THE BEAR FAMILY— GRIZZLY BEAR. 



251 



of all Men, white or Indian, who heard of him, the 

 latter praising the killing of a Bear as the highest 

 deed of Man. Among all the Indian tribes the 

 possession of a necklace of Bears' claws and teeth 

 invests its wearer with a distinction scarcely enjoyed 

 by a European prince or commander of a victori- 

 ous army. Only he who has earned the Bear-chain 

 by his own prowess and efforts has a right to wear 

 it. It is further said that the monster, who walks 

 boldly up to other people to kill them, flees when 

 he scents the wearer of such a necklace. To the 

 same degree that the Grizzly fears the scent of such 

 a Man, all other animals are afraid of the Bear. 

 Domestic animals act exactly as if they perceived 

 the odor given forth by a Lion or Tiger, and even 

 the carcass or fur of the Grizzly inspires them with 

 a wholesome terror. Several hunters there are who 

 assert that the American Wild Dogs, so voracious in 

 other respects, show their awe of the Bear by leaving 

 his carcass untouched. 



Food and Prey The Grizzly feeds on vegetable mat- 

 of the Grizzly ter, being fond of fruit, nuts and 

 Bear. roots, but he also kills animals; and 



he is said to catch fish very dexterously. In Alaska, 

 where he is very common, one frequently sees paths 

 which he has trodden down and walks on regularly, 

 either on banks of rivers, or on desert plains, in 

 marshy or mountainous districts; and the direction 

 and course of these paths are selected with such skill 

 that one only needs to follow them in order to 

 strike the shortest road between two localities. "On 

 the steep slopes of the mountainous coast on the 

 west side of Cook's Inlet," says Elliott, "one can 

 occasionally see troops of twenty or thirty of these 

 unwieldy animals, in quest of berries and roots. 

 But their furs are not very valuable, because they 

 are of coarse, uneven, shaggy texture. As they are 

 also very ferocious, they are not hunted generally, 

 except by the Kenai people, who hold them in high 

 esteem like the rest of the natives and are wont to 



THE BLACK BEAR. The most common species of Bear found in America is the Black Bear, which inhabits nearly all forest regions 



of the United States and Canada. The picture well portrays this familiar animal with its fur of almost uniform black, its clumsy body and long, 

 somewhat pointed snout. The paws are smaller than those of the Brown Bear. The artist has appropriately pictured the animal in a dense 

 forest. This animal does not often assume the offensive toward Man, but is formidable when attacked. [Ursus amtricanus.) 



There is no doubt that these as well as other 

 reports are partly incorrect, and in part greatly 

 exaggerated. They were spread and gained cre- 

 dence when the far West was as yet little frequented 

 and a monstrous animal was needed, capable of play- 

 ing the same part in stories of adventures, as the 

 most notorious predaceous beasts played in the Old 

 World. Occasional deeds were thought to be char- 

 acteristic of the whole species under all conditions, 

 and so the Grizzly became the terror of the unknown 

 far West. Many a Man has perished by Grizzlies, 

 as well as by the common Bear; wounded beasts 

 have defended themselves, and those taken by sur- 

 prise, especially mothers who thought their Cubs in 

 danger, have also, probably, assumed the offensive; 

 but still the American Bear is no more formidable 

 than his European relative, nor does he show greater 

 courage, but resembles him in all respects. Bears of 

 either species may become dangerous if provoked. 



address eulogies to a Bear before killing or trying 

 to slaughter him. As the natives are further afraid 

 of entering on places where volcanic influences are 

 at work, the surroundings of craters, hot springs or 

 places where steam is issuing from the ground, form 

 an asylum for wild animals, especially for Bears, 

 which are all well aware of the fact that Man will 

 not molest them there." 



Young Grizzly A young Grizzly can easily be tamed 

 Bears are and, like the Brown Bear, is then a 



Easily Tamed, companionable, amusing animal for 

 a time. In spite of its length and thickness, his fur 

 is of so fine a texture and so lovely a color that it 

 is very becoming to the little fellow. Palliser, who 

 brought a little Grizzly to Europe, praised his 

 prisoner very much. He ate, drank and played with 

 the sailors, and amused all the passengers, so that 

 the captain of the ship later assured the sportsman 

 that he would like to have a young Bear on board 



