The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1922-11-10

No longer would an observer think
Of the elk as the forest monarch He
was but a pretender, after all. The
real king had Just wakensd from his
afternoon nap and was starting forth
to hunt.
Even his little cousins. the black
bears, did not wait TO make converse
ton. They tumbled awkwardly down
the hill to get out Of his way. For
the massive gray weighing over
half ton-was none other than that
of the last of the grizzly bears, that
terrible forest hunter and monarch,
the Killer himself.
.
Long ago. when Oregon was new
land to white men, in the days OF the
clipper ships and the Old Oregon
Trail, the breed to which the Killer be-
lOnged were really numerous through
the little corner north OF the Siskiyous
and west of the Cascades. They were
worthy breedi II the words of GER
tain old men could be believed, the
southern Oregon grizzly occasionally,
In the bountiful fall days, attained a
weight OF two thousand pounds No
doubr whatever remains that thou
sand-pound bears were numerous.
But unlike the little black bears, the
grizzlies developed displeaslng habits.
They were much more carnivorous in
character than the blacks, and their
great bodily strength and power en-
abled them to master all of the myriad
forms Of game in the Oregon woods.
BY the same token, they could take
full-grOwn steer and carry 1t off as a
woman carries her baby.
It couldn't be endured. The cattle
men had begun to settle the valleys,
and II was either case of killing the
grizzlies or yielding the valleys TO
them. In the relentless war that fol-
lowed, the breed had been practically
wiped out A few OF them, perhaps.
fed farther and farther up the Cas-
cades, finding refugees In the Canadian
mountains. Others Travelled east, To-
eating at last In the Rocky noun
tains, and countless numbers Of them
died. At last, as far as the frontiers
men knew, only one great specimen
remained. This was a famous bear
that men called Slewfoot-a magnifi-
cent animal that ranged far and
hunted relentlessly, and no one ever
knew just when they were going to
run across him. He was apt suddenly
to loom up, like gray cliff, at any
turn In the trail. and his disposition
grew querulous with age. In fact, In
stead of fleeing as most wild creatures
have learned to do, he was rather
likely to make sudden and unexpected
charges.
He was killed at last; and SEEM
ingly the southern Oregon grizzlies
were wiped out. But it is rather easy
to believe that in some of his wander
ings he encountered-Iost and far in
the deepest heart Of the land called
Trails End-a female Of his own
breed. There must have been cubs
who, in their turn, mated and fought
and died, and perhaps two generations
after them. And out Of the last brood
had emerged single great male, a
worthy descendant OF his famous an
cestor This was the Killer, who in
few months since he had left his
Businesses, was beginning to ruin the
cattle business In Trails End
As he came growing from his bed
this September evening he was not a
creature to speak of lightly. He was
down on all tours, his vast head was
lowered, his huge fapgs cleaned in
the dark red mouth. The eyes were
small, and curious little red lights
glOwed in each of them. The Killer
was cross; and he didn't care who
knew it. He was hungry too; but
hunger Is an emotion for the beasts
of prey to keep carefully to them
selves
The Killer moved quite softly One
would have marveled how silently his
great feet fell upon the dry earth and
with what slight sound his heavy
form moved through the thickets. He
moved slowly, cautiously-all the time
mounting farther up the little hill that
rose from the banks Of the stream
He came to an opening in the thicket,
a little brown pathway that vanished
quickly into the shadows of the COW
erts.
The Killer slipped softly into the
heavy brush just at it's mouth. 1t was
his ambush. Soon, he knew, some of
the creatures that had bowers in the
heart of the thicket would be coming
along that trail onto the feeding
grounds on the ridge. He had only
to wait.
The night wind, rising somewhere in
the region OF the snow banks on the
highest mountains, blew down into the
Killers face and brought messages
that no human being may ever receive.
Then his sharp ears heard the sound
of brush cracked softly as some one
of the larger forest creatures came
up the trail toward him.
The steps drew nearer and the
Killer recognized them. They were
plainly the soft football of some mem
Der of the deer tribe, yet they were
too pronounced to be the step of any