178 
FOREST AND STREAM 
may call a difference in color a distinction in species. 
Many old liunters say that the brown and cinnamon are the 
offspring of the black bear, and that they have seen in one 
litter of cubs by the latter the two former colors. I am* 
myself inclined to believe that they are the same species, 
for in specimens of claws presented to me I could see no 
difference in length between those of the two varieties. 
The average weight of this variety ranges from three to 
five hundred pounds, though some are much larger. The 
flesh is highly prized by the Indians, and they w T ill go 
far to beg a piece of itshoot, orbear steak. 
The largest of the species is the grizzly bear (Ursus Itor- 
ribilis ), which ranges in weight from fifteen hundred totwc 
thousand pounds. This is the bear of the mountains as its 
congener is of the forests, and is by far the most powerful 
animal known to this continent. It can crush a man as.it 
would an egg shell, and one blow from its paw alone will 
kill its human adversary. A technical description of it 
would be about the following:—size very large; tail shorter 
than ears; hair coarse, darkest near base, with light tips; 
an erect mane between shoulders; feet large, fore claws 
double the length of the hinder; a dark dorsal stripe from 
occiput to tail, a lateral one on each side along the flanks, 
and nearly concealed by the light tips; intervals between 
the stripes lighter; hairs on body browmish yellow, or hoary 
at tips; parts around ears dusky; legs approaching black; 
muzzle pale. There are some which differ in color from 
the description given, but all belong to the same species. 
This bear is found extensively in California along the foot¬ 
hills of the coast and Cascade Ranges, -wherever oaks and 
manzanita are found, for a great portion of their food con¬ 
sists of acorns and the berries of the latter. The man¬ 
zanita, w-hich is peculiar to the flora of the Pacific coast 
derives its botanical name (arctostaphylus glamca) from its 
association with this animal, arktos signifying bear in Greek. 
The fruit resembles that of the arbutus ura ursi, and to 
procuie it bruin will travel far and face many dangers. 
I have met several of these animals throughout Cali¬ 
fornia in a semi-domesticated state, but in no place 
did I see them so gentle as to bear too much famil¬ 
iarity. When the male and female are caged together tliey 
are incessantly quarrelling, especially at feeding time. Gal¬ 
lantry seems to be unknown to the burly male at such 
times, for he will attack his companion in the most vicious 
manner to recover even the smallest morsel of food. There 
is a rude but significant word in the Saxon to express the 
highest type of selfishness, namely, “hoggishness,” ye' 
bearishness would be more literally correct, for the suidse 
are generous in comparison to the monarch of this conti¬ 
nent. To kill one of the latter has been a feat to which 
many Nimrods have devoted their leisure time, and though 
several have been successful in accomplishing it single 
handed, yet the number who have not are much greater. 
For a hunt of this sort it is necessary to have several in a 
party, and to be armed with good breech loading rifles, for 
his majesty can stard several bullets ere he resigns his 
spirit, and before that is done he may take with him to the 
spirit land some of his foes unless caution and sure aim 
are united. I attended one grizzly hunt in San Luis, 
Obispo county, in California, with a party of Spaniards; 
but while it was exciting enough, those scenes of Ganger of 
which I had heard so much were prominent by their ab¬ 
sence. We started for the foothills at about four o’clock ir. 
the evening, and camped out that night, having made a 
rousing fire to keep away any cjuadrupedal intruders, and 
after supper devoted ourselves to pulling cigarettes, sing¬ 
ing, and relating hunting experiences up to midnight. The 
last story told was by a swarthy, scarred old veteran, and 
according to his tale he had killed with his knife alone an 
oso grande in one of the canyons then near our headquar¬ 
ters. The next morning we were up before daybreak, and 
having saddled our horses—said to be veterans in such a 
chase^ though rather dilapidated mustangs in appearance— 
and loaded our rifles, we deployed ourselves as skirmish¬ 
ers, keeping the form of a crescent, and in this manner 
moved towards a copse of oaks half a mile in front. We 
lmd some half a dozen mongrel dogs with us, and they 
were taken by one man to the top of the hill, so that thej'- 
would run bruin towards us. He took the precaution to 
keep to the leeward of the copse, for if even .the daring 
grizzly caught the odor of humanity he would think it 
the better part of valor to beat a rapid retreat. The cap¬ 
tain of the skirmish line gave us orders how to move by 
the wave of his hand, and all obeyed most promptly. 
Reaching the wood we held the reins tighter, grasped the 
saddle closer with our legs, and placed the barrel of the 
rifle in the crook of the left arm. This was no sooner done 
than the dogs gave tongue, the chorus became loud, then 
broken and general, and in a moment after a splendid male 
grizzly emerged from the bushes about one hundred yards 
distant. When he saw the circle around him he hesitated 
a moment, but the noise of the dogs soon decided his 
movements, so he made for the opening in front. Bang 
went a rifle, followed in a second by another. My horse, 
which had been restless, now showed undoubted terror; 
he wheeled and was making for the rear at his best pace, 
but when I got the reins out of my mouth and into my 
hands I gave the Spanish bit a touch that nearly threw my 
Rozinante on his haunches, and wheeling him I made for 
my place in the crescent. I found my mustang was not 
alone in his terror, for I saw two more making their best 
strides for home. When I reached my position bruin was 
making for that direction, as it was the only opening left. 
1 tired at him twice in rapid succession, but at this moment 
that mustang became alarmed again at the object approach¬ 
ing, and wheeled to the rear. He had not gone far ere I 
checked him; caused him to make a demi-volt, and then 
got another shot. Bullets were whizzing thickly around 
his bearship at this time, and he did not go five yards fur¬ 
ther ere he fell, groaning, to the ground, and bleeding pro¬ 
fusely. Two revolver shots in the head finished him, and 
©ur prize lay outstretched before us in all his inanimate 
majesty. Who killed him? Every one was willing to bet 
or swear that he had hit him, yet on examining the body 
only three bullets were found, though twenty must have 
been tired. The whole time occupied by this contest did 
not exceed five minutes, yet it would seem as though a 
small army was firing, so rapidly were the leaden missiles 
fioured forth. 
After the assembly was . sounded by a loud halloo, the 
runaways returned, swearing as only Spaniards can at their 
ill luck and their cowardly steeds. Having dragged the 
bear into some bushes we again reformed our line and made 
in an oblique direction to the right, where the manzanita 
grew thickly. The dogs had scarcely entered the shrub- 
berv ere a simultaneous yelp made us all halt. In a few 
moments a female broke cover, but seeing the number of 
enemies surrounding her she again re-entered the bushes 
and made for a ravine on the right. Her course was marked 
by the swaying of the shrubbery, so to the right we all 
started at the best speed of our horses, intending to head 
her off. We had scarcely proceeded half a mile ere we 
struck a canyon, and into this wrn had the satisfaction of 
seeing our game hurl herself, for she apparently went to 
the bottom at one stride. That she was not injured, how¬ 
ever, was proved by the yelping of the dogs, which pur¬ 
sued her for over a mile; but I may here add that they took 
very good care not to go too near her. 
As we could not do much in the heat of the day, we con¬ 
cluded to return to camp and await the morrow for the re¬ 
sumption of our sport. During the evening, while lying 
around the fire, everybody was telling just how he missed 
or hit that animal, but who hit him is to this da} 1- a mys¬ 
tery, for the greater portion insisted that their bullets struck 
just where the holes were found. Whoever reached the 
vicinity of the heart, however, was the champion. The 
action of our veteran mustangs was accounted for on the 
ground that bruin emerged too suddenly, so did not give- 
them time to think. This may have been the cause in 
Spanish eyes, but to me it looked, like want of. experience. 
Our camp was the scene of hilarity that evening, and the 
song, “Ilermosa esta la noche ,” was sung many times over. 
The next morning we were out again by dawn, but a 
four hours’ tramp revealed no bears, so we returned home, 
myself, for one, highly pleased with my grizzly hunt.. The 
animal killed, when placed on the scales, turned thirteen 
hundred pounds. A scrutinizing glance at his powerful 
limbs made us thank our stars that he had not been able to 
reach horse or rider. 
This bear is found as far north as forty degrees, but is 
rather scarce beyond forty-two degrees. Its principal habi¬ 
tat in Oregon is "in the Klamath Basin, in which are situ¬ 
ated the now famous lava beds. It is but little hunted, 
owing to the sparseness of population there and the danger 
of the amusement. The last attempt at a chase resulted 
disastrously to one of the parties, the grizzly having over¬ 
taken him and killed him with one powerful stroke. 
I shall close this article with an incident in grizzly hunt¬ 
ing which displayed more humor than courage. Judge 
G-, of San Francisco, was very fond of the chase, so in 
company with four others he started for tl>e mountains to 
have a week’s run after grouse and quail. As the judge 
could not presume to enjoy himself without some strong 
tea (?) he was careful to take a large supply with him. The 
niaht before starting on the hunt he attended a ball, and 
before morning was so much under the influence of his 
favo.ite beverage that he tumbled in the mire several times 
on his way home. The consequence to his swallow tail 
and hat may be imagined. He had scarcely entered his room 
ere a carriage called to take him to the rendezvous; thence 
all moved some forty miles into the interior, and camped 
under some oak trees. While smoking around the fire a 
Spaniard approached the group and stated that a grizzly was 
a few rods off in the bushes. He was asked why he did not 
kill him, and he nonchalantly replied that he had lost no 
bears. The judge, who was dozing near the ashes, jumped 
up when he heard grizzly mentioned, and said that he 
would bring that bear^nto camp alone. His seedy appear¬ 
ance, and the quaintness of his hunting costume, caused 
his companions to shout heartily at his boast; but G-’s 
mettle was up, and with a half drunken leer he said he 
would prove it. He then seized a shotgun and moved into 
the bushes. He was gone perhaps ten minutes when a tre¬ 
mendous commotion was heard, as if twenty men were 
beating the shrubbery. In a moment out comes the judge, 
minus his hat, and running with such speed as to cause the 
swallow tails to extend backward in a straight line. As he 
approached the camp he shouted at the top of his voice. 
“Clear the track; here we come; the bear and me, look out 
there!” They did clear the track, and the limb of the law 
rushed through the fire; nor did he stop until lie made a 
good mile to the rear. A few bullets checked bruin, and 
caused him to seek shelter, so the judge escaped with a 
good scare and being made the butt of many a joke. 
“Mortimer Kerry.” 
Portland, Oregon, April 1874. 
For Forest and Stream. 
FOREST SPORTS OF PENNSYLVANIA. 
NUMBER ONE—TITE MUSIC OF THE nOUNDS. 
* * /”^OME, lads, tumble down here; the old woman has 
got breakfast nearly ready, and the dogs are spoil¬ 
ing to get loose.” As old Tom Howrer’s cheery voice 
aroused me from the deep, dreamless slumber which my 
fifteen mile tramp of the previous day had produced, I 
opened my eyes in astonishment and looked with dozed be¬ 
wilderment at the smoky rafters over my head, forgetting 
for the moment where I was. But the' bronzed, weather- 
beaten face of Tom Howrer, as he stood on the ladder, 
with his hands resting on the floor of the loft, brought all 
back—the railroad ride of the previous day, the tramp 
through the woods, our hearty welcome by Mr. Howrer 
and his bustling, kind wife, and last of all, our stowing 
ourselves away in the loft. The morning had come at last, 
and to-day we were to go out with one of the best hunters, 
and certainly the best brace of hounds on the Kinzua. 
With a cheery greeting to old Tom, I sprang, or rather 
rolled (for our bed was on the floor) out of bed, and ad¬ 
ministered a vigorous kick to my friend Jack, who was 
still sleeping as~if he had but just laid down. With a gasp 
and start that worthy young gentleman sat up suddenly in 
bed, almost lifting a portion of the roof off from the house, 
and being now dressed I crept down the rickety ladder, 
leaving Jack expressing his views of sky parlor bed cham¬ 
bers in language more forcible than elegant. After holding 
my head in the clear, sparkling waters of a brook which 
ran close to the house, I returned to discuss, with a keen 
appetite, a genuine backs woods breakfast of buckwheat 
cakes, maple syrup, bacon and eggs, and coffee. 
We left the house about six o’clock and turned our faces 
up the Kinzua, keeping on an old log road that wound 
along the ridge that skirted the creek. After proceeding 
about a mile we halted to hold a consultation as to the best 
place to put the dogs out. This we of course left to Tom’s 
judgment, and he finally decided to let them loose in a large 
huckleberry patch about a quarter of a mile back from the 
creek. A neighbor of his, who had occasion to pass 
through it only a day or two previously, had started a large 
drove of deer, and Tom felt confident that the dogs—Bill 
and Leo—would put up a deer in a very short time. We 
went on a little farther when we came to a spot where Tom 
informed us the runway crossed the road. 
At this point he stationed Jack, and with an admonition 
to be on the alert we left him'and proceeded towards tha 
creek. A walk of fifteen or twenty minutes’ duration 
brought us to another log road, which we followed to the 
brow of a steep bluff, which terminated in the waters of 
the creek. A space twenty or thirty feet wide had hem 
cleared down the face of the bluff for the purpose of roll¬ 
ing logs down into the water. Of late years, Tom said 
the deer, when started from the west'ridge, invariably 
made for this point, which was a good and easy means of 
access to the water. Following Tom’s directions, I made 
my way almost to the bottom of the slide, and took up my 
station behind a rock, while he started for the huckleberry- 
patch, leading the impatient dogs. From where I W as 
standing I could command a charming vista of the swift 
running waters of the Kinzua, which flashed and glistened 
in the light of the rising sun. On the opposite side the 
trees, just turned to a bright crimson from the effects of 
the early October frosts, rose tier upon tier until they were 
lost sight of in the fog which was rolling up from the val¬ 
ley. A half hour passed away, and I still remained at my 
post, watching and listening, with every faculty on the 
alert, to catch the first sounds from the dogs. At last the 
long wished for sound reached my ear, first a short, sharp 
yelp, then, as each dog fairly got the scent, came the deep 
baying that sounds so pleasant to the sportsman’s ears. 
The quarry w r as evidently heading for the water, and each 
moment the baying of the houncls.grew nearer and clearer. 
I can imagine nothing more exciting nor more calculated 
to give pleasure to a keen sportsman than the baying of a 
couple or more of thoroughbred hounds as they follow a 
lively young buck over hill and dale. The blood tingled 
wildly through my veins as I grasped my double rifle more 
firmly, expecting every moment to see an antlered buck 
bounding down the declivity. I had become perfectly en¬ 
thusiastic, and already, in imagination, I followed out the 
chase, the whizzing of bur rifle balls, the panting, strug¬ 
gling deer, and then last, but by no means least, was the 
thought of rich venison for supper. My fancies wmre sud¬ 
denly dispelled by hearing the-sharp crack of Jack’s rifle, 
showing me that he had sighted the game. With finger on 
each trigger I waited with bated breath the appearance of 
the game. Instead of coming towards me, however, the 
baying of the dogs told me that the chase had taken a dif¬ 
ferent direction, the quarry having probably swerved when 
Jack fired. With a sigh of disappointment I dropped the 
stock of my gun on the ground, and listened to the baying 
of the dogs until their voices died away in the distance. 
Not long, however, did they remain out- of hearing, for in 
a few moments their howl again reached my ears, low and 
indistinct at first, but gradually growing louder as they ap¬ 
proached. Nearer and nearer they came, now growing 
fainter as they descended into some hollow 1 -, and then rising 
to a loud, prolonged howl as they ascended a hill. The 
game was undoubtedly coming towards me this time, and 
from the direction they were approaching they would give 
Jack a wide berth. Suddenly, like a flash of light, came a 
large buck over the verge. Another bound, and lie reached 
the middle of the incline, when, as he lifted his feet in a last 
leap, my bullet struck him fairly between the antlers, and 
he fell quivering and kicking at my very feet. A few mo¬ 
ments more and my keen hunting knife finished the work, 
and I stood up to survey my prize. A noble fellow he was, 
surely, with large branching antlers, a sleek, glcssy hide, 
and trim, clean legs. The dogs now came in with a rush 
and a cry, and I soon had my hands full in keeping them 
off the dead deer. In a few minutes Jack and Tom made 
their appearance, the latter carrying a fine young doe which 
Jack had killed. We now proceeded to hang up our game 
until such time as Tom could come after them with his 
team. This accomplished to our satisfaction, w*e rambled 
up the creek, shooting a few grouse, until the middle of 
the afternoon, wiien we returned to the house, very well 
satisfied with our first day’s sport on the Kinzua. 
“Pleasant Wing.” 
For Forest and Stream. 
HOW I WENT H UNTING. 
D EER SUR, I had bin borryin yure paper, the Foeest 
an Streem, an redin ov it till I got the liutin fever 
miself. So I went to the stoarto bi me a gun, sez I, mister 
liev yu got any good dubble barl shot guns? plenty ov em 
sez lie, what sort of wun do yu want, sez lie! Sum thing 
good an chepe sez 1. Wei ho’ll that do, sez he, and he 
guv me a gun stocked with a pece of wmlnut fens rail, ana 
not even panet.ed at that; there wa’nt no brass fixins about 
her, she wus ail plain iron. The feller I lied been borryin 
the Forrest an Streme of seel I neded a stub twist gun, 
but I didn’t se no twist on these barls, they was all over 
kinder notted and speckeld like wliat yu kail burds eye 
work. I didnt think much of the gun but thought mabe 
she was very chepe, so I axed what she was worth. Seventy 
five doilers sez he. Gol darn it, sez I, you think line a line 
dont you? No sur, sez he, wfiy? Axin seventy five (toi¬ 
lers fur such a thing ez that, sez I. Sez he, that s a gmi- 
wine greener sez he, liandin the gun to a feller standin Dy 
me, damaskus barls, three pin locks, and oil walnut stocK. 
What do you mene sez I, feelin mad all over, and a n 
streke runnin clowue my back. Just, what I say, sez ti ¬ 
l’ll teech you better nor to call me a giniwine greener, s 
I pulling off mi kote. 1 did’nt kail you that, sez he. W 
did you kail that then? sez I. Why, the gun 0Y j 
sed he. Then all the fellers that was in the stoar bust 
ln.ffin, fit to kill tliereselves, and sed I must treat, so I 1 
to do it. . .. 
Then I w r ent back to bi a gun.. Now sez the s 
keeper, you jist cum round here an pick out a nice on ®> 
I wer mad now and didn’t keer for expens. The stocJK 
pameted black, and shined till you cood see yureseli l - 
The trimmins was all of brass, and the locks and ham 
was all shined up bright as a doller. The barls wus 
quarter of an inch thick at the muzzle, so I knew t 
was’nt no danger of bustin her. They wer a red D 
color, and showed the twist from one end to tother, Ti . 
plane as the rings on a coon’s tale. What makes her 
so ruff inside? sez I. A ruff gun shoots better, sez he. 
What’s she worth, sez I. Fifty dollers, sez he, an 
thro in a shot bag and powder flask, and a. -wad cutt » ? 
pay for that treat we got off’n you. What is a wad c • 
sez I. Why a punch to cut wads with sez. he, winx “ 
another feller that was in the stoar. All right, sez , 
take her. So I paid him, got some amminisliun, antu jk 
ed out. Say, sez he, you had better not load heraoo 
at first, before she gets used to it, you know. . l liel L v & \\ 
fellers, and there wur a lot of ’em by this time, t y . 
laffed agin, and the stoar keeper stuck his tung in his 
