Vol XCII 
FEBRUARY, 1922 
No. 2 
HUNTING THE BIG BROWN BEAR 
SEARCHING FOR SPECIMENS OF URSUS GYAS FOR THE BROOKLYN 
MUSEUM ON THE FOG-WRAPPED TUNDRA OF THE ALASKA PENINSULA 
By ROBERT H. ROCKWELL 
O F all carnivorous, four-footed ani- 
mals that still inhabit the wilds, 
none is larger or more powerful 
than the big Alaskan brown bear. 
The actual measurement of a full-grown 
specimen is eight feet long, and when 
standing erect on his hind legs he attains 
a height of nine feet. His wei ht sur- 
passes that of two average lions or tigers 
and his strength is greater than that of 
the king of beasts. In view of these facts 
it may not be surprising that among hunt- 
ers this great* animal is considered the 
prize big-game trophy of North America. 
With few exceptions animals of huge 
proportions are not endowed with a great 
degree of intelligence. Bulk often seems 
to take the place of brains. This state- 
ment, however, does not apply to the 
bear. Like the great apes, he is full of 
keen humor, which marks him 
as belonging to a high order in 
the animal world. To appreci- 
ate fully the interest displayed 
by everybody toward bears, 
one has only to note the crowds 
of people, both old and young, 
who flock around the bear dens 
in any zoological park, watch- 
ing their antics. 
Public interest was, how- 
ever, but one of the reasons 
why the authorities of the 
Brooklyn Museum decided to 
send an expedition' to collect a 
group of these animals on the 
Alaska Peninsula, and it was 
deemed advisable not to defer 
the matter too long. The 
brown bears are becoming 
scarcer year by year, and a 
proclamation by a former gov- 
ernor of Alaska, urging that 
measures be taken to extermi- 
nate the entire species, caused 
not a little anxiety among people inter- 
ested in conserving the remnants of our 
wild life. Luckily for the bears, this pro- 
posal did not go into effect, but it was a 
timely warning that the collecting of 
these animals should begin at once. 
While the big bear is found in many 
remote places along the Alaskan coast 
and on adjacent islands, it is far from 
being plentiful. The wild, desolate moun- 
tain ranges of Kodiak Island are famous 
as its retreat ; it also inhabits the treeless 
regions that extend out to the end of the 
Alaska Peninsula. To illustrate the un- 
certainties of bear hunting, I might quote 
the late John Burroughs’ remark, “One 
cannot say, -‘Let’s go out and kill a bear,’ 
and then go and do it !” No doubt, his 
observation on this point was influenced 
by his experience with the Harriman 
Alaskan Expedition. Many bear hunts 
were organized by this expedition, but, 
with all their resources, luck seemed to 
be against them, for E. H. Harriman was 
the only member of the entire party who 
succeeded in killing one she-bear and two 
cubs on Kodiak Island. 
Needless to say, when planning a trip 
of this kind, much care and judgment 
should be given to the selection of the 
territory. Alaska is an immense wilder- 
ness where one cannot readily move to 
new or more desirable hunting fields : the 
facilities of transportation do not permit 
it. For the Brooklyn Museum’s Expedi- 
tion many favorable places were consid- 
ered, but Pavlof Bay, on the Alaska 
Peninsula, was eventually agreed upon as 
the most promising location, and subse- 
quent events proved that no mistake was 
made in this decision. The hunt had 
been planned for the fall, but the time 
was later changed to spring. In the 
course of much preliminary correspond- 
ence, word came that the Oklahoma 
State Museum was sending an expedi- 
tion to Alaska with the same object in 
view. Its leader, M. C. E. Sykes, a dis- 
tinguished sportsman from Oklahoma, 
with true western hospitality invited the 
writer to join his party. The offer was 
gladly accepted. 
It was a pleasant evening, on the 
twenty-first of April, 1921, when in a 
Seattle hotel, we met one an- 
other for the first time. There 
were four of us to start with : 
Mr. C. E. Sykes and Mr. Ed- 
ward Crabbe. both represent- 
ing the Oklahoma ^Iuseum•. 
Air. Cliarles Hoffmeister from 
Imperial, Nebraska, and my- 
self. It was not long before 
all became well acquainted 
with one another. There is 
always much of common in- 
terest to talk about when 
planning the pursuit of big 
game. 
VWE boarded the S. S. 
YY Northwestern at Seattle 
on April 23rd. Fair weather 
prevailed as the ship headed 
north through the Inside Pas- 
sage. Usually clear, fine days 
are exceptional. Rain and 
mist too often mar much that 
is beautiful in Alaskan scenery, 
but after the fog faded away, high, 
wooded mountains gladdened the eye with 
their freshness and mysterious charm. 
Wild geese, plover and cormorants were 
flying briskly to their arctic breeding 
grounds, while flocks of common gulls 
kept us company during the entire trip. 
Two heads are better than one 
