HUNTING THE GRIZZLY BEAR IN HIS DEN. 277 



animal is proverbial, they preferring to be solitary and 

 alone. A knowledge of the forests, and an occasional 

 trailing for bear, inform the hunter of these caves, and 

 the only habit of the Grizzly Bear that can with certainty 

 be taken advantage of, is that of his being in his cave 

 alive, if at a proper season. And the hunter has the 

 terrible liberty of entering his cave single-handed, and 

 there destroying him. Of this only method of hunting 

 the Grizzly Bear we would attempt a description. 



The thought of entering a cave, inhabited by one of 

 the most powerful beasts of prey, is calculated to try 

 the strength of the best nerves ; and when it is consid- 

 ered that the least trepidation, the slightest mistake, 

 may cause, and probably will result in the instant death 

 of the hunter, it certainly exhibits the highest demon- 

 stration of physical courage to pursue such a method of 

 hunting. Yet there are many persons in the forests of 

 North America who engage in such perilous adventures 

 with no other object in view than the "sport" or hearty 

 meal. The hunter's preparations to "beard the lion in 

 his den," commence with examining the mouth of the 

 cave he is about to enter. Upon the signs there exhi- 

 bited he decides whether the bear is alone ; for if there 

 are two, the cave is never entered. The size of the bear 

 is also thus known, and the time since he was last in 

 search of food. The way this knowledge is obtained, 

 from indications so slight, or unseen to an ordinary eye, 

 is one of the greatest mysteries of the woods. Placing 

 ourselves at the mouth of- a cave containing a Grizzly 

 Bear, to our untutored senses there would be nothing to 

 distinguish it from one that was empty; but if some 



