ii6 WATCHED BY WILD ANIMALS 



with feet shod in hoofs or in claws and pads. 



One of the meetings of two grizzlies which I 

 witnessed was on this ridge trail. A steady 

 rain was falling. Each saw the other coming 

 in the distance and each gave the right-of-way 

 as though accidentally, by showing interest in 

 fallen logs and boulder piles away from the 

 trail. Each ludicrously pretending not to see 

 the other, finally a passing was achieved, the 

 trail regained without a salute. 



A meeting of two other grizzlies revealed a 

 different though a common form. Each saw 

 the other coming but each held to the trail. 

 At less than a length apart both rose and roared 

 feigned surprise and soundly blamed the 

 other for the narrowly averted and well-nigh 

 terrible collision. But no delay for the last word. 

 Each well pleased with the meeting hastened 

 on, too wise to look back. 



One day nothing came along this highway 

 and I looked at the tracks in the wide, dusty 

 trail. The multitude of tracks in it overlapped 

 and overlaid each other. A grizzly track, like 

 the footprint of a shoeless primitive man, was 

 stamped with deer tracks, stitched and threaded 

 with mice tails and tracks and scalloped with 

 wolf toes. But its individuality was there. 



For three days I had been a bump on a log 

 by this place and no big travellers had passed. 



