206 



THE BEARS. 



by a sort of curiosity he approaches ships 

 lying at anchor or dwellings that have been 

 erected on the coast to pass the winter in; 

 that when hungry he attacks man, even though 

 armed, with courage, and that when wounded 

 he becomes terrible. The female defends 

 her young to the last, allowing herself to be 

 killed rather than leave them to themselves. 

 Notwithstanding the apparent heaviness and 

 clumsiness of his movements the bear easily 

 overtakes man in running, and his terrible 

 strength enables him to carry off an un- 

 fortunate victim in his jaws without exertion. 

 In spite of the dangers which the chase of 

 the polar bear entails all the inhabitants and 

 visitors of the polar regions give themselves 

 up to it with zeal. Traps, snares, and other 

 artificial contrivances can hardly be used 

 against him. The polar bear removes or 

 escapes them with singular adroitness. The 

 rifle or the naked weapon, spear or hunting- 

 knife, is necessary; and, above all, courage 

 and coolness are requisite. It is a battle for 

 life and death, in which one antagonist must 

 slay the other. But the prize is a powerful 

 inducement. The fur is valuable, the flesh 

 good to eat, and even necessary as a pre- 

 servative against scurvy. The liver alone 

 seems to be actually poisonous, or at least 

 no.xious. 



When caught very young the polar bear 

 may be tamed to a certain extent. But even 

 its caresses are not very delicate, and with 

 age it becomes disagreeable, sullen, and 

 dangerous to its keeper. 



The Gray Bear, the Grizzly of the Americans 

 {Ursus ferox {horribilis)\ represents our 

 European bear throughout the whole of the 

 Rocky Mountain region. It attains a greater 

 size than our bear. Adult males occasionally 

 reach a length of 8 feet, and weigh as much 

 as 900 lbs. The coat has a grayish -brown 

 colour, the hair is pretty long and rough ; the 

 muzzle somewhat more pointed, the forehead 

 broader, the teeth stronger and sharper than 

 in our bears. The claws are very long and 



curved; the tail and the ears pretty short. 

 The skull closely resembles that of a fossil 

 bear with a flat forehead found in the caves 

 along with the true cave-bear. A wood-cut 

 representing the grizzly would, however, be 

 so like that of our own bear that we dispense 

 with it. 



By all accounts the grizzly is much fiercer 

 than his nearest ally, our European bear, 

 which he greatly resembles, however, in his 

 mode of life. In most cases he attacks man 

 without flinching, and few instances are 

 known in which he shunned the conflict. 

 The bison is not too strong for him. His 

 fury is all the more terrible the greater his 

 strength. In early life he climbs oak trees to 

 feed on the acorns, while at a more advanced 

 age he scarcely ventures on trees, which have 

 hence often served as places of refuge for men 

 pursued by him. He runs pretty quickly, and 

 swims with ease across the largest rivers. 

 His fur is used for the same purposes as that 

 of our bears; his flesh is highly esteemed. 

 In confinement he behaves like our bear. 



Narrow escape from a "Grizzly": — "In 1870 a 

 small party of citizens were going up the Chaquaque 

 Canon. The trail led along a bench high above the 

 bottom, in which were trees and thickets. The 

 piping of young turkeys was heard in the thicket, 

 and one of the citizens who carried a shot-gun 

 proposed to go down and kill some for supper. 

 The party waited for him. He had hardly dis- 

 appeared in the thicket before he reappeared in full 

 flight, while close at his heels followed a huge she- 

 grizzly with two cubs. In a few seconds she over- 

 took him and struck him a powerful blow with her 

 fore paw, knocking him senseless. She then deliber- 

 ately smelt over the prostrate body, and, apparently 

 satisfied that he was dead, went slowly back to the 

 thicket. The party above had been unable to do 

 anything. As soon as the bear left they hastily 

 consulted together, and some of the boldest were 

 about to go down when the body sprang to its feet, 

 and made the best possible time to the top of the 

 hill. An examination disclosed the fact that the 

 bear's claws had struck the man's body behind, just 

 below the waistband of his trousers; and though 

 every particle of clothing, upper and under, had 



