In the grizzly bear we have the leading animal of North America, and one
who might well be put at the head of the wild life of the earth. He has
brain and brawn. He is self-contained and is prepared for anything. He
makes an impressive appearance. He looks capable. He has bulk, agility,
strength, endurance, repose, courage, enthusiasm, and curiosity. He is a
masterful fighter if forced to defend himself.
But, a century ago, fifty years ago, or to-day, one could ramble the
grizzly's territory in safety--unless attempting to kill a grizzly. The
grizzly objects to being killed. If he is surprised or crowded so that
he sees no escape, if the cubs are in danger or the mother thinks they
are, or if the bear is wounded, there will be a fight or a retreat; and
the grizzly will not be the one retreating. Almost every animal--wild or
domestic--will fight if cornered or if he thinks himself cornered.
Before the days of the repeating rifle the grizzly boldly wandered over
his domain as absolute master; there was nothing for him to fear; not
an aggressive foe existed. But, being ever curious, he hastened to
examine whatever interested him. The novel outfit of Lewis and Clark,
which appears to have attracted unusual attention even from frontier
people, must naturally have aroused the highest pitch of interest in the
numbers of bears congregated in places along the river. There were boats
of odd type,--some with sails,--strange cargoes, men in picturesque
accoutrements, and even a colored man. The frequent close approaches
which the bears made in trying to satisfy their curiosity caused Lewis
and Clark to think them ferocious.
But is the grizzly bear ferocious? All the firsthand evidence I can find
says he is not. Speaking from years of experience with him my answer is
emphatically, "No!" Nearly every one whom a grizzly has killed went out
with the special intention of killing a grizzly. The majority of people
who hold the opinion that he is not ferocious are those who have studied
him without attempting to kill him; while the majority who say that he
is ferocious are those who have killed or attempted to kill him.
During the greater part of my life I have lived in a grizzly bear
region. I have camped for months alone and without a gun in their
territory. I have seen them when alone and when with hunters, in
Colorado, Utah, Arizona, Mexico, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Washington,
British Columbia, and Alaska. I have spent weeks trailing and watching
grizzlies, and their tracks in the snow showed that they often trailed
me. They frequently came close, and there were times when they might
have attacked me with every advantage. But they did not do so. As they
never made any attack on me, nor on any one else that I know of who was
not bent on killing them, I can only conclude that they are not
ferocious.
Once I was running down a Wyoming mountainside, leaping fallen
fire-killed timber, when suddenly I surprised a grizzly by landing
within a few feet of him. He leaped up and struck at me with sufficient
force to have almost cut me in two had the blow landed. Then he
instantly fled. This, however, was not ferocity. Plainly he thought
himself attacked and struck in self-defense.
There are many naturalists and frontiersmen who affirm from first-hand
experience that the grizzly is not ferocious, and following are given a
number of quotations from a few of these men.
John Muir, who spent about forty years in the wilderness home of the
grizzly bear, from 1868 to 1912, usually camped alone and never carried
firearms. He has repeatedly called attention in his books to the
wilderness as a place of safety, and has mentioned that grizzly bears
are masters in attending to their own affairs; also that bears have
effectively suggested to wilderness visitors to do likewise. In "Our
National Parks" Muir says:--
"In my first interview with a Sierra bear we were frightened and
embarrassed, both of us, but the bear's behavior was better than
mine.... After studying his appearance as he stood at rest, I rushed
forward to frighten him, that I might study his gait in running.
But, contrary to all I had heard about the shyness of bears, he did
not run at all; and when I stopped short within a few steps of him,
as he held his ground in a fighting attitude, my mistake was
monstrously plain. I was put on my good behavior, and never
afterwards forgot the right manners of the wilderness."