Camping and Hunting in the Shoshone 



an express, hitting hard enough to kill 

 anything, and having nine shots instead of 

 two. Very little observation or reading 

 will satisfy any one that the habits of game 

 change considerably in a comparatively 

 brief space of time. This is true of the 

 grizzlies. Allowing for old hunters' exag- 

 geration, and again allowing for the natural 

 growth of the mythical, even in so far as 

 it relates to Ursus horribilis, yet I think 

 the modern grizzly is a more timid animal 

 than his grandfather could have been. I 

 have said it is not safe to depend on one 

 of these animals retreating ; but unless 

 wounded, if a path of retreat is left him, 

 he will almost invariably take it. In the 

 evening, on a trail, old hunters say that he 

 often shows fight sooner than get out of 

 the way. I have only once met a large 

 bear alone in the evening ; and on that 

 occasion I did not wait to watch his move- 

 ments, but fortunately rolled him over, 

 hitting him in the heart with a snap shot. 

 The common idea still is that, in the 

 fall, bears go down the mountains after 

 berries. Some, I suppose, do ; whether 

 it is owing to the occupation of the river 

 and creek beds (the usual place where 

 choke-cherries and plums grow thickest) 

 by cattle or not, I cannot say, but certainly 



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