Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1893-12-13

| n
r....r..s Il si.e. rhsy sam Ksnss me
r.r,.ss max II the NIe~asains-
aEsft.en wears ago. said George ",
p.a 4 Manstoha. pioneer, "the grixsiS
Ss.r VISA z, plentiful among the Manitoba
R...ties thst tha Hudson hay conpaaf
.rpually secured many hundreds Of thsif
.l;ns from the army of hunters and tFsSf-
,-.rs that he'd its range in that Wild region,
hut to.iay this fierce and pcnderotis os'ssss
~n.,xhere SO fierce or Of sneh enormous
avo,s,rs Ions rs among the Manitoba last
p,sss,-s--is QUITE a rarity IN rs oia Saeissss
ana doubt il one can now DC come sp'es
without a difficult and tedious Journey y
nj, least 500 miles into the .Iter,or W'iees.
ness of the province. The srazxiy mas nsss
with almost as hani a fate as the o'tiaius
although. from the nature ana ise'aasion -
ia present retreats. and the uitncuit's~ az
tendans ON hunting aud trapping " .ie
grizzly bear. like the ManitonA hso.ss'
will never become extinct IN inst cos,"is.
believe that the tnoese. aNhouSa Wy
flesh of 900 Of them Is required TO supply
the military stations IN the territory Ai.s.
with fresh meet every year, Is as plentit''i
-, =, IT. Wild retreats as it has been at
INV time since the great iaroads of fur and
NJ
81 know no reason why the grizzly bear
10 The Manitoba Rockies should grow SO
winch larger than the grizzly OF the same
mountains in the States, but long Sha
varied experience in hunting these aah
rnals in their respective localities has prov
"a h, ma, that such is the fact. No grizzly
hear that l ever captured, or that ever
knew 10 be captured south OF Manitoba,
measured ,nore than feet rom nnaLie
tataiI. orweighed more than 500 pountls'
Bat it was no uncommon thing IN inc
pallny days of grizzly bears In Mahitoha
for the hunter or trapper TO he coniroutcu
bv one of these monsters feet in length
and with bulk OF 300 pounds or more
have seen Manitoba grizzlies that, when
they threw themselves on their hauuchss
and rose erect, lowered five ana SIX istt
above me. and want to tell you that II
takes a man with largequantity and the
hest quality of nerve to stand IN that ire
mendous presence and prepare TO do Dat
lie eoolly aud with "A level head. 0rl1Sly
hs.rs like nil the res Of the bear family,
| hove tina curious habit of rising against
| tree and reaching up as far us they can
with their forepaws, making marks in the
bark by digging it with their claws. l
have more than once come across these
measuring marks of the grizzly, "a the
| marks on the bark are called, IL feet above
tho ground. Imagine coming suddenly
upon "A beast liks that in some deep ra-
| vine or isolated spot almost impassable,
owing to the down timber heaped and tan
| gled On the ground, and surrounded ny
rocks and thick underbrushl The sight
of his great jaws, open and red, ana his
| eyes flashing in fury at you from the enor
NOUS head that towers so Tar above yoa,
| is something only TO be appreciated when
once seen.
"When there were buifaloes on the
plains, Manitoba grizzly bears were Keen
and persistent hunters of them. When
| grizzly and buffalo met, there was sure
| to be a fearful contest, although 1t seldom
| lasted long, and the buffalo was usually
the victim. The buffalo BULL when con
| fronted by a bear, would invariably charge
ferociously upon its big and ugly foe.
| This was Just what the bear desired, and
he waited, erect on his Launches, the on
| set Of the buffalo As the latter rushed
| forward, with lowered head, and was al
| most upon the bear, the immense grizzly
| threw himself quickly to one side, aud
| with blow as quick as lightning with
one of his great forepaws seldom failed TO
| break his antagonist $ neck. a Manitoba
| grizzly has been known to engage, in rap
| id succession, four and even five infuriat'
! ed buffalo bulls and kill every one Of
| them 1t sometimes happened, though,
| that II bull, Younger and more agile than
| his companions, succeeded in cvadiDG the
| fatal blow of the grizzlys terrible paw
| long enough TO give in turn deadly
| thrust of his horn into the bear s side,
| puncturing the vitals and making the con
test II mutual slaughter.
ain general characteristics of course the
| Manitoba grizzly il not i'll any way differ
| ent from others OF the family. While !
| bellows that a grizzly bear will sometimes
| wait and precipitatc a fight with y man.
| aud take pains to put himself in the way
| Of one, in the great majority OF cases he
| will take a second thought about the mat
| ter and back ont. kansas City Times.