THE GRIZZLY BEAR 183 



Some of the finest skins obtainable are used for making the 

 caps of our Grenadier and Coldstream Guards. 



The Bear swims well and fast, and is fond of bathing in 

 the heat of summer ; its climbing powers are well known : 

 all who have visited the Gardens of the Zoological Society 

 have witnessed the feat of mounting the pole for the tempt- 

 ing morsel proffered as a reward. In descending a tree or 

 precipice it always comes down backwards, much resembling 

 a human being in its actions and cautious mode of pro- 

 ceeding. 



The Brown Bear, when caught young, is rather easily 

 tamed, but its temper is always uncertain ; and sometimes 

 without preliminary warning it will ferociously bite any one 

 with whom it has hitherto been on friendly terms. The so- 

 called dancing Bears sometimes seen in our streets were 

 formerly chiefly the Alpine variety, but, the Swiss supply 

 failing, nowadays most of the animals come from the 

 Pyrenees or Roumania. 



The American Brown Bear, distinct altogether from the 

 Grizzly, is still larger than the Russian, and especially is 

 this the case in Alaska. A skin of nine feet across the 

 shoulders, and requiring two men to carry it, is by no 

 means a rarity. 



GRIZZLY BEAR (Ursus ferox). 

 Plate XVI. 



The Grizzly Bear, now found only in the Northern 

 Rockies, is the most formidable animal of the North 

 American Continent, as it is the most ferocious of the Bear 

 tribe. It commonly grows to a length of eight or nine feet, 

 with an average weight of about eight hundred pounds. 

 Sir Samuel Baker asserted that the commoner Brown Bear 

 is often mistaken for the Grizzly, which latter may weigh 

 anything up to fourteen hundred pounds, which is about 

 the weight of an English cart-horse ; and of all the Bears 

 the real Grizzly, or ' Old Ephraim,' is the most dreaded. 



The more correct title is ' Grisly ' in reference to its 

 ferocious character, rather than one applied to the coat of 



