The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1906-09-07
GRIZZLY is SMART,
MOST CUNNING OF ANIMALS, AC-
CoRDING TO HUNTER.
Well-laid Plans to Obtain Snapshot
by Automatic Camera All Frus-
trated by Willy Yellow
stone Park Bruin.

Inree grizzly bears performed
stunts about a patent picture taking
device this week that completely set
at naught the efforts of w. H. Wright,
the hunter, naturalist and author, to
have them take a flashlight snapshot
of themselves. Mr.. Wright has re-
turned to his home in Spokane after a
fortnight spent in the haunts of the
grizzly in the dense timber of the
Jackson Hole country at the edge of
Yellowstone park, vowing he will per-
feet another automatic camera by
which to circumvent willy Bruin.
"The grizzly is the sharpest animal
that walks on four legs" said he.
1.-The common bear is an unmiti-
gated idiot, compared with him. Al
though l have spent "a years hunting
grizzlies and have traversed the Rock
les from Alaska to Mexico City in my
quest, l learned more about the cum
ming of the grizzly last week than I
ever dreamed.
Il had stretched tiny black thread
across a well-beaten trail, in the ex-
pectation that in the dark they would
walk against it, thereby releasing a
spring that would set off flashlight
powder in a camera which i had sta
toned few yards away on the wind
ward side of the trail. l hid in the
branches $50 feet further to the wind
ward and awaited developments.
ut had become so dark that l could
barely discern an object at that dis
lance, when three bears came down
the trail, single file. l was congratu-
lating myself on the magnificent pho
tograph / was about to get when the
foremost bear shifted, halted two or
three feet from that black thread and
proceeded to extend his nose cautious
ly toward it. He had scented a No.
40 linen thread when it was so dark
he could not possibly see it.
''The second bear, curious to know
the cause of the pause and unable to
pass the front one on the narrow trail,
placed his front paws on the back of
the leader and peered over his Shout.
der at the strange smelling object.
mounted the back of the second in the
same way and stretched his neck in
the same manner
"The leader touched the thread GIN
gerly with his nose Suddenly there
was a flash and puff, and the whole
scene was brilliantly Illuminated. In
stead of running away, the bears
looked at the sky and then at each
other, as much as to inquire why
there should be a flash of lightning on
such a clear night. To my infinite
sorrow, an imperfection in my photo
graphic apparatus caused the picture
of those three bears, with paws on
each others backs, much as elephants
are trained to do ina circus, to be so
dim as to be useless for half-tone re-
production.
ITO go ahead with the story, when
those bears had recovered from their
surprise, they proceeded to trace that
thread to its source Fortunately, in
stead of following it toward the cam
era, they nosed along toward the end
which was attached to a spool. l had
taken the pains to bury that spool
in the ground, but they dug it up in
less time than it takes to tell it.
Then they held serious powwow
over the spool, accompanied by much
sage shaking of heads. After time
they turned about and beat an order
ly retreat up the trail in the direction
whence they had come.''
In all, Mr.. Wright saw so bears ap-
proach that thread during his more
than ten days of patient effort to get
photograph. Of that number not
one crossed the thread Four times
was the trap sprung by Mr. Bruin, pro-
ducing a spark in small battery at
tached to the pan containing the flash
light powder. One excellent snapshot
was the result. The other flashes
proved inadequate, owing to INSULT
cient powder. producing only dim
outline of the grizzlies that had
touched the thread with their noses
through curiosity. Not one of them
had done it carelessly.