The herald., 1893-12-10
MANITOBA GRIZZLIES.
INDUSTRIOUS BEARS IN THE FORESTS
BACK IN THE MOUNTAINS.


Fifteen years ago. said George W.
Rae, a Manitoba pioneer, the grizzly
bear was so plentiful among the Mani
toba Rockies that the Hudson Bay COM
pany annually secured many hundreds
Of their skins from, the army of hunters
and trappers that had its range in that
wild region, but today this fierce and
ponderous beast-nowhere so fierce or
of such enormous proportions as among
the Manitoba fastnesses--is quite rari-
ty in its old haunte, and doubt if one
can now be come upon without a diff
cult and tedious journey of at least 300
miles into the interior wilderness of the
province.
The grizzly has met with almost as
hard fate as the buffalo, although, from
the nature and isolation of its present
retreats and the difficulties attendant on
hunting and trapping for it, the grizzly
bear, like the Manitoba moose, will new
er become extinct in that country. be-
lieve that the moose, although the flesh
of 1000 of them is required to supply the
military stations in the territory alone
with fresh meat every year, is as plenti-
full today in its wild retreats as it has
been at any time since the great inroads
of fur and pelt hunters were begun in
the territory.
know no reason why the grizzly bear
of the Manitoba Rockies should grow so
much larger than the grizzly of the
same mountains in the States, but long
and varied experience in hunting these
animals in their respective localities has
proved to me that such is the fact. No
grizzly bear that ever captured or that
l ever knew to be captured south of
Manitoba measured more than II feet
from muzzle to tail, or weighed more
than 1000 pounds. But it was no un-
common thing in the palmy days of
grizzly bears in Manitoba for the hunter
or trapper to be confronted by one of
these monsters 0 feet in length and with
bulk Of 800 pounds or more. have
seen Manitoba grizzlies that when they
threw themselves ON their launches and
rose erect lowered five feet and six feet
above me, and want to tell you that it
takes a man with large quantity and
the best quality of nerve to stand in that
tremendous presence and prepared to
do battle coolly and with level head.
Grizzly bears, like all the rest of the
bear family, have the curious habit of
rising against tree, and, reaching up
as far as they can with their fore paws,
making marks in the bark by digging it
with their claws. l have more than
once come across these measuring marks
of grizzly, as the marks on the bark
are called, 10 feet above the ground.
Imagine coming suddenly upon beast
like that in some deep ravine or isolated
spot almost impossible owing to the
down timber heaped and tangled on the
ground and surrounded by rocks and
thick underbrush. The sight of his
great jaws, open and red, and his eyes
flashing in furyat you from the enor-
nous head that towers so far above you,
is something only to be appreciated when
once seen.
When there were buffaloes on the
plains, Manitoba grizzly bears were keen
and persistent hunters of them. When
q grizzly and buffalo met, there was
sure to be a fearful contest, although it
seldom lasted long, and the buffalo was
usually the victim. The buffalo bull,
when confronted by bear, would in
variably charge ferociously upon its big
and ugly foe. This was just what the
bear desired. and he awaited, erect on
his launches. the onset of the buffalo.
AS the latter rushed forward with low
cred head and was almost upon the bear
the immense grizzly threw himself
quickly to one side, and with blow as
quick as lightning with one of his great
forepaws seldom failed to break his an
tagonists neck. A Manitoba grizzly has
been known to engage i'll rapid success
sion four and even five infuriated buffalo
bulls and kill every one of them. 1t
sometimes happened, though, that bull
younger and more agile than his COM
panion succeeded in evading the fatal
blow of the grizzlys terrible paw long
enough to give in turn deadly thrust of
his horn into the bears side, puncturing
his vitals and making the contest mu-
tual slaughter
In general characteristics, of course,
the Manitoba grizzly is not in any way
different from others of the family
While | believe that grizzly bear will
sometimes wait and precipitate a fight
with man and take pains to put him
self in the way of one, in the great ma
jority of cases he will take second
thought about the matter and back out
A queer instance of this disposition
came to my knowledge once where a
famous Manitoba guide courageously
advanced upon three grizzlies, an old she
one and two half grown cubs, and, by
series of ridiculous monkeyshines and
acrobatic maneuvers within a rod or
two of the threatening bears, filled them
with such astonishment and apparent
fear that they retreated to the woods as
fast as thew could 90.
The hunter gun had snapped IN Dotn
barrels, he having drawn on the old bear
before the young ones came upon the
scene. 1t was in fit of desperation
that he tried the turning of handspring
and jumping up and down, clapping his
hands and resorting to other unhunter-
like measures. He had been told once
that hunter had frightened noun
tain lion away by similar absurd move
ments, and he found that it worked to
perfection in the case of the three griz-
Ely bears, but he never even in the face
of that fact, advised or encouraged any
one TO 90 hunting Manitoba or any