The Washburn times. [volume] (Washburn, Wis.) 1896-1976, 1922-11-30

terruption. 1t was a peculiar growl,
quite low at first. 1t lasted long
time, then died away. There was no
opposition to 1t. The forest creatures
had paused in their tracks at it's first
note, and now they stood as IL the
winter had come down upon them sud-
denly and frozen them solid. All the
other sounds of the forest-the little
whispering noises of gliding bodies
and fluttering feet, and perhaps q
birds call in shrub-were suddenly
stilled. There was a moment Of
GREATNESS suspense. Then the sound
commenced again.
1t was louder this time. 1t rose and
gathered volume until 1t was almost a
roar. 1t carried through the silences
In great waves Of sound. And In 1t
was a sense OF resistless power; no
creature In the forest but what knew
this fact.
1.-THE Gray King" one could imagine
them saying among themselves. The
effect was instantaneous. The little
raccOOn halted In his descent, then
crept out to the end of limb. The
coyote, an instant before crawling
with body close to the earth, whipped
about as If he had some strange kind
Of circular spring inside of him. He
snarled once in the general direction
of the Gray King. Then he lowered
his head and skulked off deeper into
the coverts.
The blacktail deer, the gray wolf,
even the stately Tawny One, stretched
In grace In his lair, wakened from
sleep. The languor died quickly in
the latter's eyes, leaving only fear.
These were Drawer than the Little
People. They waited until the thick
brush, not far distant from where the
bull elk slept, began to break down
and part before an enormous, gray
body.
No longer would an observer think
Of the elk as the forest monarch. He
was but pretender, after all. The
real king had just Weakened from his
afternoon nap and was starting forth
10 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 form-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 a 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
q worthy breed! If the words of GER
tain old men could be believed, the
southern Oregon grizzly occasionally,
in the bountiful fall days, attained
weight Of two trs1sand pounds. No
doubt whatever remains that thou
sand-poun1 bears were numerous.
But unlike the little black bears, the
grizzlies developed displeasing 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
woman carries her baby.
It couldn't be endured. The cattle
men mad begun to settle the valleys,
and 1t 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 famous bear
that men called Slewfeot-a magnif-
cent animal that ranged far and
hunted relentlessly, and no one ever
knew just wnen 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-lost and far in
the osepest 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,