AND AMERICAN RURAL SPORTS. 



I2J 



inales are found abroad at all seasons in quest of food. 

 Mackenzie speaks of a den of these animals which was ten 

 feet wide, five feet high, and six feet long. As this Bear 

 roams over the snow, its foot marks are frequently seen in 

 the spring, and when there is a crust upon the snow, the 

 weight of the animal often causes it to crack and sink for a 

 considerable distance round the spot trod upon. These im- 

 pressions, somewhat obscured by a partial thaw, have been 

 considered as the vestiges of an enormously large and un- 

 known quadruped, and perhaps have given rise to the re- 

 ports of there being live Mammoths on the Rocky Moun- 

 tains. 



The Grisly Bear is now found in the range of the Rockj' 

 INIountains, and the plains lying to the eastward of them, as 

 far as latitude 61°, and perhaps even farther north. Accord- 

 ing to Pike, it occurs as far south as Mexico. Lewis and 

 plark could not ascertain whether it inhabited the country 

 between the western declivity of the Rocky Mountains and 

 the sea coast. Dr. Richardson, on the authority of Mr. 

 Drummond, says, they are most numerous in the woody 

 district skirting the eastern base of the Rocky Mountains, 

 especially where there are open prairies and grassy hills. 

 From the traditions existing among the Delaware Indians 

 respecting the big naked Bear, the last of which they be- 

 lieve dwelt to the east of the Hudson river, there is some 

 ground for a belief that this animal once inhabited the At- 

 lantic States. 



The Grisly Bear appears to be very tenacious of life. 

 Mr. Say informs us, one lived two hours, after having 

 been shot through the lungs, and whilst in this state, pre- 

 pared a bed for him.self in the earth, two feet deep, and five 

 feet long, having previously run a mile and a half. It is, 

 in fact, very difficult to kill one of these animals by a single 

 shot, except the ball penetrates the brain or the heart, and 

 this seldom is effected from the form of the skull in the first 

 case, and the thick coat of hair in the latter. To give a 

 better idea of the danger attendant on the chase of these 

 Bears, we select the following instance from Lewis and 

 Clark: 



One evening the men in the hindmost of one of Lewis 

 and Clark's canoes perceived one of those Bears lying in 

 the open ground about three hundred paces from the river, 

 and six of them, who were all good hunters, went to attack 

 him. Concealing themselves by a suiall eminence, they 

 were able to approach within forty paces unperceived ; four 

 of the hunters now fired, and each lodged a ball in his body, 

 two of which passed directly through the lungs. The Bear 

 sprang up and ran furiously with open month upon them; 

 two of the hunters, who had reserved their fire, gave him 

 two additional wounds, and one breaking his shoulder- 

 blade, somewhat retarded his motions. Before they could 



again load their guns, he came so close on them, that they 

 were obliged to run towards the river, and before they had 

 gained it, the Bear had almost overtaken them. Two men 

 jumped into the canoe; the other four separated, and con- 

 cealing themselves among the willows, fired as fast as they 

 could load their pieces. Several times the Bear was struck, 

 but each shot seemed only to direct his fury towards the 

 hunter; at last he pursued them so closely that they threw 

 aside their guns and pouches, and jumped down a perpendi- 

 cular bank, twenty feet high, into the river. The Bear 

 sprang after them, and was very near the hindmost man, 

 when one of the hunters on shore shot him through the 

 head, and finally killed him. On examination, it was found 

 that eight balls had jjassed through his body in different di- 

 rections. 



Another instance is recorded by these travellers of the 

 same character. An individual received five balls through 

 his lungs, and five other wounds; notwithstanding which he 

 swam more than half across a river to a sand bar, and sur- 

 vived upwards of twenty minutes. 



From these and analogous facts, it is not to be wondered 

 at that even white hunters should be willing to avoid an en- 

 counter with so formidable an adversary, and that the In- 

 dians, mostly unprovided with fire-arms, should never attack 

 him, except in parties of six or eight, for having no wea- 

 pons but bows and arrows, or the bad guns with which the 

 traders supply them, they are obliged to approach very near 

 the Bear, and as no wounds, except as we have stated, 

 through the head or heart, are fatal, they frequently fall a 

 sacrifice if they miss their aim. 



" It appears, however, that the Bear will not attack man 

 unless enraged or pressed by hunger. Mr. Drummond, the 

 botanist, in his excursions over the Rocky Mountains, had 

 frequent opportunities of observing the manners of the Grisly 

 Bears; and it often happened, that in turning the point of a 

 rock or sharp angle of a valley, he came suddenly on one 

 or more of them. On such occasions they reared on their 

 hind legs, and made a loud noise like a person breathing 

 quick, but much harsher. He kept his ground, without at- 

 temptingto molest them, and they on theirpart, after atten- 

 tively regarding him for some time, gradually wheeled 

 round and gallopped off, though there is little doubt but that 

 he would have been torn to pieces had he lost his presence 

 of mind and attempted to fly. When he discovered them 

 from a distance, he usually frightened them by beating on 

 a large tin box, in which he carried his specimens of plants. 

 He never saw more than four together, and two of these 

 he supposes to have been cubs. He was only once attacked 

 and then by a female, for the purpose of allowing her 

 cubs time to escape. His gun on tliis occasion missed fire, 

 but he kept her at bay with the stock of it, until some gen- 



