The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1890-06-22
FIGHTING The GRIZZLY
An Old Hunter Tells Of the Absurdity Of
Some Stories.
II a Man Tackles a Grizzly Bear
He Wants to % Sure
He's Got the Ad-
vantage.

FROM the New YORK Herald.
The average newspaper story about
combats with grizzly Years Is aim ost as
true as the yarns In which Old Clubfoot
used 10 figure so prominently. II is com
monty written by a man who never saw a
bear, and therefore IL Is not surprising
that IL is full OF absurdities and impossi-
bilities. The yarn-spinner's fundamen-
tai error is the assumption that the griz-
zly's habits n traits are similar TO the
black bears, and that he is addicted to
the affectionate practice of hugging his
enemy.
In the course of severa bear hunts in
California, covering i'm all some six
months wanderinRs in the mountains, I
was enabled to observe with reasonable
accuracy the habits and disposition of
the grizzly, and to the best of my knowl-
edge and belief ! will swear that he
never stands upright on his hind legs to
fight.
The nerve Of the hunter who reserves
his fire until the grizzly arises upon his
hind legs 10 embrace him and blows a
large hole through the animals chest still
commands my admiration. IL requires
pretty good nerve to tell such "a yarn. The
man who rushes into the bear'se embrace
and plunges his trIsty bowie into the heart
OF his foe has not fallon into my esteem;
he is rather exalted to a higher pinnacle
of fame. In the noble company of monu-
mental liars he perches atop the tallest
obelisk.
In a fight with a full grown grizzly a
knife would be about as useful as "a club,
and il is doubtful il anybody ever killed
such an animal with such q weapon. A
black G may be killed with "A knife by
n strong maj who is expert in the use OF
the weapon, because the black
bear will stand upright and try TO
hug his opponent, leaving an opening for
a thrust into his vitals. But the grizzly is
q very different animal from the mall
and usually timid black bear. The black
bear is higher at the loins than at the
the shoulders, and carries his head well
up. He has no distinctly marked fore
head. the line from his nose TO the top of
his read being unbroken. The grizzly is
tallest at the shoulders and carries his
head down, his nose as low as his knees
or even lower. His hcad is broad between
the ears, his forehead prominent and his
muzzle long and narrow. His claws are
longer and stronger than those of any
other bears, and those on the ~forefoot
are longer than the claws OH the hind
foot. In color. the grizzly may he any
thing from a light gray to a browDisb
black, and sometimes he Is so brown that
the mountaineers call him n cinnamon.
In habits and disposition the grizzly is
totally unlike the black bear. The latter,
while omniverous, is by preference, a veg
e~tarian, but the grizzly scorns a vegetable
diet when he can get meat. The black
bear will run when attacked and is dam
gerous only when brought to bay, but the
grizzly will fight at the drop of the hat, and
once aroused will fight until he is dead
without n thought OF retreat. In intelli-
gence, also, the grizzly is vastly superior
to all other bears.
With a repeating rifle of heavy calibre,
one carrying the government cartridge
with 500 grains of lead by 20 grains
of powder, a steady-nerved and expert
rifleman has even chances with a full
grown grizzly in a fight on reasonably
open ground. man armed with a single
shot rifle or the old IA Winchester has AN
uphill fight on his hands, and ought to
pick out his tree before the battle begins.
Neglect of this precaution has cost many
n maj his life, and If fortunate enough to
fall into the clutches of IN uncommonly
considerable bear, the use of a club on his
good looks at the very least. Grizzlies
have been killed with rifles, even with the
old-fashioned muzzle-loaders, but the
mel who have come out Of such combats
unscathcd are fewer tha those who limp
about on crippled limbs or show fearfully
SCARED faces To attest the vital t~enacity
and ferocity Of this most formidable of all
the ursine race.
The vitality of the grizzly is So great
that even when mortality wounded his
fighting powers. may not be impaired for
I VII tlIllts Ahtlh ~ tl nv ttttlth
may not always stop him.. A shot through
the brain is the only sure knockout in his
case. and II Is not always possible TO get a
fair shot at the side of his head. When a
maj starts a fuss with a big bear the
scene of the trouble is likely To be "A rough,
rocky mountain side covered with brush,
and he cannot select his position, but
must TAX such chances as the bear may
offer for effective shots. A wise man will
not pick n row with a grizzly at close
-... .1aa la Laa an. ...s F hA-
ing able TO shoot more than once, and
even then he may be sorry that he did not
let the peaceably disposed bear alone.
Last summer l was hunting in the Wild
est part Of the Coast range. n even
ing while trudging along the bottom of q
deep ravine l skirted the edge of a dense
thicket, and my coat sleeve brushed
against the bushes. This slight disturb
ance Of the brush was followed by a deep.
hoarse "woof," something like the grunt
of a hog, that came from Ia chaparral
not more than a dozen feet away. A bear
was in there, and II he had charged |
should have had no time to get out OF his
way. For n few seconds stood with
cooked rifle at the edge OF the thicket,
backed by the almost perpendicular wall
the ravine, which cut oil anything like a
rapid retreat. But the bear did not seem
disposed to start a fight, and as he did not
charge / moved away cautiously n
climbed backward up the side OF the
ravine a few yards, got behind
a large rock that would serve as
a breastwork and rolled a few boul-
ders down into the brush i'm revenge
Tor the scare old Bruin had given me-. He
demonstrated by a growl or two and then
! heard him making his way down the
ravine.
Subsequently events made me thank
my stars hat the bear didn't take the
trouble to follow me up the side Of that
gorge. Jack Waddell. an old mountaineer,
was in the same ravine a few days later
walking along a ledge about thirty feet
above the stream when he saw a large
grizzly ON the opposite side. lack thought
he was pretty safe and opened the fight
by sending a 50calibre explosive bullet
into the bears shoulder. The grizzly