365 Wild Beasts 



objections which have been made to premature conclusions 

 and want of discrimination in other instances. 



The statements of those who know this animal do not 

 disagree very conspicuously with respect to its character as 

 a formidable foe. Dr. Elliott Coues, who, besides being a 

 distinguished naturalist, had opportunities for acquiring a 

 special knowledge of the grizzly bear, speaks of it in his 

 " History of the Expedition of Lewis and Clark " in terms 

 which afford a curious contrast to those of men who were 

 less well informed. In mentioning the difificulties encoun- 

 tered by these explorers, he observes that " this bear was 

 found to be so numerous and so fierce, especially in the 

 upper Missouri region, as to more than once endanger the 

 lives of the party, and form an impediment to the progress 

 of the expedition." Lord Dunraven says that on "The 

 Great Divide" these bears "did not appear to mind the 

 proximity of our camp in the least, or to take any notice 

 of us or our tracks. A grizzly is an independent kind of 

 beast, and has a good deal of don't-care-a-damnativeness 

 about him." Godman asserts that it is " justly considered 

 to be the most dreadful and dangerous of American 

 quadrupeds," while Audubon and Bachman, and, it may be 

 added, the great majority of all who have had any personal 

 acquaintance with the brute, refer to it in a similar way. 

 Frederick Schwatka, for example, reports that " everywhere 

 in his dismal dominions at the north he is religiously avoided 

 by the native hunter. . . . Although he is not hunted, 

 encounters with him are not unknown, as he is savage 

 enough to become the hunter himself at times. . . . 

 Indian fear of the great brown bear I found to be coex- 



