Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1905-1919, 1906-10-06
GRIZZLY Is SMART.
MOST CUNNING OF ANIMALS, Ac.
coRDlNo TO HUNTER.
WellLald Plans 10 Obtain Snapshot
by Automatic Camera All Frus.
trated by willy Yellow
stone Park Bruin

Three 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 hashllght 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 by
which to clrcumyent willy Bruin.
"Thc grizzly Is the sharpest animal
that walks on four legs" said he.
"The common bear Ia an unmlti
gated Idiot, compared with him, Al
though have spent ~ 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 /
ever dreamed.
% hau stretched a tiny black thread
across wellbeaton trail. In the eX.
pcctatlon that In the dark they would
walk against It, thereby releasing a
spring that would set of nashlIght
powder In camera which | had sta.
TONED a 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.
"lt had become so dark that | could
barely discern an object at that dis.
tancc when three bears came down
the trall. single lile 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 shoul.
der at the strange smelling object,
The rear bear equally inquistiJe,
mounted the back Of the second in the
same way and rctched his neck In
the same manner
The leader touched the thread gin.
gerly with his nose Suddenly there
was a fash and a pun, 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 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-
ITO go ahead with the story. when
those bears had recovered from their
surprise, they proceeded TO trace tina,
thread to its source Fortunately, in.
stead Of following II toward the cam
era they nosod along toward the end
which was attached to spool, had
taken the pains to bury that spool
in the ground, but they dug 1t up In
less time than II takes to tell It.
Then they held a 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 30 bears ap
proach that thread during his more
than ten days Of patient effort to gel
a photograph or that number not
one crossed the thread. Four times
was the trap sprung by Mr.. BruIn, pro
duclng spark In small battery at
tachod 70 the pan containing the flash
light powder One excellent snapshot
was the result The other flashes
proved inadequate, owing to insuln.
Client powder, producing only a dim
outline of the grizzlies that had
touched the thread with their noses
through curiosity Not one OF them
hnd done n carelcssly.