DESCRIPTION.
■ The Grisly Bear has been weil compared by Mr. Say with the Norwegian variety of the
Vrsus Arctos, to which it has a great resemblance in its general appearance. Its fur is long,
and mostly of a dark brown colour, with paler tips, that on the flanks being generally lighter
coloured in the summer season, and there is frequently a considerable admixture of gray
hairs on the head. The whole muzzle is pale, without the dark central stripe which the
Black Bear has. I t is distinguished from the Brown and Black Bears, by shorter and more
conical ears, placed further apart, and white, arched, and very long claws, compressed like the
incisors of a squirrel, carrying their breadth on their upper surface, nearly .to the tips, but
chamfered away as it were beneath. They project far beyond the hair of fhe foot, and cut
like a chisel when the animal strikes a blow'with them. The forehead is broad, flattish, and
continued nearly in a line with the nose, but there is in the older animals a distinct projection
of the superciliary ridges of the frontal bone. The soles of its feet are longer and its heel is
broader than those of the Brown Bear of Europe. Its tail is very small, so as to be hidden
by the hair of the buttocks, and it is a standing joke among the Indian hunters, when they
have M ed a Grisly Bear, to desire any one unacquainted with the animal to take hold of its
tail. The tail of the Black Bear is conspicuous enough, and that of the Barren-ground Bear
is still longer *.
The strength and ferocity of the Grisly Bear are so great that the Indian
hunters use much precaution in attacking them. They are reported to attain a
weight exceeding eight hundred pounds, and Lewis and Clark mention one that
measured nine feet from the nose to the tail, and say that they had seen a still
larger one, but do not give its dimensions. This is far above the usual size of
Other Land Bears, and equals the larger specimens of the Polar Bear. Governor
Clinton received an account of one fourteen feet long, from an Indian Trader, but
even admitting that there was no inaccuracy in the measurement, it is probable
that it was taken from the skin after it was removed from the body, when it is known
t0 ke caPahle of stretching several feet. The strength of this Bear may be estimated
from its having been known to drag to a considerable distance the carcass of a
, * , T,W0 1060 waited the Indian village (on one of the upper branches of the Colombia) where thev purchased a
dressed bear^skm o fa n uniform pale reddish-brown colour, which the Indians called yacdai, in c o n S s t i S u to
. 1 ’ W teBear. Thia remark induced us to inquire more particularly into their opinions as to the several
species of bears, and j e therefore produced all the skins of that animal which we had killed at this place, and also one
« r y nearly wtee w U * we had purchased. The natives immediately classed the W , deep an! f l S K K
* * * ? ? “*> m. *■bort> ““ ‘hose With the extremities of the hair of a white or frosty notour, withoM
regard to the colourof the ground of the fur, under the name of hohhost. They assured ns that thX were all of the
*^e^ assoc^ated■together, had longernail! than the others, an!
w,hh , a - i ^ t Hi 111036 wlu,!h wcre blaci a number of entire M il, hair, intermixed, or
were said to resemble .«.■! r t f s ? ’■ ™ and light rtddiehjjrown, were ranged under the class yackah, and
and hei lwi • a -»Tm being smaller, and having shorter nails than the White Bear, in climbing trees
end being so little vicious, that they could he pursued with safety. " -L aw s „ „ Ciaax, vol. IB. j . 21«. g ’
Buffalo, weighing about one thousand pounds. The following story is well authenticated.
A party of voyagers, who had been employed all day in tracking a
canoe up the Saskatchewan, had seated themselves in the twilight by a fire, and
were busy in preparing their supper, when a large Grisly Bear sprung over their
canoe that was tilted behind them, and seizing one of the party by the shoulder
carried him off. The rest fled in terror with the exception of a Metif, named-
Bourasso, who, grasping his gun, followed the Bear as it was retreating leisurely
with its prey. He called to his unfortunate comrade that he was afraid of hitting
him if he fired at the Bear, but the latter entreated him to fire immediately, without
hesitation, as the Bear was squeezing him to death. On this he took a deliberate
aim, and discharged his piece into the body of the Bear, which instantly dropped
its prey to pursue Bourasso. He escaped with difficulty, and the Bear ultimately
retreated to a thicket, where it was supposed to have died; but the curiosity of the
party not being a match for their fears, the fact of its decease was not ascertained.
The man who was rescued had his arm fractured, and was otherwise severely
bitten by the Bear, but finally recovered. I have seen Bourasso, and can add
that the account which he gives is fully credited by the traders resident in that
part of the country, who are best qualified to judge of its truth from their knowledge
of the parties. I have been told that there is a man now living in the
neighbourhood of Edmonton-house, who was attacked by a Grisly Bear, which
Sprung out of a thicket, and with one stroke of its paw completely scalped him,
laying bare the scull, and bringing the skin of the forehead down over the eyes.
Assistance coming up, the Bear made off without doing him further injury, but
the scalp not being replaced, the poor man has lost his sight, although he thinks
that his eyes are uninjured.
Mr. Drummond, in his excursions over the Rocky Mountains, had frequent
opportunities of observing the manners of the Grisly Bears, and it often happened
that in turning the point of a rock or sharp angle of a valley, he came suddenly
upon one or more of them. On such occasions they reared on their hind legs and
made a loud noise like a person breathing quick, but much harsher. He kept his
ground without attempting to molest them, and they on their part, after attentively
regarding him for some time, generally wheeled round and galloped off, though,
from their known disposition, there is little doubt but he would have been torn in
pieces had he lost his presence of mind and attempted to fly. When he discovered
them from a distance, he generally frightened them away by beating on
a large tin box, in which he carried his specimens of plants. He never saw
more than four together, and two of tbese he supposes to have been cubs; he