There through the piny forest half absorbed,
Rough tenant of these shades, the shapeless bear
... stalks forlorn;
Slow-paced and sourer as the storms increase,
He makes his bed beneath the inclement drift,
And with stern patience scorning weak complaints
Hardens his heart against the assailing storms.
Thomson.
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My friend the sergeant had, at some period prior to his enlistment into
our corps, been to the gold diggings in California, probably from
Mexico, where I believe he was born of English parents, though nothing
could be ascertained in regard to his origin. The stories he told at
various times would have filled a tolerable sized volume, and, had I
ever thought of writing these pages, I would have preserved notes of his
most interesting adventures, which he was ever ready to relate to us,
either in barrack, camp, or on the line of march.
One particular story, in reference to trapping a grizzly bear, I have
heard him relate so often that I can repeat it in almost his own words.
My readers should first be informed that the grizzly bear is the largest
and most powerful wild beast that ranges the wilds of North America.
The early pioneers of the route across the Rocky Mountains to Oregon and
California, told of the wondrous size of these animals, and their
reports were looked upon as fables until later research confirmed their
truth.
The grizzly is found throughout the whole range of the Rocky Mountains
from Mexico to British Columbia, but he attains the largest size in New
Mexico and Upper California. Unlike most other bears, the grizzly
cannot climb a tree; the method of hunting him is mostly with dogs
trained for the purpose--a pack, consisting of a dozen small terriers
and four large mastiffs or bull-dogs, being best suited for the sport,
if sport it can be called, which involves so great a risk of life. This
bear, being a heavy limbed and sluggish brute, seldom travels far from
his wonted haunts, although he can go very fast when pressed or in
pursuit of his prey, of which he is not very particular in the
selection. Buffalo, wild horses, deer, or man, are alike acceptable to
him. He will crush in the head of the largest buffalo with a single
stroke of his paw, and, throwing it across his back, carry it for miles
to his lair.
The sergeant stated that the Indians talk of bears of this species that
have inhabited the same region for many years, and, as they live in
deadly fear of the monsters, the advent of a party of grizzly-hunters is
most welcome to them, and they willingly render all the service in their
power in the hunt, but retire in fear when the game is brought to a
stand. When pressed by hunters, the bear generally takes refuge in a
thicket of bushes among the rocks, where it is hardly possible to get a
shot at him; and, indeed, it is of little use shooting at this stage of
the hunt, for, unless you can hit him in the eye, his skull will turn an
ounce bullet as if it were a putty-ball. The skin is so thick, and so
well covered with hair and fur, that it is almost impenetrable, and,
unless you can hit him just beneath and behind the shoulder, you might
as well spare your powder.
When his retreat is discovered, the large dogs are held fast and the
little terriers turned into the thicket; they yelp, snap at his heels,
then fall back to avoid the strokes of his paws. Thus they worry and
tease him for hours. Meanwhile his roars of anger, loud as thunder,
seem to shake the very earth; sometimes the small dogs approach too near
his head, and receive the penalty of their temerity in the form of a
stroke which leaves them a mangled and lifeless mass, bearing little
resemblance to the canine species. When the bear becomes completely
tired, he seats himself upon his haunches, and turns this way and that,
so as to always keep his face to the dogs. Now a hunter creeps
stealthily up and endeavours to plant a ball in a vulnerable spot. If
he succeeds in getting a clear sight of the bear, he generally wounds
him, and he then breaks cover. The large dogs are now loosed, and
fasten on him in the rear; the riflemen drop their shot at him, taking
care to miss the dogs.
It often requires hours to overcome the monster, whose tenacity of life
is most wonderful. This is accounted for by the fact that the heart of
the bear is thickly covered with fat, which prevents its bleeding; there
is also a coat of fat just beneath the skin, which closes after the
passage of the ball and prevents the blood flowing.