■250 



THE BEASTS OF PREY. 



always follows the same daily route, one can count 

 on meeting him with tolerable security, provided 

 one knows his habits. Cool blood, a good, steady 

 aim and good and tried weapons are prime necessi- 

 ties of a Bear-hunter. 



Krementz says: "The prevailing opinion, that the 

 Bear always stands on his hind-legs in his attacks 

 and walks up to his antagonist, is an erroneous one. 

 It would be easier to meet his attack if he did. I 

 have personally shot twenty-nine Bears, and seen 

 others shoot about sixty-five; I have been present 

 at the attack of Bears of every size and description 

 and have been several times attacked myself; but I 

 saw only one male and one female Bear walk erect 

 toward their antagonist for any considerable dis- 

 tance. I do not wish to assert that the attack, as it 

 is usually pictured in hunting accounts and other 

 scientific works, never happens that way; only that 

 such cases seem to me to be extremely rare. The 

 attack of a Bear is usually sudden and rapid, and he 

 either tries to deal his opponent a blow with a fore- 

 paw by executing a rapid and violent movement to 

 the side, or he quickly trots up to his enemy, sud- 

 denly lifts himself on his hind-legs in the immediate 

 proximity of his foe whom he tries to knock down 

 with a violent stroke of the front-paw, or else he 

 deals him a sound blow and gives him a quick bite. 

 He never keeps near his victim when Men and Dogs 

 are about, but makes his escape." 



Besides being hunted in accordance with all the 

 rules of sport, the Bear is persecuted in all other 

 possible ways, in those countries where it molests 

 people. The purpose is reached by intrepidity com- 

 bined with cunning. In Galicia and Transylvania 

 strong iron traps are placed in the usual path of the 

 Bear; a chain is fastened to the trap and to the 

 chain a heavy log is tied with a long, strong rope. 

 If the Bear steps into the trap, he tries in vain to free 

 himself from the chain, and finally the long rope 

 entangles him in a tree and he tires himself out by 

 his struggles and perishes. The hunter inspects the 

 road every two days, and the track of the dragged 

 iron, chain or log clearly show him the way taken 

 by the Bear. "The natives of Asia," says Steller, 

 "construct a building of many logs, all of which 

 fall upon the Bears and kill them when they step 

 on the traps, which are carefully concealed in front 

 of the structure. The natives also dig a pit and 

 fasten a pointed, smooth, burnt pole in it, rising 

 several feet high out of the earth; the pit is covered 

 with grass. Then they arrange a sham trap, a 

 spring, fastened to a rope; when the Bear steps on 

 the rope, the spring is loosened and hits the animal, 

 which, frightened out of its wits, incautiously runs 

 on, falls into the pit on the pole and is killed." 



In Norway, Russia, Transylvania and Spain there 

 are still to be found experienced and intrepid men 

 who, accompanied by a few Dogs, meet the Bear 

 armed only with a spear and knife, and risk a life 

 and death struggle with him. 



Profits of The profit of a successful Bear hunt 

 a Successful is quite considerable. The flesh 

 Bear Hunt. brings a good price; the fat, which 

 is reputed to be an excellent remedy for promoting 

 the growth of hair, is much sought after and well 

 paid for. Bear-fat is white, never becomes hard, 

 rarely gets rancid if kept in closed jars, and the 

 repulsive taste it has when fresh disappears on 

 steaming the fat with onions. The flesh of a young 

 Bear is very palatable, the hams of old Bears are 

 /Considered a dainty, either roasted fresh or cured. 



The paws are esteemed the most savory part by 

 gourmands; but one must first get used to their 

 appearance, for when they are skinned and prepared 

 for cooking they resemble a large human foot to a 

 disgusting extent. The head is also said to make 

 an excellent dish. The fur is used in different ways; 

 that of the smaller animals is hardly considered, 

 while that of the larger ones brings, according to 

 Lomer, a price of from twenty to eighty dollars, 

 according to its beauty. 



The Romans matched Bears in the arena, receiv- 

 ing their supply principally from the Lebanon 

 region, although we read that they had some which 

 came from northern Africa and Libya. Their de- 

 scriptions of the life of this animal are mixed with 

 fables. Aristotle, as usual, gives the most correct 

 account ; Pliny borrows from him, but adds a few 

 fables ; Oppian gives an excellent account of the 

 magnificent Bear hunts of the Armenians on the 

 banks of the Tigris ; Julius Capitolinus describes the 

 fights in the circus and mentions that Gordian I. 

 brought a thousand Bears to the arena in one day. 



The Barren ^^ arctic North America there is a brown 



rrnnr^ Rony n„ ^ear, which was found in the barren grounds 



ArofirVnZ'tu °^ ^he Arctic Zone, by Sir John Richardson, 



Arctic variety. ^^^ ^.^jj^^j j^ ^j^^ B^^ren Ground Bear. It 



has been classed by some naturalists as a distinct species 

 ( Ursus richardsonii) but its similarity to the common Brown 

 Bear is so great and its points of difference so few that it can 

 scarcely be regarded as more than a local variety. 



The Grizzly The nearest relative of the. Brown Bear 

 Bear, an Amer- is the Grizzly Bear (Ursus cinereus or 

 ican Species. Ursus horribilis) known to the Ameri- 

 cans under the familiar appellation of " Old 

 Ephraim," and ranging over the whole of north- 

 western America. He resembles the common Bear 

 in structure and appearance, but is larger, heavier, 

 clumsier and stronger. The color varies greatly, 

 from iron gray to light reddish-brown, the former 

 hue sometimes having a somewhat silvery glint, the 

 latter a golden one, produced by the silver-white or 

 yellowish tips of the outer hair. American hunters 

 therefore distinguish between the Grizzly proper, 

 the Brown and the Cinnamon Bear, the latter. variety 

 being considered the handsomest. His range com- 

 prises the west of North America. In the United 

 States he is found from the southern part of the 

 Rocky Mountain region, thence to the northern 

 part of Dakota. The farther we go to the west, 

 the more frequently he is encountered, especially 

 in mountains. In the south he is also found in the 

 high lands of Mexico ; while in the north his range 

 extends as far as the Arctic Circle and farther. 

 Mode of Life In his mode of life the Grizzly resem- 

 ofthe bles the common Bear, and also hiber- 

 Grizzly Bear, nates ; but his walk is more staggering 

 and all his movements are clumsier. He is said to 

 be able to climb trees only in youth, not being equal 

 to this accomplishment in old age; on the other 

 hand he swims over wide streams with ease. He is 

 a capable Beast of Prey, and more than sufficiently 

 strong to conquer any creature living in his native 

 country. 



Stories of Former accounts all tend to char- 

 Encounters with acterize him as a cruel and formid- 

 the Grizzly. able animal. He was said to have 

 no fear of Man but to boldly attack him, no matter 

 whether the latter was on Horseback or afoot, armed 

 or defenseless, whether he had offended him or 

 never thought of hurting him. For all these rea- 

 sons, the hunter who had measured his strength with 

 "old Ephraim" enjoyed the admiration and esteem 



