Fact versus Fiction 261 



his hind foot. He then got up lazily, sniffed up and 

 down the trunk of a small fir-tree, stretched his paws 

 upward and, raising himself on his hind feet to his ex- 

 treme height, set his teeth into the small trunk and yanked 

 off a chunk similar to those I had seen scattered along 

 the trail. This was all done in the most unconcerned 

 and bored manner imaginable, without any show of ug- 

 liness or temper. There was nothing to indicate in the 

 least that the brute intended the act as a defiance or a 

 challenge to any other bear. He acted as if he had noth- 

 ing to do and was hard pressed to pass away the time. 

 Afterward he walked out to where the other bears were 

 and joined them at berry picking. The other male bear 

 paid no attention whatever to the action. 



On another occasion I saw two three-year-old griz- 

 zlies peacefully ambling along a side hill. They were 

 tranquilly inclined and were apparently out for a prom- 

 enade, with nothing of special importance on their minds. 

 They would walk along for a short distance, stop and 

 sniff at stumps, scratch a little, and then move on again. 

 After a time they came to some trees, and one of them 

 stood up with his paws against a trunk, smelled quite 

 around it, turned his head sideways, drove his teeth 

 through an inch or more of wood, and with a twist of his 

 head ripped off a slab. He then sniffed at the open place, 

 lapped it a little with his tongue, dropped down on all- 

 fours, and followed the other bear that had meanwhile 

 moved on. In this instance it was the larger of the two 

 bears that did the "challenging." 



On the third occasion I saw a lone bear stop beside 

 a trail and go through practically this same performance. 



