The Helena independent., 1893-12-14
GRIZZLY BEARS IN MANITOBA.
Monstrous Of Size, They Still Range tn
Forests OaCk In the Mountains.

NOnstrous Of size, They Still Range the
Forests Back In the Mountains.
'.Tifteen years ago." said George w.
Rae, a Manitoba pioneer, "the grizzly
bear was 30 plentiful among the Manitoba
Rockies that the Hudson Bay company
annually secured many hundreds of their
skins from the army of hunters and trap
pcrs that had its range in that wild region,
but today this fierce and ponderous beast
nowhere no fierce or Of such enormous
proportions as among the Manitoba fast
nesses--is quite a rarity in its old haunts,
and doubt If one can now be come upon
without difficult and tedious journey OF
at least 800 miles into the interior wilder
ness 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 at
tendant on hunting and trapping 1t, the
grizzly bear, like the Manitoba moose,
will never become extinct in that country.
believe that the moose, although the
flesh of 2 900 of them is required to supply
the military stations in the territory alone
with fresh meat every year, is as plentiful
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.
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 ami
mails in their respective localities has prov
ed to me that such is the fact. No grizzly
bear that l ever captured, or that ever
knew to be captured south of Manitoba,
measured more than Z "a feet from muzzle
to TAIL or weighed more than ZOO pounds.
But it was no uncommon thing in the
palmy days of grizzly bears in Manitoba
for the hunter or trapper to be confronted
by one of these monsters feet in length
and with bulk of 800 pounds or more.
have seen Manitoba grizzlies that, when
they threw themselves on their haunches
and rose erect, lowered five and six feet
above me, and l want to tell you that it
takes man with large quantity and the
best quality OF nerve to stand in that tre-
mendous presence and prepare to do bat
tic coolly and with level head. Grizzly
bears, like all the rest of the bear family,
have tho 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.
have more than once come across these
measuring marks of the grizzly, as the
marks ON the bark are called. ~ feet above !
tho ground. Imagine coming suddenly |
upon beast like that in some deep IA
vino or isolated spot almost impossible,
owing to the down timber heaped and tan
gled on the ground, and surrounded by /
rocks and thick underbrush! The sight |
Of his great jaws, open and red, and his /
eyes flashing in fury at you from the enor
mous 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 We're keen |
and persistent hunters Of them. When a /
grizzly and a buffalo met, there was sure t
to be fearful contest, although it seldom I
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, and |
with blow as quick as lightning with
one of his great forepaws seldom failed to
break his antagonists neck. A Manitoba
RIlAAiy uiaS Oceu AuONu w euSaAG, III rap
Id succession, four and even five infuriat-
ed buffalo bulls and kill every one of
them. It sometimes happened, though,
that bull, younger and more agile than ,
his companions, succeeded in evading the
fatal blow sN the griyzly's terrible paw
long enough9to give in turn deadly
thrust of his horn into the BEARS side, |
the vitals and making the con-
test a 1nntna1 g1aI1vbfnr
sin general characteristics of course the .
Manitoba grizzly is not in any way differ
ent from Others Of the family. While
believe that a grizzly bear will sometimes
wait and precipitate fight with man,
and take pains to put himself in the way
Of one, in the great majority of cases he
will take second thought about the mat
Ter and back out. kansas City Times.
A Congressman and Truth.
The congressman was telling his experi-