1886.] Domestication of the Grizzly Bear. 437 
It is certainly interesting to observe how completely the savage 
nature of these ferocious animals was overcome in those which 
were born in a wild state, and it would be interesting to know 
what modifications might be made in succeeding generations by 
domestication, an experiment which could only be successfully 
tried under favorable conditions, which do not exist with the 
great number of animals of this genus now held in confinement. 
I may remark here a wide difference in the effect of domestica- 
tion upon the disposition of this animal and many others, which 
in the wild state show no ferocity, but only timidity. Take the 
Cervidæ, for instance, when brought up by hand; they lose all 
fear of man ; they develop a wickedness and ferocity never mani- 
fested in the wild state ; while the bears, so terrible when un- 
tamed, show docility, constancy and affection when brought into 
close familiarity with man. They seem to appreciate his kindness 
and care, and repay it with attachment and devotion, while the 
other class of animals, which are not ferocious by nature, seem 
to be entirely unappreciative of kindness, or at least seem incapa- 
ble of continued personal attachment to the hand that feeds them. 
When I first read Mr. Adams’ adventures, I considered it an 
interesting romance, or at least that it was largely embellished by 
an ingenious imagination, but upon inquiry in San Francisco, I 
met reliable persons, who had known him well, and had seen him 
passing through the streets of that city, followed by a troop of 
these monstrous grizzly bears unrestrained, which paid not the ` 
least attention to the yelping dogs and crowds of children which 
closely followed them, giving the most conclusive proof of the 
perfect docility of the animals. Indeed, they were so well trained 
that they obeyed implicitly their master’s every word or gesture 
in the midst of a crowded city, with surroundings which we might 
‘Suppose would have aroused their native ferocity, if that were 
Possible, After the most careful investigation I became con- _ 
vinced of the reliability of the narrative, and as the facts our 
author gives are interesting to science, I venture to repeat them, — 
regretting, however, that he did not appreciate the great value of . 
his observati 
ons, since he might have given us more particulars 
which must have come under his observation ; but so it is that a : 
vast maiority of those who have good opportunities for observ- < 
ng do not know how to observe judiciously, or do not record _ 
r observations, 
