tree, and that night, after we had got things shipshape again, we had
another amusing object lesson in the ways of the Black Bear. We had
little more than got settled for our long wait for dusk and the coming
of the grizzlies, when we saw a lean old Black Bear with one cub coming
down the trail toward our tree. When they got within thirty feet or so
of us the mother stopped, evidently seeing us. But the cub kept on.
Whereupon the mother called it back and it sat down beside her. Then
began one of the most farcical exhibitions I ever saw. This old bear
(Kerfoot declared her to be an old maid that had married late in life)
was evidently used to going down that particular trail and wasn’t going
to change her habits on account of any interlopers. But at the same time
she was afraid to pass the tree with us in it. She would come on a few
steps and then back off again. Then she would wander up and down in the
most undecided and worried way, grumbling and growling to herself.
Finally she sat down and fairly cried—moaning and whining like a spoiled
child. All the while the cub kept running ahead and then turning round
to look back, as much as to say, “Come on, it’s all right. What’s the
matter with you to-night?” And, of course, all the time the whole Rocky
Mountains was open to her to go round by. Once she went back the way she
came and we thought we were rid of her. But she came back again and
recommenced the performance. Then I got down and drove her off.
Black Bear are found pretty generally in grizzly countries except in
places where the grizzlies are very plenty, and now that they are all
scarce they cover the same ranges almost everywhere. In the early
nineties, in the Selkirks in British Columbia, I never saw a Black Bear.
Now, however, although the grizzlies are still as plentiful there as
anywhere, the Black Bear are numerous. But the Black fellows are mighty
careful never to get in the grizzlies’ way. I have seen one stand up on
his hind legs behind the trunk of a good-sized tree and sidle round it,
peeking out as he went to watch a grizzly bear go by; and I have already
told how the two Black Bear took to the trees when they heard a grizzly
coming. I know of nothing that better illustrates the keen senses of
these animals than the way in which they will detect the approach of a
grizzly long before a man’s senses can make him aware of the fact. In
the Yellowstone National Park, where there are many animals of both
species occupying the same ranges, I found that I could always get
warning of the approach of the grizzlies when their twilight feeding
time approached by the sudden and complete disappearance of the Black
Bear; and on several occasions, in different parts of the mountains,
when the frequent flashes of our electric cameras had scared the
grizzlies away from that part of the wood, the Black Bear seemed,
strangely enough, to be aware of the fact and made no attempt to retire
at their usual hour. This was so interesting an exhibition of keen
senses or quick intuition that I watched very carefully during the whole
period of my stay to try to satisfy myself as to the source of their
knowledge. The fact that they began to be uneasy as the usual hour for
the grizzlies’ arrival came near, sometimes led me to think that they
merely judged from past experience as to how long it was safe for them
to stay out. But, on the other hand, I saw so many cases where a sudden
suspicion of unexpected danger led them to make themselves scarce, and
this, too, when the suspicion turned out to have been right, that I was
forced to conclude that they either heard or smelled their enemies. But
I could never find out which it was that they did. Several times I have
seen them suddenly rush with snorts of apprehension to the nearest tree,
and had their actions explained a few minutes later by the silent
appearance of a huge grizzly.
The grandest wild animal of the United States is the grizzly bear. But
the most amusing, the most ludicrous, the most human and understandable
of our wild animals, is our friend _Ursus americanus_ (Pallas). I have
called him the Happy Hooligan of the woods, and I can think of no more
descriptive phrase for him. He is neither evil-intentioned nor
bad-natured. Yet he has probably terrified more innocent wayfarers than
any other denizen of our forests.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE GRIZZLY BEAR
The Narrative of a Hunter-Naturalist—Historical,
Scientific and Adventurous
BY
WILLIAM H. WRIGHT
With 24 Full-Page Illustrations from Photographs
$1.50 net; postpaid $1.65
“This is the narrative of a hunter-naturalist, who deals with a single
animal as he has found it in the Western mountains. It is the best book
that has ever been written about any of the bears. One of the best books
that has ever been written from the popular standpoint about a single
species of animal. It deserves far more extended notice than it can
receive here and will be read carefully and thoughtfully by naturalists
and big game hunters who may learn much from it.”
—Forest and Stream.
“Far more entertaining than a novel.”
—William T. Hornaday.
“One of the best books of adventure that has appeared in many
months.”—San Francisco Chronicle.
“Full of the atmosphere of the big game woods and vibrant with hazards
of the chase.”
—Boston Globe.
“The very spirit of the grizzly is in subtle fashion brought near us.
The book will long hold high place in the literature of sport.”
—New York Tribune.
“Well illustrated with photographs of bears taken in the woods set off
by the animals themselves.”
—Spokesman Review.
“An excellent work.... The book is fascinating in its descriptions and
furnishes another proof that if truth is not stranger than fiction, it
is at least more interesting.”—The Independent.
“The volume is most entertaining and wholesome. It is filled with the
atmosphere of the wide open outdoors and it ought to appeal to everybody
who has a drop of red blood in his veins.”
—Brooklyn Times.
“All the beauty and glory of life in the open permeate this book. It is
a book for live boys, for active men, for every Diana spirit chained to
domestic or professional task, for all Americans keen for adventure, and
zestful for nature truths.... This is a genuine hunter-naturalist’s
narrative. Its historical and scientific facts are savored with the
spice of the camp-fire story-teller’s style.”
—Philadelphia Public Ledger.
“This book should grace the library of every true American.”
—Portland (Oregon) Evening Telegram.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York
------------------------------------------------------------------------
● Transcriber’s Notes:
○ The numbering of the footprints of the brown and black bears was
illegible on pages 62 and 64. New numbers were typed for each
illustration.
○ Missing or obscured punctuation was silently corrected.
○ Typographical errors were silently corrected.
○ Inconsistent spelling and hyphenation were made consistent only
when a predominant form was found in this book.
○ Text that was in italics is enclosed by underscores (_italics_).