FAR WEST. 29 



mencing the attack. For my own part, I should not care to 

 get nearer than one hundred yards at least, and a few feet 

 more might not be disagreeable, if there were to be a fight for 

 supremacy, and trees were scarce. 



The grizzly will not, it is said, touch a man if he remains 

 motionless on the ground, and does not breathe loudly; and so 

 generally is this believed that the Indians have a saying that 

 a man lying down is medicine to a bear, but the trappers say 

 that "Ephraim" is good medicine only when you let him 

 severely alone ; and their general instruction to novices is not 

 to fight him except in self-defence. 



As a proof that the grizzly will not injure a man who pre- 

 tends to be dead, a tale is told of Tarpello, a Snake Indian, 

 who was knocked down and wounded in the back by one of 

 these giants ; but on falling he look excellent care to lie per- 

 fectly still, and to bury his mouth, nostrils, and eyelids in the 

 deep alkali dust, so that his breathing could not be perceived. 

 The grizzly, after sniffing at him and rudely pawing him about 

 for a while, must have concluded he was dead, for it retreated 

 without doing him any further injury. 



When it entered the shrubbery the wily red man arose, and 

 started for home as fast as his legs would carry him, and told 

 his wondering spouses, children, and kindred of his miraculous 

 escape. The tale spread all over the village in a short time, 

 and when the medicine man heard it he predicted that the 

 lucky man had such strong medicine that he would yet capture 

 his assailant, and, to strengthen his power, the whole tribe was 

 ordered to commence the bear dance immediately and to keep it 

 up until the next morning. The mandate was promptly com- 

 plied with, and each brave donning his bear-mask or skin, 

 danced as he had never done before, while the vocal appeal of 

 all to the great bear spirit to bo kind to them was sung with 

 the greatest esprit. As soon as they had imitated all the 

 attitudes and cries of the boar with mouth, hands, and feel, 

 Tarpello jumped into the bounding circle and roared and 

 danced like a mad man, or bear, but every time he attempted 

 to escape he was driven back, no matter how sudden his 

 onslaughts were, nor how varied his stratagem-;. AYhen the 



