The Portland daily press., 1899-02-10
TRAPPt D GRIZzLYs FURY.
Ills Path I'm the Forest Marked by
Proofs of His strength.

1
the rifle" said Col Parker of Gardeau,
Pa who hasi spent much time hunting,
trapping and prospecting among the
Rocky Mountains. "A great deal OF cum
ming has to be used in setting a trap for n
grizzly, for he is rs suspicious pas fox,
and will frequently pass by tempting
morsel used rs bait for trap because he
has made up his mind that danger Is
lurking beneath 1t. The grizzly bear
never hesitates to encounter danger that
confronts him openly In toe shape of u
hunter, dog or other enemy. but suspic-
GUS ing object. the nature of which
he doesn't understand. Will quickly start
| him off about some other bus intss.
"Ihe men who make business of trap
ping grizzly bears set their traps miles
back in the great gloomy forests, where
animals like to make their lairs among
the ngled fallen timbers, over which
no one can pass except on foot, and then
only with great difficulty. 10 come in
such spotsupon an ugly grizzly bear, an
animal weighing almost as much as an
OK and not only ready but anxious for Il
hKhAs - thab Ahtoho
to the trapper. A grizzly bear will free
himself from trap nine times out OF ten
If ho is not overtaken within few hours
after he gets into it. The traps weigh
forty or fifty pounds. Tie jaws are
worked with springs so stiff that the
strength of two strong men is required 10
set them 10 the trap chain is firmly
ie ip tn N
wooden clog four or five feet long. This
serves as a hindranoe to the trapped bear
as he retreats or tries to retreat to his tan
ged haunts. To lessen the liability of the
bear tearing loose through the clog catch
ing firmly in distractions, the chain Is
fastened to 1t near one end.
"A grizzly bear is most frequently
caught in the trap toward thetip of one of
his forepaws. The instant the steel ja = s
saap and close on him he hastens with
all speed he can command, and In
tremendous rage, for the nearest swamp,
which is never ia, away in "a region where
| successful < izzly trapping may be expect
ed. by swamp do not mean Inirs
DOGGY morass, but a jungle of tangled
undergro MA and thick timber. The mold
OF the trap on the bear is not strong
enough TO withstand every kind of rests
| lance the clog makes to his retreat, and
| the bears exert!ons to get Tree are great
and persistent. as have more than ence
observed when following the trail of u
! grizzly thusraging onward toward safety
he hear seems to know that his life de-
ponds on Riding himself of the incuu-
brance As be rushes through the forest
he mows great swaths in the underbrush.
he drags the trap against trees. logs and
TO ks, and whenever IL holds fast TO them
| u few seconds he jerks and tugs his I'M
prisoned foot trying TO tear it loose. The
grizzly has not the intelligence OF the
com mon black bear of the Pennsylvania
woods who, when trapped and trying TO
escape will go back and loosen the clog
| of the trap from an obstruction, and fire.
quently will pick the clog up and carry 1t
in his arms, as you might say, II the
| trap hap ems to be on hind foot. But
the grizzly has not the sense nor the pa
thence IL ease himself in that way, and
| tugs and tears until he either starts the
clog from its fastening or tears his foot
of and leaves it in the trap. have many
| times come up to my trap to lind nothing
in 1t but half the foot Of some monster
grizzly, and such has been the experience
| OF all trappers of that savage beast.
"lhe further u grizzly bear goes on his
| furious march without Kidding himself OF
the trap the greater his rage becomes. He
| VIII rush against ODebtHCliuk tTces anu
| tear them with his teeth. have followed
the trails of grizzlies through thick tim
| Der while the bears were endeavoring to
| free thenselv from their traps aud havs
counted sapling after aapling, and good
| sized ones at that chewed to the gr> und
| by the Infatuated animals. To come up
| with half-ton grizzly bear while he is
| in SUCH temper would be like standing in
| the path of u cyclone
1.-The trail OF trapped grizzly generally
| leads the trapper IA long way through the
forest, ana more than likely mile or SO
| into a swamp where he can see but a few
| feet in any direction, the growth Is so
dense he Is constantly expecting the
| bear to rise somewhere about him and
charge upon him like an avalanche
| There have been times when trappers
have come up with the bear at the very
moment when he has succeeded In tear
| ing loose from the trap. A least that is
| the supposition of those who have found
| the bodies Of such trapPers in the swamps
IA grizzly bear won't eat anything in
the vegetable line unless he can't get
| m eat, and a black bear won't eat meat rs
| long as he can get something IN the vege-
table line. but as much as the grizzly
dotes on things in the way OF meat, he
| will starve to death before he will eat
human flesh. This isn't in keeping with
| what bear story writers love to tell about
the grizzly, but 1t is true. My old friend,
George Kay of Idaho, has a theory 10 ex-
plain this adherence by the grizzly bear
OF mans flesh. He believes that one day
the father or mother of the grizzly family
killed an Indian and ate some of him
That, friend Hay declares, could have but
one result. Ii SGT the bear forever against
man meat. The family fell heir to the
repugnanoe. and not being able to dis
tinguish between Indians and human
| beings, none of its members has ever tast
| cd n a Gfhar sinRp EN-
| Ray holds big gruge against Indians.
and his theorySmay be wrong. When there
were buffaloes on the plains, grizzly bears
were keen and persistent hunters OF them.
When grizzly and q buffalo met there
was sure TO be a fight although IL seldom
lasted long. andSthe buffalo was usually
the victim. In seeking a victim from a