The Lebanon express. (Lebanon, Linn County, Or.) 1887-1898, 1896-02-13
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GRIZZLIES oF IDAHO.

| A TRcit Agreement with Men in the Early
Days Not to Molest Each Other.
Speaking of grizzly bears" said
Judge Henry l. Warren to New York
Sun man, 1--WE didn't look on these an
imals as particularly dangerous in
Idaho when / was the United States
district attorney of that territory II
a man attacked one at close quarters
he sometimes got killed, but at a lit
tie distance not much more attention
was paid to bears than il they had
been SO many hogs or cattle. Between
human beings and the bears there
seemed to be at that time tacit
agreement to let one another alone.
Zone Of my hardest horseback trips
led me through wild region where |
often saw bears. At one point the
trail crossed an open valley, dotted
with scattering big trees and clumpsof
underbIush, and ON the further side
wound up steep mountain side
through thick oak and pine woods.
Coming down into that valley one day
/ saw, a little way off on my right,
five bears, two very large ones and
three smallerSones, constituting pos
sibly family party. They were rum
ming about here and there nosing the
ground, turning over stones and knock
ing to pieces rotten logs, hunting for
mice and grubs. They apparently
paid no attention to me as rode past,
one hundred and fifty yards away.
My horse looked little wild and fidg,
eted some at the sight of them, but
kept him in the trail without difficulty,
sat another time bear gave me
considerable of scare. had just
crossed this same valley and '~as just
beginning to ascend the wooded
heights beyond it. ! had dismcunted, (
and was leading my horse mp the steep
hillside when bear broke out OF the
bushes little behind me and came fer
me furiously, showing her teeth and
growing. / stood still, expecting to
be torn to pieces the next moment, /
from the determined way in which she /
came-it was she bear-but she
stopped just short Of seizing me and .
turned to dash in the same way at my
horse, and at that / dropped the brille i
and made up the trail as fast as could /
go. My horse, instead Of turning back
to run for life in the clear open ground
of the valley, when she charged at him,
made detour up the hill and came
back on the trail behind me. The bear,
looking mighty ugly with her frothing
mouth and bristling hair, kept up her
demonstrations, directing them princi-
pally at my horse. You know how
horse, when thoroughly frightened,
will seek the company and protection
of humanity, and so, do all could to
drive him away, my beast all tile time
kept right behind me with his nose at
my shoulder, tsembling with fear, but
refusing to leave me, as the bear kept
making dashes at us ont Of the bushes,
sometimes from one side and sometimes
from the other I;
u didn't know then what have
learned from the habits of the animals
since, that the bearwas runninga bluff
on us and did not mean SO much to ,,
harm us as to scare us away. She I'M
doubtedly had cubs concealed close by
in the bushes and resorted to a common
trick of the female bear to drive away
intruders. Probably if had stood my
ground she would have tackled me and
in that case IT would have been al up :
with me. She followed us one hun7
dred yards or SO and then, seeming sat,
isfed that she had got us fairly on the
run, fell back into the bushes and
watched us out Of si2ht.n
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