XXII 

 HIS VITALITY 



ANOTHER long-asserted and long-allowed claim 

 made for the grizzly relates to his marvellous vi- 

 tality. The literature of the subject bristles with state- 

 ments in regard to his tenacity of life, his ability to disre- 

 gard awful wounds, and the amount of lead with which 

 he will get away. 



The grizzly is now comparatively scarce, the condi- 

 tions in regard to weapons have greatly altered, and alto- 

 gether a discussion of the subject is not free from diffi- 

 culties; but I think that a careful examination of the 

 statements of the most reliable of old-time hunters, a con- 

 sideration of the conditions, both of mind and of weapons, 

 under which they operated, and a comparison of these 

 with conditions as we find them to-day, will enable us to 

 arrive at a very fair conclusion. 



We may, to begin with, throw out of court entirely 

 the writings of the romancers. They naturally seized upon 

 this alleged attribute of the grizzly as one that lent itself 

 admirably to their purposes; and looked upon it as a waste 

 of good material to kill a bear with anything less than a 

 dozen shots and a few knife wounds, and to have the rid- 

 dled animal pursue the hero for a mile or so, and kill at 



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