The Bears 



117 



Tanchraen poison it, and rendered the task an easy one. It is now only found in the Northern 

 Rocky IMountains, and perhaps in North California and Nevada. Formerly encounters with 

 "Old Ephraim," as the trappers called this bear, were numerous and deadly. It attacked 

 men if attacked by them, and often without provocation. The horse, perhaps more tlian 

 its rider, was the object of the bear. Lewis and Clarke measured a grizzly which was 9 feet 

 long from nose to tail. The weight sometimes reaches 800 lbs. Measurements of much 

 larger grizzly bears have been recorded, but it is difficult to credit them. On a ranche 

 near the upper waters of the Colorado River several colts were taken by grizzly bears. 

 One of them was found buried according to the custom of this bear, and tlie owner sat up 

 to shoot the animal. Having only the old-fashioned small-bored rifle of the day, excellent 

 for shooting deer or Indians, but useless against so massive a beast as this bear, unless hit 

 in the head or heart, he only wounded it. The bear rushed in, struck him a blow with its 

 paw (the paw measures a foot across), smashed the rifle which he held up as a protection, 

 and struck the barrel on to his head. The man fell insensible, when the bear, having satisfied 

 himself that he was dead, picked him up, carried him off, and buried him in another hole 

 which it scratched near the dead colt. It then dug up the colt and ate part of it, and went 

 ■off. Some time later the man came to his senses, and awoke to find himself " dead and 

 buried." As the earth was only rouglily thrown over him, he scrambled out, and saw close 

 by the half-eaten remains of the colt. Thinking that it might be about the bear's dinner- 

 time, and remembering that he was prolmbly put by in the larder for the next meal, he 

 hurried home at once, and did not trouble the bear again. Not so a Siberian peasant, wlio had 

 much the same adventure. lie had been laughed at for wishing to shoot a bear, and went out 

 into the woods to do so. The bear had 

 the best of it, knocked him down, and 

 so frightfully mangled his arm that 

 he fainted. Brain then buried him in 

 orthodox bear fashion ; and the man, when 

 he came to, which he fortunately did 

 before the bear came laack, got up, and 

 made his way to the village. There he 

 was for a long time ill, and all through 

 his sickness and delirium talked of 

 nothing but shooting the bear. When 

 he got well, he disappeared into the forest 

 with his gun, and after a short absence 

 returned with the bear's skin ! 



The American Brown Bear. 

 The brown bear of America is closely 

 -allied to that of Europe; it was first 

 described by Sir John Richardson, who 

 called it the Barrenlands Bear, and noted, 

 ■quite rightly, that it differed from the 

 grizzly in the smallness of its claws. The 

 difference in the profile is very marked — 

 the brown bear having a profile like that 

 -of the European bear, while that of the 

 grizzly is flat. The brown bear of 

 North America lives largely on the fruits 

 -and berries of the northern plants, on 

 dead deer, and on putrid fish, of which 

 -quantities are left on the banks of the 



; , \ i k / I J d kiudi 



AJIEKICAX BLACK BEAE. 

 The black "bear w^3 tho species first encountered Ity the early settlers on the 

 Atlantic bide of America. The grizzly belongs to the Eocky Mountain region. 



