Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1874-02-13

lut HihuUldll lstilHt'~ bi Nfiolstilp stif Ntll
supplied with bears. and during the fall of
the year, when the plums and grapes are
| ripe, it Is nothing unusual to stumble upon
a dozen or so of the brut,-s in half an hours
walk. There are three distinct species the
common brown or black hear. which still
maintains a prccarious foothold in many of
the Eastern State, and IS hunted with much
ceremony ; the cinnamon. and the genuine
grizzly.
The cinnamon chap Is about the color of
| brick dust and his fighting weight ranges all
the way from S00 to l.000'pounds. lie is a
supple, active brute, and inclined to be
| genuine coward Meet him in a secluded
| place and he will skulk of with his tail he
tween his les. like 4 coyote but he Is apt
| to prove dangerous customer when wound
ed and brought To hay. Then he assumes
the offensive, and true rifle ana steady
nerve are required on the part Of the sports
man, or his hear~lip viii proceed to form an
/ acquaintance more close than agreeable. If
| a good tree Is at hand. and the hunter can
/ scale it, somuch the better rs the cinnamons
/ do not climb and a knowledge of this fact
tends to restore confidence. The majority of
men have con,crSed with prefer 10 hunt
/ them in this way. In some instances the
/ cinnamon, after hcing badly hit. ru~hc> at
| the tree up which his antagonist has Skinned
! for dear life. ScizcS il in his teeth. and claws
and attempts 10 tear 1t down. At this crit
I ical iuncturc it i best for the hunter to pre-
serve his comp0Surc and not fly off the handle.
| The bear may keep him imprisoned an hour
or So. but hruin has small stock Of patience.
and when he aSccrtains that the position is
imlrcgnabe. he gives mp the job in disgust,
and rctircs in good order.
The grizzly, however. stands at the head
Of the bear family. and is more feared and
Sc~pectci than all others He Is treachcr
ous. sullen. malicious. desperate. ill-manner-
ed, uncouth. shaggy brnte-one which stub
bornly resists all advances toward friendship,
and is ready at any time to die in the last
ditch. Like he immortal ''Old Guard of
Napoleon, your genuine grizzly never Surrcn-
der~, but Is game to the last. The grizzly
has lordly, independent bearing. and on his
native mountain sides, or in the forests. Will
| hardly deign To- make room for man himself.
| II You meet one in the road. the chances are
/ thar lie will not bulge an inch, unless he
! happens 10 be in an accommodating mood,
and then hc viii trot out one side a few yards,
rear himself upon his enormous haunchcS.
and graciouSly wait for YOU to pass No
matter whether you are armed with breach
loading Ballard, needle-gun. Winchester, or
Sharpe, never attack grizzly alone, or out
in the open country.
The only safe position is on the back Of q
good horse, or in the limbs Of 4 cottonwood
tree. Many persons, diSregarding this ad-
vice. have paid for their temerity with their
liveS for no matter where you shoot
grizzly whether through the heart or brain
box, he never gives up the ghost without
struggle, and will fight aS long As he can
lift a paw. Practical illustrations of the
fighting powers of the grizzly are to be seen
IN these mountainous regions nearly every
day. The other morning your correspondent
encountered 4 miner from Fairplay. who had
come down to the valley region for supplies.
Ills personal appearance was. to say the least.
peculiar lie carried his right arm in a
sling one eye was twisted upwards, his
face was scratched and torn. nd indcnted
with ridges while his head WAS Is guiltleSS
of hair rs billiard hall At first supposed
he had been invited by some of the friendly
Indians to a Scalping picnic as a chief per
former but, in conversation, 1t turned ont
that he had received each and all these gricy
Gus wounds from the claws of a grizzly
The grizzly bear attaius his full growth in
four years. At six he i in h;- prime and
able to cope with any animal in existence.
The majestic lion may he considered the king
ofbcasi~, - far as looks are concerned. but
he would stand very poor show in the hug
of grizzly. The cavcr,isc weight of grizzly
il 800 pounds. hut quite a number have
been killed in this locality who kicked the
beam at 500. Old man Griffin. of Canon,
one of the early settlers. and rcputed to be
the ~harIe~t and most courageous bear hum
ter in these parts, knocked over u grizzly
last fall that weighed GOO pounds after be
ing dressed The claws of this fellow were
large enough To anchor n good-Sized sloop,
being nine inches in length. lie fought to
the last and with three balls square through
his heart. charged upon the enemy. and
dropped down stone dead 80 close to the old
man that he could toueh him with his paw.
They tell a story around here of a foolish
/ Young fellow, residing on Current Creek.
| who made Il bet that he wouh laS~o grizzly
and bring him into camp. lie made the cx-
perment, and slipped a good moose over Mr..
Grizz!y ; hut the latter sat down coollv and
commenced hauling in ON the line. In vain
the horse struggled the power Mt the other
end was irresistible; hut fortunately. the
| lariat broke. and the rash Young man cScap-
ell with his life.