Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1905-1919, 1906-09-11
GRIZZLY IS SMART.
MOST CUNNING OF ANIMALS, Ac
coRDlNG TO HUNTER.
Well.lald Plans to Obtain Snapshot
by Automatic Camera All Frus.
trsted by Willy Yellow.
stone Park Bruin.

Three grizzly bears performed
stunts about patent picture taking
device this week that completely set
at naught the efforts OF w. II. Wright,
the hunter, naturalist and author, to
have them take fiashlight 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, yowing he will per
feet another automatic camera b.
which to circumyent willy Bruln.
THE grizzly is the sharpest animal
that walks on four legs, said he,
THE common bear is an unmiti
gated idiot, compared with him. Al
though | have spent "a years hunting
grizzlies and have traversed the Rock
les from Alaska to Mexico City in my
quest, learned more about the Gun.
ming of the grizzly last week than J
ever dreamed.
81 had stretched a tiny black thread
across a wellbeaten trail, in the eX.
pectation that in the dark they would
walk against 1t, thereby releasing a
spring that would set off tiashlight
powder In camera which | had sta
toned few yards away on the wind.
ward side of the trail | hid in the
branches $50 feet further to the wind.
ward and awaited developments.
ut had become so dark that could
barely discern an object at that dis
tance, when three bears came down
the trail, single file. was congratu-
lating myself on the magnificent pho
tograph was about to get when the
foremost bear shifted, halted two OF
three feet from that black thread and
proceeded to extend his nose cautious
ly toward II. He had scented No
40 linen thread when it was so dark
he could not possibly see ii.
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 shoul
der at the strange smelling object
The rear bear, equally inquisitive
mounted the back of the second in the
same way and gctched his neck In
the same manner
The leader touched the thread gin
gerly with his nose Suddenly there
was flash and a 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 fash 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
dim as to be useless for half-tone re
| production.
ITO go ahead with the story, wher
those bears had recovered from theil
surprise, they proceeded to trace tha
thread to its source Fortunately, in
stead OF following II toward the cam
era, they nosed along toward the enc
which was attached to SPOOL hat
taken the pains to bury that spoo
| in the ground, but they dug 1t up IL
less time than 1t takes to tell 1t
Then they held serious powwop
over the spool, accompanied by mucl
sage shaking OF heads. After a tim,
| they turned about and beat an order
ly retreat up the trail in the direction
whence they had come"
In all, Mr.. Wright saw 30 bears ap
proach that thread during his NOR.
than ten days of patient effort to ge
a photograph OF that number no
one crossed the thread. Four time
was the trap sprung by Mr.. Bruin, pre-
ducing spark In small battery al
tached to the pan containing the fash
light powder One excellent snapsho
was the result. The other fashe
proved inadequate, owing to insult
cient powder, producing only a din
outline of the grizzlies that ha
touched the thread with their nose
through curiosity. Not one of then
had done II carelessly.