The St. Charles herald. [volume] (Hahnville, La.) 1873-1993, 1884-04-26
Habits Of the GrlzzlIes and u Ranters,

adventures with the grizzly ear were
very commoii. and It was always ia.
vorite theme around q camp FIRE. No
doubt many Of these stories were lies
from end to end. But many true ones
were never penned. There were many
poor fellows who carried unmistakable
marks Of having had u dreadful en-
counter with a grizzly hear these st0-
ries naturally created desire, especial
" among those who love the excitement
Of the chase. to have q skirnish with d
grizzly. Hut the first sight Of 0se OF
those monsters usually produces kind
of paralysis. a cooling 8 4 of the ardor
engendered around camp fire, and the
first desire experienced is personal safe.
ty. and, suiting the acton to the desire,
a place Of safety ID generally sought in
a hurry.
Grizzly bears are not Vet ranked
among an extinct race Of animals, for
they are frequently found Ia the Selkirk
mountains and still further south.
They are the genuine stock, too,
weighing from l,G90 to 1000 pounds,
and have u I the native feroclty 81 those
formerly found in Southern Oregon aud
Cal fognia. Thcre are several other
varieties Of the bear family found- the
cinnamon, brown and black bear. Their
tracks are frequen ly en- in the sand
and mud onthe banks ct the rivers and
creeks where they 60 TO catch salmon.
The Indians say that they have killed
three grizzly bears this season-two
very large ones. We mu Il not always
reckon on the size of the track. Tho
black Lear, the smallest of the family,
makes sometimes the largest track.
He is very loose iointed, has paws
spread out, and he leaves an imf res
sion on the sand and mud very large
for the size Cf his body. The nimble-
ness Of his joints permits him to handle
his legs, particularly his fore legs, with
a great deal of dextsr.ty. He can q NIB
a tee faster than a man. Not so with
grizzly. He stands more erect on his
legs. He is built more for strength
than nimhleness, and therefore ia not in
the habit Of climbing small trees. Tho
fact has saved many men from being
torn to pieces, and is consolation to
the pursued.
Bear stories are less frequent In camp
than formerly, but st II we have now
and then an adventure with these noun
tain monsters One Of our party, Cap
tan p, once went out prospect ng for
quartz lode. With pick In hand he
commenced climbing the mountain,
closely scanning every rock showing
indications of mineral. AT last he
came TO a large fallen cedar lying
across his course. Fastening his pick
on the top of the log he hoisted him
self up 50 he could lcok over it. Just
than r, sr< fp,so 80 fonH bt.s,s<.1f -.
They met face to face, each staring
right into the others e1es with nothing
but the cedar log between them. The
Captain says the bear showed him his
teeth. He thinks there was a full set,
and in excellent condition. He does
not know how long this pantominc
lasted, but he remembers letting all
hold go from that log and sliding
down and making for q tres near BY,
which he went up lin jiffy, Just
as he was leaving the log, he says, he
saw big paw reach over on his side Of
it and give terrible scratch. He felt
thankful that he was not there to get
that scratch, and it was s,bare
scratch that he was not there. Tn.
that tree the Captain felt safe for the
time being, and could look down and
see Mr. Grizzly. who was standing on
the opposite SIDE, with his paws rest
ing leisurely on the log. looking straight
up that tree, evidently studying the
situation for an offensive as well as de-
fensive operation. Grizzly soon got
down and went of short distance,
then turning around took another
glance at the man up the tree. then
went into the brush and was soon out
of sight. Aftersome delay the Captain
ventured down from the tree and, ind
ing q smooth, narrow gulch. where he
sat down, gave a wTiggle or two, and
soon found himself on the bank Of the
Columbia River, going down at 2:15
speed. He came into camp alone and
without bis hat and related his adven-
ture. The Captain thinks that grizzly
went after reinforcements.
Now, this interview between the Cap.
tain and the grizzly is the Captains
side Of the story. The other side has
not been heard from. As both sides of
q story ought to be heard, the writer
would suggest that it is quite reason
able to suppose that the cause Of the
grizzly's leaving the field first was that
he had become tired OF the monotony
and disguised with the non-combat-
iveness of his intruder, and that he
went in search Of more agreeable and
exciting amusement, but as 1t stands
the Captain claims the victory because
he left the field last. 1t was q noticea-
Bile factthattse Captain preferred stand
ing to sitting while partaking Of his
camp meals for several days. The day
of this adventure some Indians passed
and they were informed Of 1t. They
pursued grizzly with the dogs, and on
the following day a large grizzly was
killed in that vicinity. Notwithstand-
ing the evidence being conclusive that
the IDENTICAL ni.nal has been killed, the
Captain thinks that some Of his kindred
might stu be living. and that he has no
desire, personally. TO dispute grizzly's
claim to quartz ledge Portland Ore
60ni4ls