CREATURES OF THE WILDERNESS 229 



exciting encounter he had with three grizzlies 

 which, to my mind, illustrates their courage, 

 ferocity and, above all, extraordinary vitality 

 more than any other yarn I ever remember 

 hearing. 



Early in the month of September, 1910, he 

 was on the summit of the divide of Purcell 

 Range, Selkirk Mountains, British Columbia, 

 looking for a pass over which to get his pack- 

 train. 



While prospecting, he suddenly saw three 

 grizzly bears emerging from the tree-line 

 immediately beneath him, and the party proved 

 to be an old female with a couple of lusty two- 

 year-olds. It is said by the Indians that grizz- 

 lies do not leave their cubs before two years. 

 Their natural history cannot, however, be im- 

 plicitly relied on, as they also declare that 

 the grizzly does not feed on porcupines, whereas 

 Dr. Longstaff subsequently found that the face 

 of one of the cubs was absolutely studded with 

 the quills of that animal. 



When first seen, the trio of bears was far 

 below him and to his left, and they were 

 coming uphill at a good pace. 



He at once ran down, with his '355 Mann- 

 licher-Schonauer rifle, but took too direct a 

 course in his hurry to get at the bears and, 

 when only two hundred yards from them, 

 found himself on open ground and in full 



