necks. 



