MAMMALS OF UTAH " 129 



went in parties of from twenty to thirty, each hunter 

 armed with a long spear. Upon sighting the grizzly lick- 

 mg its paws they would approach quite closely and form 

 a double line away from it. One Indian would then disturb 

 the bear, and, upon being chased, run down between the 

 rows of men, who, in turn, would spear it as it chased 

 between them. 



Roosevelt says that the word "grizzly" does not refer 

 to the color of the animal, but should be spelled "grisly," 

 meaning terrifying or horrible. He, however, cites no au- 

 thority for his statement. 



In the early days the grizzly bear preyed upon the 

 buffalo ; but now it is found only in the wildest mountains. 

 The old hunter had only a single barreled rifle, and had 

 to make the one shot count. One bullet will not, however, 

 usually stop a grizzly; in fact, one was once shot eight 

 times through the head and twice through the heart, yet it 

 swam half a mile thereafter and survived twenty minutes ! 

 The grizzly cubs sometimes climb trees but a full grown 

 grizzly cannot climb. 



The modern rifle has been too much for the grizzly, 

 which, today, except in the very wildest regions, shuns man 

 and seeks safety in seclusion. Cornered, however, he is as 

 indomitable and ferocious as ever, fighting with his ghastly 

 teeth and massive ripping claws as long as a breath of 

 life is in him. Hornaday says that a wounded grizzly 

 usually runs down hill and that this accounts for some 

 charges towards the hunter below, which might not have 

 taken place had the hunter been to one side. 



So powerful is the grizzly that in the bull rings of 

 early California, one bear has been known to kill six bulls in 

 an afternoon. The maddened bear would rise upon its 

 hind legs as the bellowing bull with lowered head would 

 come upon him ; and then, at a favorable moment, the bear 

 would strike the bull dead with a blow between the eyes. 



During may the grizzly eats snow lilies, roots and 

 grass; in June and July, ants and edible roots; in August, 

 berries such as strawberries and service berries; in Sep- 

 tember, huckleberries, blue berries and black currants as 

 well as wild pea vines ; and in October, gophers and Hedysa- 

 rum roots. At times, however, it eats cattle, deer, elk, 

 wild plums, mast, honey, fish, pigs, carrion, and, according 

 to Hornaday, one of its own kind if it finds it dead. 



Grizzly bears are gregarious, that is, they roam fre- 

 quently in numbers together. . Indians say that they some- 

 times found a grizzly bear killed by a mountain lion but 

 never a mountain lion killed by a grizzly. 



