The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1920-12-30
Big Grizzly Is Trapped
by Government Hunter

q. S. Department Of Agriculture reader.l
silver Zip Grizzly is dead.
He was u bad actor.
This is the epitaph that the Biology
cal Survey Of the United States Depart-
nlent OF Agriculture conceived when
it received letter from Charles J.
B.,yer, predatory animal inspector OF |
the bureau, at Lander, Wyo., telling of
the end OF 1OOO-pound monarch OF
beardom which has been killing stock
In the vicinity OF Dubois, Wyo., for
several years. A 5O-pound No. = bear
trap anchored to a 24-foot tree trunk
was Silver Tips undoing; but he broke
the tree and tore swath miles long
through the forest before he finally
gave UP the ghost. Fifteen dead cattle,
each killed with crushing blow be-
meath the eyes and each with the liver
removed as bear delicacy, marked
the trail to the point where the animal
was trapped. A 500 bounty had been
placed on Silver Tips head by stock
men. They were saved this money,
however, as government hunters are
not allowed to accept bounties from
any source. Another stock killer has
thus been removed from the range.
INSPECTOR BAYER TELLS THE STORY.
In Il letter to DIR. A. Il. Fisher, OF
the Biological Survey, Inspector Bayer
gives the following account of Silver
Tip and his end:
While reports came in occasionally
OF large silver tip that was doing a
| lot of killing in the vicinity Of Dubois,
no authentic report wils received until
| the spring of 1913, when several cat
| tlemen asked that we send man after
! the bear. A hunter was sent up there
and reported killing the bear that sum
mer, but investigation proved that the
bear most wanted was still at large.
He was particularly destructive that
summer, not only killing cattle, but
destroying camps and fire boxes belong
/ ing to the Forest Service and wreckins
anything he happened to encounter,
a second hunter was sent UP there
in the spring of 1919. He, too, worked
! to get the bear, but without success.
/ :. Hunter Rowley was then recom-
mended to us as Il bear hunter, and we
put him on the trail of the grizzly in
the spring of 1920. For long time he
was unable to find any fresh sign OF
the bear. or to find any cattle freshly
. killed by him. About July 18th. this
summer. he came upon COW that had
4 been killed short time before by the
4 bear, and he took up the trail.
]. He kept after him until he got him
the fore part of September. During the
j six weeks that he followed the bear
he found sixteen head of twelve anC
three year old cattle that the bear hat
killed. belonging to the Double Dia
mon outfit, near Dubois.
Il '.All these cattle were killed by
, crushing blow beneath the eyes, from
!. the bears omen paw. In most case
the cattle were not eaten upon, excep
, where the bear had taken out the live
and eaten that.
The trap that finally got the bea
was No. 8, and was set about Angus
18th. The clog used was a log "A fee
long and 5 inches through.
1.-The clog was broken off about .
yards from where the trap was sci
! and the bear carried away feet Of Il
Z and had this fastened to him when h
]. was found. He was found eight mile
: from where he got into the trap.
IA a TRAIL OF DESTRUCTION.
:" In trailing through the timber man
i trees 6 and Z inches through had bee
5 uprooted. and i'll several places til
! bear got into windfalls and tore on
! the down logs. almost making q roa
. behind him in doing so.
/, He was dead when Mr.. Rowle
! found him, and had been dead too lon
! to permit of taking his skin. Mr.. Row.
said the bear would weigh about 1O
+ pounds. the front feet would measul
about SIS inches across. and the hin
+ foot about II inches in length.
The fact that other hunters Wei
after the grizzly to get the 500 bount
: made Mr.. Rowley's work harder.