CaTtiping and Hunibig in the Shoshone 



an express, hitting hard enough to kill 

 anything, and having nine shots instead of 

 two. Very little observation or reading 

 w^ill satisfy any one that the habits of game 

 change considerably in a comparatively 

 brief space of time. This is true of the 

 grizzlies. Allow^ing for old hunters' exag- 

 geration, and again allowing for the natural 

 growth of the mythical, even in so far as 

 it relates to JJrsus horribilis, yet I think 

 the modern ^x'vzTXy is a more timid animal 

 than his grandfather could have been. I 

 have said it is not safe to depend on- one 

 of these animals retreating ; but unless 

 wounded, if a path of retreat is left him, 

 he will almost invariably take it. In the 

 evening, on a trail, old hunters say that he 

 often shows fight sooner than get out of 

 the way. I have only once met a large 

 bear alone in the evening ; and on that 

 occasion I did not wait to watch his move- 

 ments, but fortunately rolled him over, 

 hitting him in the heart with a snap shot. 

 The common idea still is that, in the 

 fall, bears go down the mountains after 

 berries. Some, I suppose, do ; whether 

 it is owing to the occupation of the river 

 and creek beds (the usual place where 

 choke-cherries and plums grow thickest) 

 by cattle or not, I cannot say, but certainly 



94 



