162 
VERTEBRATA. 
The man who was rescued had his arm fractured, and was otherwise severely bitten, but finally- 
recovered. I have seen Bourasso, and can add that the account which he gives is fully credited 
by the traders resident in that part of the country, who are best qualified to judge of its truth 
from their knowledge of the parties. 
" I have been told that there is a man now living in the neighborhood of Edmonton House, 
who was attacked by a grizzly bear, which sprang out of a thicket, and with one stroke of its 
paw completely scalped him, laying bare the skull, and bringing the skin of the forehead down 
over the eyes. Assistance coming up, the bear made off" without doing him further injury ; but 
the scalp not being replaced, the poor man has lost his sight, although he thinks his eyes are 
uninjured, 
" Mr. Drummond, in his excursions over the Rocky Mountains, had frequent opportunities of 
observing the manners of the grizzly bears, and it often happened that in turning the point of a 
rock or sharp angle of a valley he came suddenly upon one or more of them. On such occasions 
they reared on their hind-legs, and made a loud noise like a person breathing quick, but much 
harsher. He kept his ground, without attempting to molest them ; and they on their part, after 
attentively regarding him for some time, generally wheeled round and galloped off"; though, 
from their known disposition, there is little doubt but he would have been torn in pieces had he 
lost his presence of mind and attempted to fly. AVhen he discovered them from a distance, he 
generally frightened them away by beating on a large tin-box in which he carried his specimens 
of plants. He never saw more than four together, and two of these he supposes to have been 
cubs ; he more often met them singly, or in pairs. He was only once attacked, and then by a 
female for the purpose of allowing her cubs to escape. His gun on this occasion missed fire, but 
he kept her at bay with the stock of it until some gentlemen of the Hudson's Bay Company, 
Avith whom he was traveling at the time, came up and drove her off". 
"In the latter end of June, 1826, he observed a male caressing a female, and soon afterward 
they both came toward him, but whether accidentally or for the purpose of attacking him, he was 
uncertain. He ascended a tree, and as the female drew near, fired at and mortally wounded her. 
She uttered a few loud screams, which threw the male into a fiiriotis rage', and he reared up 
against the trunk of the tree in which Mr. Drummond was seated, but never attempted to ascend 
it. The female in the mean while, retiring to a short distance, lay down, and as the male was 
proceeding to join her, Mr. Drummond shot him also. From the size of their teeth and claws, 
he judged them to be about four years old." 
The following account of the manner of h^mting the grizzly bear in California is alike curious 
and interesting. It must be understood that a bear has been previously baited, and a party of 
some half dozen friends invited to the sport : 
"Every thing being prepared, men, horses, saddles, and lassoes, they all ptart at sunset or 
dusk, and keep carefully to windward of the bait, which must be placed on a piece of ground 
clear from rocks, trees, or bushes, and Avithin about eight hundred yards of one of these, for 
the purpose of hiding themselves, that the bear may not see them when he is approaching the 
bait. A horse that has been catching bears three or four times will keep a strict watch for 
the approach of the bear at the bait, and will invariably let the rider know — not by any noisy 
motion, but by deep suppressed sighs, and pricking up his ears. 
"Whenever one or more of the horses do this, the men who have been lying by on foot, 
mount as quietly as possible, and when all are ready with their lassoes in their hands, ready to 
swing, they put spurs to their horses, which at that moment is very little needed, that noble 
anhnal appearing to all intents and purposes to be as anxious as his rider to capture the savage 
animal. The horse, being swifter than the bear, if the j^lan has been well laid, is sure to 
overtake him before he can get to any bush. The foremost rider throws his lasso, and seldom 
fails of catching the bear, either by the neck or around the body or one of its legs. Should he 
miss, there are several more close at his heels to throw their lassoes. As soon as the bear finds 
himself fast, he rears and growls, taking hold of the lasso with his two fore-paws. At this crisis, 
the lasso must always be kept tight ; if not, the bear will extricate himself immediately. 
" Now comes in play the sagacity of the noblest of animals. The horse, from the very moment 
