Part 13

Any one who sees a grizzly bear in his rugged mountain home or even in a National Park, which is a wilderness-land, will receive a lasting impression. It is the character of this animal that stands out. He is of heroic size and powerfully built, but he is at all times so dignified, and so wide-awake, that his individuality never fails to impress you. The splendid animal and the scene wherein he stood will often be recalled. Again and again you will wonder concerning him and his life, his neighbors, and his territory. The interest which you have received may lead you to revisit the wild, revivifying mountain-land in which he lives.

When the hunter ceased firing in the Yellowstone National Park, the grizzly bear was the first of the big wild animals to discover that it was safe to show himself. The wildest animal, extremely shy of being seen even at long range, he showed his superior intelligence, his strong character, in being the first to realize that times had changed and that man had ceased trying to kill the wild folks on sight. It took the other big animals a long time to learn that they were protected. Many of them relied on old experiences, and for years, on the approach of man, they ran for their lives.

National Parks are developing a friendly interest in grizzlies, and there is a growing appreciation of the grizzly's true worth. But just at present this appreciation and this sentiment are not strong enough to protect the grizzly without the formal assistance of a grizzly-protection law.

During the past twenty-five years the grizzly population has enormously decreased. The grizzly is in danger of extermination. In California, where he was once numerous, he is now extinct. He has also gone from extensive areas in all the other Western States. In the areas where he still exists the population is in most places sparse.

It is doubtful if he is holding his own anywhere within the bounds of the United States, unless it be in Glacier National Park. The grizzly population of the Yellowstone National Park is variously estimated from fifty to one hundred. But each year numbers of cubs born inside the Park are trapped just outside of it, and old bears whose home is inside the Park are occasionally shot outside the boundary-line. It may be that the bears coming in from outside, a few of whom each year appear to move into the Park to live, may maintain the normal or possibly slightly increase the population; but this is doubtful. There are a few grizzlies in the Rocky Mountain National Park, perhaps a few in the Mount Rainier Park, and a number in four or five of the Canadian National Parks. Alaska is the grizzly country at present; but dozens of hunters are each year putting a check on its increase in grizzly population, except in the Mount McKinley National Park.

The grizzly needs protection at once, needs your active interest now. He is making his last stand and is surrounded by relentless foes. Protection only will save him and enable him to perpetuate himself. Without the grizzly the wilds would be dull, the cañon and the crag would lose their eloquent appeal. This wild uncrowned king has won his place in nature which no other animal can fill. We need the grizzly bear--the King of the Wilderness World.

With a closed season everywhere in the United States for a few years, the bears would increase in numbers and in due time areas now depopulated would be again peopled by them. Among the grizzlies there are always adventurers who wander far away looking for new scenes. These exploring grizzlies, as numbers increased, might redistribute themselves. Grizzlies in western Oregon might wander southward and even restock the four National Parks of California, where there is now not a grizzly. But this would require a cessation of the shooting of grizzlies for a number of years.

The population might be more quickly affected by restocking. A few grizzlies could be trapped in Yellowstone and set free in these other National Parks. The problem of restocking unoccupied areas would not be difficult if there could be for a few years a general closed season. In restocking these areas the zoos could not help. So far grizzlies have not been successfully bred in confinement.

The grizzly is an educational factor of enormous potential value. An acquaintance with him will give a lively interest in the whole world of nature, in both natural history and the natural resources of the earth. A knowledge of these will increase the enjoyment and the usefulness of every one.

In learning natural history the grizzly might well be the first life studied. Interest in him could be used to arouse interest in all life. In the very beginnings of interest in any living thing there is a desire for information concerning its food. Soil, directly or indirectly, produces the entire food-supply of the earth. Thus the trail of the grizzly bear would lead one to the wonderful story of soil-creation and the strange, almost enchanting powers it has over our strange existence.

For the young, and perhaps for the older, the grizzly has qualities which should make him the supreme mental stimulus of the great outdoors. A better acquaintance with him will be beneficial of itself, and an interest in him would inevitably extend to his wild neighbors and to the whole wide world of beauty and grandeur wherein he lives his adventurous life.

The eagle, our emblematic bird, has prowess; he soars, he dares the storm, and he explores the cloud scenery of the sky. He makes an appeal to the interest of a few, but the bear stirs the minds and the hearts of many. In most respects the grizzly would rival the eagle for an emblematic animal and would excel all animals in arousing a nature interest around the world.

Perpetuate the grizzly in our wild places and National Parks, and this will fill all wild scenes again with their appealing primeval spell--the master touch which stirs the imagination. An educator has called the imagination "the supreme intellectual faculty"; it is creative, original, refreshing. The imagination will be alive so long as the grizzly lives.

In art alone the grizzly is a subject worthy of the sculptor. He will help quicken and develop the creative imagination of any one who knows him--the grizzly of heroic art.

The grizzly probably heads the animal list in brain-power. He is still developing. He appreciates play and he has marked individuality. He is the greatest animal that is without a voice. Stories of "this animal that walks like man" ever appeal; he is the most impressive animal on the continent. He is the dominant and the most distinguished animal of the world.

THE END

Index

Abundance, 231. Accordion, 177, 178. Acrobatic pranks, 13. Adams, James Capen, 166, 170, 196, 207, 251; quoted, 196, 220, 242; and his pet grizzlies, 216-21, 242. Adventure, 185. Age, 58, 59. Agility, 253. Alaska, 53, 54, 205, 206, 248-50, 259-61, 281. Ants, 107. Arizona, 150, 151. Audubon, John James, quoted, 198.

Bear, black, and hard-tack, 7; and grizzly cubs, 114, 115, 212, 222, 223; colors, 251; contrasted with the grizzly, 254, 255. Bear, polar, 94, 249. Bears, origin and evolution, 247, 248. Bears, big brown, 257-69. Beaver, 29. "Ben Franklin," 216-21. Brackenridge, Henry M., 256; quoted, 199.

Cactus, 150, 151. Can, tin, 6. Carson, Kit, 196. Catsup, 213. Cattle-killing, 13, 14, 73, 75, 76, 155-58, 275, 276. Caution, 72, 157-62. Chapman, Frank M., 170. Classification, 249, 256-69. Claw-marks on trees, 47-49, 131. Claws, 253, 254. Clinton, DeWitt, 256; quoted, 202, 203. "Clubfoot," 14. Coasting, 126, 127, 144, 145. Colors, 249-51. Courage, 17, 18, 191. Cow, dead, 7-9. Coyote, 146. Cubs, and dead mother, 23-25; birth and nurture, 25, 26; size, 25, 26; color, 27; care and training from mother, 27-29; experiences with, 29-37; weaning, 31, 32; mimicry, 32; play, 35, 36; eating honey, 37; family ties, 37, 38; selection of home territory, 43. _See also_ Pets. Curiosity, 54, 55, 175-87.

Death, 59, 60. Dens. _See_ Hibernation. Digging, 3, 4, 71, 125, 126, 131, 132. Dignity, 233. Disposition, 236-38. Distribution, 248-50. Dogs, 109-11, 163, 217-19. Drummond, Thomas, 175, 176, 196.

Economic value, 275-78. Eluding followers, 4, 5, 243. _See also_ Trailing. Exploration, 56, 57.

Feet, 253, 254. Feigning death, 14. Ferocity, undeserved reputation for, 192-206. Figgins, J. D., on hibernation, 94-98. Fighting qualities, 204, 205. Fire, 179, 180. Fish, catching, 69, 70, 234. Food and feeding-habits, 63-77, 82, 92, 93, 105-07, 206, 230, 231, 236-39, 275, 276. Form, 251, 252. Fur, 251.

Gait, 15, 252. Garbage, 206, 236-39. Glacier National Park, 237. Grace, 252.

Hallett Glacier, 81. Hammock, 179. Hard-tack, 7. Headache, 235. Hearing, 6, 229, 230. Hibernation, 52, 81-98, 215, 216. Home territory, 38, 39, 43-53. Hornaday, William T., quoted, 197. Hunting, 161-70, 277, 278.

Indians, 203, 255. Intelligence, 3-19, 243, 244.

Jenny. _See_ Johnny. Johnny and Jenny, 101-15.

"Lady Washington," 242. Lewis and Clark, 53, 176, 192, 197, 256; quoted, 199-202. Lion, mountain, 52. Log, 139-43.

McClelland, George, 165. McGuire, J. A., 277; quoted, 278. MacKenzie, Sir Alexander, 256; quoted, 198. Magpie, 141. Maimed, 17. Man, as an enemy, 17, 18; not eaten by the grizzly, 76, 77; attacked, 162-70. Mating, 255. Merriam, Dr. C. Hart, quoted, 257-69. Migration, 57. "Miss Grizzly," 211-16. "Miss Jim" and "Mr. Bessie," 221-26. "Mose, Old," 155, 156. Mud, 143, 144. Muir, John, 170, 194; quoted, 194, 195. Music, 177, 178.

Names, 256. National Parks, 280-82. Nutcracker, Clarke, 141.

Ord, George, 256. _Outdoor Life_, 277.

Pets, 101-15, 211-26, 240-42. Pies, 225. Play, 54, 139-52. Pocock, Roger, quoted, 274, 275. Protection, 273, 274, 280-83.

Raspberries, 105-07. Rifles, 203. Rocking-chair, 112. Rollins, Philip Ashton, 207, 221; quoted, 222-26. Roosevelt, Theodore, 170. Roping, 167.

Sagacity, 3-19, 243, 244. "Samson," 251. _Saturday Evening Post,_ quoted, 277. Sawmill, 211, 212. Scenery, 186, 187. Scotch, the collie, 109-11. Scott, William B., quoted, 247. Senses, 5, 6, 229, 230. Sensitiveness, 229, 230. Seton, Ernest Thompson, 170. Shadow, 147-49. Sheep, mountain, 35, 72, 73. Sheldon, Charles, quoted, 248, 249. Size, 251, 252. Skin of soles of feet, 91. Slicker, 180, 181. Smell, sense of, 6, 230. Social life, 45, 46, 53. Solitariness, 44, 149. Strength, 252, 253. Swimming, 50, 51.

"Three-Toes," 14. "Timberline," 46, 47, 119-35. Tooth-marks on trees, 47-49, 131. Toothache, 235. Tracks, 253, 254 Trailing, 9-13, 49, 50, 56, 57, 119-36, 146-49, 169, 170. Trapping, 157-60, 162.

Umbrellas, 109, 182. Umfreville, Edward, quoted, 198, 256.

Voice, 255.

Wheel, 182. Wolves, 16, 17. Wright, William H., 164, 170, 195, 207; quoted, 195, 196, 226, 238, 239.

Yellowstone Park, 58, 206, 232-39, 280.

The Riverside Press CAMBRIDGE . MASSACHUSETTS U . S . A

* * * * *

TRANSCRIBER NOTES:

Archaic, alternate spellings (including hyphenation), and obsolete words have been retained with the exception of those listed below.

Page 120: "railing" changed to "trailing" (The most impressive thing I had early learned in trailing and studying the grizzly).

Page 175: "observavation" changed to "observation" (In old bears curiosity is accompanied with a keenness of observation).