THE BEAR. 
405 
than four of them together; and two of 
them he supposes to have been cubs. 
“ You can hardly read any book of 
Western travels without finding abundance 
of anecdotes of grisly hears, all of which 
serve to show that he is a very dangerous 
animal. "When fully grown, they are said to 
measure nine feet from the nose to the tail; 
and some have been killed even larger. 
Their weight is almost eight hundred pounds. 
The tail is extremely short and small, and 
covered with hair; so that it is a standing 
joke among the Indian hunters, as Sir John 
Richardson observes, to desire any one un¬ 
acquainted with the animal to take hold of 
his tail. The paws are very large, the fore¬ 
paws measuring nine inches without the 
claws, which are fully six inches in length, 
straight, smooth and very strong, and well 
adapted for digging. These claws are 
much prized as ornaments by the Indian 
braves, who wear them as necklaces. The 
muzzle is long, narrow and flat, and the 
canine teeth very large and strong. Not¬ 
withstanding its unwieldy appearance, it 
runs with great quickness; but, owing to 
the form of its claws, the full-grown bear 
