Part 9

In the morning the ropes were replaced, after a lively combat, and the bear was again lashed to the sled. Four horses were harnessed to it and the journey was resumed. Men with axes and bars went ahead to make a road, and it was with no small amount of labor that they made it passable. The poor old bear was slammed along over the rocks and through the brush, but he never whimpered at the hardest jolts. With all the care that could be observed, it was impossible to make his ride anything but a series of bumps, slides and capsizes, and the progress was slow. At the steep places men held the sled back with ropes and tried to keep it right side up.

Four days on a "go-devil" is no pleasure excursion, even for a tough grizzly, and when the Monarch was released from his uncomfortable vehicle, at the foot of the mountain, he seemed glad to get a chance to stretch himself and rest. For nearly a week he was left free of all fetters except the chain on his neck and the rope around his body, and he spent his days in slumber and his nights eating and digging a great hole in the ground. Having convinced himself that he could neither break his chain nor bite it in two, he accepted the situation with surly resignation and asked only to be let alone and fed decently.

While the bear was recuperating and becoming reconciled to what couldn't be helped, a cage was being built of Oregon pine lumber with an iron-barred door, and when it was finished he was dragged into it by the heels. As soon as he saw the ropes, Monarch knew that mischief was afoot, and when a man began throwing back into the hole the dirt that he had dug out, he mounted the heap and silently but strenuously began to dig for himself a new hole. He worked twice as fast as two men with shovels, and in his efforts to escape he only assisted in filling up the old hole.

For some time he baffled all attempts to get ropes on his forepaws, having learned the trick of throwing them off and seizing the loops with his teeth, but he was soon secured and stretched out on his back. The Monarch roared his remonstrances and did his best to get even for the outrages that had been done to his rights and his feelings, but the ropes were tough and he could not get a chance to use his enormous strength. He was dragged on his back into the cage, the door was dropped and the ropes were removed, but the chain remained around his neck and that was made fast to the bars. As soon as he found himself shut up in a box the angry and insulted bear ceased roaring and in a short time he philosophically stretched himself on the floor and wondered what would happen next.

The next thing that happened to him was the standing of his cage on end, but that did not appear to disturb him. A wagon was backed up, and the cage was tilted down again and placed upon the wagon, which was then hauled down the canyon and along the river bed to a little water station on the Southern Pacific Railroad, where the cage was put upon a stock car. The car was provisioned with a quarter of beef, and a lot of watermelons, and attached to a freight train, then men who had helped to bring the bear out of the mountains waved their hats, and the Monarch caught a last glimpse of his native hills as the train whirled him and the correspondent northward.

It must have been a very strange, perhaps terrifying, thing to the wild grizzly to be jolted along for two days on a rattling, bumping, lurching freight train, with the shrieking of steam whistles and the ringing of bells, but he endured it all heroically and gave no sign of fear. He ate well when food was given him, taking meat from his captor's hands through the bars, and slept soundly when he was tired. He seemed to know and yield a sort of obedience to the correspondent, but resented with menacing growls the impertinent curiosity of strangers who came to look at him through the bars.

In every crowd that, came to see him there was at least one fool afflicted with a desire to poke the bear with a stick, and constant vigilance was necessary to prevent such witless persons from enraging him. At Mojave, when the correspondent went to the car, he found a dozen idlers inside, and one inspired lunatic was stirring up the Monarch, who was rapidly losing his temper. The cage would not have held him five minutes had he once tackled the bars in a rage, and it was only the moral influence of the chain around his neck that kept him quiet. When the correspondent sprang into the car, the grizzly's eyes were green with anger, and in a moment more there would have been the liveliest kind of a circus on that freight train. Hustling the crowd out with unceremonious haste--incidentally throwing a few maledictions at the man with the stick--the correspondent drove the Monarch back from the bars, and ordered him to lie down, and for the next half hour rode in the car with him and talked him into a peaceable frame of mind.

From the freight depot on Townsend Street the cage was hauled on a truck to Woodward's Gardens, and under the directions of Louis Ohnimus, superintendent of the gardens, the Monarch was transferred to more comfortable quarters. His cage was backed up to one of the permanent cages, both doors were opened, and he was invited to move, but he refused to budge until his chain was passed around the bars and hauled by four stout men. The grizzly resisted for a few minutes, but suddenly decided to change his quarters and went with a rush and a roar, wheeling about and striking savagely through the bars at the men. But Mr. Ohnimus had expected just such a performance and taken such precautions that nobody was hurt and no damage done.

The Monarch had shown himself a brave fighter and an animal of unusual courage in every way. He had endured the roughest kind of a journey without weakening, and compelled respect and admiration from the moment of his capture. But when the strain and excitement were over, and he was left to himself, the effects became apparent, and for two or three days he was a sick bear. He had a fever and would not eat for a time, but Mr. Ohnimus took charge of him, doctored him with medicines good for the ills of bear flesh, and soon tempted back his appetite with rabbits and pigeons.

Soon the Monarch was sufficiently convalescent to rip the sheet iron from the side of his cage and break a hole through into the hyena's quarters. By night he was on his muscle in great shape, and Superintendent Ohnimus sent for the correspondent to sit up with him all night and help keep the half-ton grizzly from tearing things to pieces. By watching the old fellow and talking to him now and then they managed to distract his attention from mischief most of the time, but he got in considerable work and rolled up several sheets of iron as though they were paper.

It was evident that no ordinary cage would hold him, and men were at once employed to line one of the compartments with heavy iron of the toughest quality and to strengthen it with bars and angle iron. This made a perfectly secure place of confinement. A watch was kept on the Monarch by the garden keepers during the day, and by the superintendent and the correspondent every night, until the work was finished and the Monarch transferred.

The grizzly is now safely housed in the first apartment of the line of cages, and under the watchful care of Mr. Ohnimus will soon recover his lost flesh and energy and again be the magnificent animal that he was when he was the undisputed monarch of the Sierra Madre.

LATEST BULLETIN.

Monarch a True Grizzly.

"Monarch," the Examiner's big grizzly, received many visitors yesterday, but, having been up all night trying the strength of his new house, he declined to stand up, and paid but little attention to the crowd. His chain had been fastened to the bars of his cage with three half hitches and a knot, and the knot was held in place by a piece of wire. During the night he removed the wire, untied all the knots and half hitches and hauled the chain inside, where nobody could meddle with it. Having the chain all to himself, Monarch was indifferent to his visitors and lazily stretched himself on his back, with one arm thrown back over his head.

He had a good appetite yesterday and got away with a leg of lamb and a lot of bread and apples. He ate a little too heartily and had the symptoms of fever. Today he will not get so much food. The best time to see him is when he eats, because he lies down all other times of the day. He has breakfast at 10 a. m., lunch at 1 p. m. and dinner at 3 p. m.

Monarch still looks travelworn and thin, but he is brightening up, and when the abrasions of the skin, made by ropes and chains, are healed up and his hair grown again on the bare spots he will be more presentable. His broken teeth trouble him some and it will be some time before he will feel as well as he did before he was caught.

Several artists went to Woodward's Gardens today to sketch and photograph the bear, but he refused to pose, so they did not get the best results. It would be unwise to stir him up and excite him at present, and unless the artists can catch him at his meals they will have to wait a little while for a chance to study the grizzly under favorable conditions.

Sculptor Rupert Schmidt has made an excellent model in clay of Monarch, which will be a valuable assistance in designs requiring the introduction of the California emblem.

Mr. Schmidt said:

"I am very glad to have the opportunity to study the real grizzly, and I find him very different from the models generally accepted. I have modeled many bears, but never one like this. You see in this design some figures of bears (showing a wax model of decorative capitals). These were intended to be grizzlies, but you see they have the Roman nose, which is characteristic of the black bear. No other bear that I ever saw had the broad forehead and strong, straight nose of the grizzly. He has a magnificent head, and I think all artists will be glad of a chance to study him. I have inquired for grizzlies in zoölogical gardens all over the world, but never found one before."

Monarch has a big, intelligent-looking head and a kindly eye, and is not disposed to quarrel with visitors, but he objects to any meddling with his chain, and will not submit to any insults. It was necessary yesterday to keep a watchman between the cage and the crowd to prevent people from throwing things at the bear and stirring him up. Monarch is getting along very well and taking his troubles quite philosophically; but he has had a rough experience, is worn out with fighting and worry, is sore in body and spirit and needs rest. It is a difficult thing to keep alive in captivity a wild bear of his age, and undue excitement might throw him into a fatal fever. If Superintendent Ohnimus succeeds in his efforts to cure the Monarch of his bruises and put him into good condition, he will deserve great credit, and the visitors are requested not to make the task more difficult by worrying the captive. No other zoölogical garden in the world has a California grizzly, and it would be a great loss to the menagerie to be established in the Park if the Monarch should die.

It is not surprising that many people cannot tell a grizzly bear, even when they see one, as many zoölogists even differ widely in regard to the characteristics of the king of bears. It is astonishing how little is really known in regard to the grizzly bear. Many text-books contain only a general notice of the great animal, while those naturalists who have written descriptions of him do by no means agree. This is due to their lack of specimens. The grizzly is so powerful and unyielding a beast that but few have been captured alive. There have not been individuals enough of the species studied to admit of their being fully generalized. Different naturalists described the grizzly from the single specimen that came within their notice, and hence their various descriptions are far apart. It is a fact that hardly two of the animals taken are exactly alike in color or habits.

In order to definitely settle the question, Prof. Walter E. Bryant, of the Academy of Sciences, was yesterday induced to visit the bear. He has made the mammals of the Pacific Coast his study for years, and probably knows more than anyone else about California bears.

He examined Monarch very carefully, noted his every point, and then examined just as carefully the other bears at the gardens.

When he had completed his investigation and stood once more before Monarch's cage, he was asked:

"Well, what is he?"

"He is a true grizzly bear," answered Professor Bryant, and he added, "a mighty big one, too.

"I never before saw one of the animals with as dark a coat as his," he continued; "but that is nothing. The bear is a true grizzly, and has all the characteristics of one. As far as his color is concerned, grizzlies are of all colors; there is almost as much variety in that regard among bears as among dogs."

"How do you know it is a grizzly?" was asked.

"Well, in the first place, the claws on his forefeet are longer and stronger than those of any other species. Then his head is larger than that of other bears, and his muzzle is longer and heavier. Another and more distinguishing feature is the height of his shoulders. Just back of his neck is the tallest point. From there his back slopes down towards his haunches. The black bear, on the other hand, has low shoulders, and is tallest at a point rather back of the middle of the body. There are numerous other means of distinguishing this bear. His teeth are very much larger and stronger than those of the others, and the entire structure of the skull is peculiar to the grizzly. He has neither the short muzzle of the European bear such as you see in the pit, nor the rounded muzzle of the black bear. There are, of course, many minor points that only a naturalist would observe, but it is sufficient to say that he lacks none of the essential qualities of the grizzly bear, and has none of those of the other varieties.

"His coat is almost black, to be sure, but it is very different from the glossy black of his neighbor. If you observe the grizzly's hair, you will see that a great deal of it is a rusty brown and in certain lights seems to be very far from black. This variation in the color of the hair is a peculiar characteristic of the grizzly. That lanky mane is another. His legs, you observe, are darker than his body. This is another characteristic of the California grizzly.

"This animal is thin now, doubtless from the hard time he had while he was being brought here. When he gets fat his hair will have a very different appearance. It will be interesting to watch him when he sheds his hair. The coat that comes after may be altogether of another color. That grizzly, I should say, is comparatively a young bear, and when he gets older the gray that originally gave him his name will very likely be pronounced."

THE END.

SCIENTIFIC CLASSIFICATION OF BEARS.

EDITED BY PIERRE N. BERINGER.

I.

THE LOUISIANA SPECTACLED BEAR.

_Tremarctos Ornatus._

Some of our scientists have very carefully divided the _Genus Ursus_ into _twelve_ species. While I will admit that these gentlemen are conscientious and that they are thorough in their researches, I wish to point to the fact that they have entirely overlooked three or four species found on the Pacific Coast.

Many writers have completely ignored the spectacled bear of Louisiana. Is he the representative of another genus? Does he belong to the _Genus Helarctos_ (_helios_, the "sun," and _arctos_, "bear") credited by the majority of writers with basking in the sun, or because of the peculiar markings of his chest, representing a sunburst? He resembles the _Helarctos Malayanus_ of the Malayan archipelago or the _Bruang_ of Java. Or is he the Sloth Bear, _Prochilous_ (or _Melursus_) _labiatus_? This bear has been carefully classified as a separate genus found from the Ganges to Ceylon. His description fits rather loosely the so-called sloth of Louisiana. Possibly the Louisiana specimen is of the _Genus Tremarctos_, of which the learned people tell us there is but a solitary species carefully isolated in the Andes of Chile and Peru. I shall call the Louisiana specimen by the name given him by our poet, the Spectacled Bear, _Tremarctos Ornatus_, and the professors who have entirely overlooked his existence may classify him later when they find time. At one time the Honey Bear was classified as a "Bradipus," or sloth, because of its liability to lose its incisors. It was therefore set down as one of the _Edentata_. It has also been styled the Jungle Bear, the Lipped Bear, and names as various as the investigators' fancy. The _Tremarctos Ornatus_ of Louisiana, or spectacled bear, is not a sloth. He does not belong to the _Edentata_, neither is he lazy. He is essentially the clown of all bears, a very intelligent animal, and in many cases the intellectual superior of his keeper. He is active to a degree, and will perform the queerest antics for the amusement of the onlooker. He is quaintly conscious of his mirth-provoking powers, much as a child playing "smarty." He will quickly climb an inclined log or tree, and then slide down either in an upright position, clasping the log with the knees, or he will slide "down the banister" as a child might. I have seen the merry fellow grab his tail in his mouth and roll over and over until dizzy.

His snout is almost hairless, narrow and proboscis like, and the nostrils and lips are mobile. He shapes these almost into a pipe, through which his long tongue is shot out, drawing things in or sucking them up. It has claws of a bluish gray that are longer than those of any other of the Ursidae. The hair is very long, of a deep brown black. There is a sunburst upon the chest of a white or fulvous hue. The ears are small and scarcely distinguishable, owing to the shaggy mane. The fur is rather coarse and very long.

It lives mainly upon honey and vegetables and sugar cane. In captivity it will very gratefully subsist upon oatmeal and occasional sweets. The animal is easily tamed, and will become attached to its keeper, giving an exhibition of exuberant joy at his approach. It is a jolly good fellow, and shows a marked preference for liquors, refusing all others when it may have champagne.

It will sit on its hind legs and make faces at the onlooker, waving its arms in the most grotesque fashion, while it rolls its body from side to side. This is one of the characteristics that has impressed the negro with the sacredness of this "Voodoo Bear."

II.

THE GRIZZLY.

_Ursus Horribilis or Ferox._

This is the great grizzly of California, whose habits have been described by many writers. It is a shy animal, not nearly as ferocious as has been claimed. "It will always run away if it can," says General Dodge, "and never attacks unless it is cornered or wounded." Johnson says "the grizzly is the king of all our animals, and can destroy by blows from his paws the powerful bison of the plains; wolves will not even touch the carcass of the dreaded monster, and, it is said, stand in such awe that they refrain from molesting deer that he has slain. Horses also require careful training before they can be taught to allow its hide to be placed upon their backs."

In the beautiful legend of the Good Poet the grizzly is the forefather of the Indian, and the Indian gives many proofs to show his descent from the grizzly and the Spirit of the Mountain. I want to add a curious fact: The grizzly is the only one of the Ursidae that moves his toes and fingers independently of one another just like a _man_. Also the bear walks with his foot full upon the ground. In further proof the grizzly, when young, and all other bears, except one, descend a tree backward and head up, as a man would. The clown bear, or spectacled bear, will sometimes descend head down and enjoy a good laugh over it. At least he seems to laugh. After the grizzly has attained bulk and weight with age, he cannot climb trees, as his claws are not strong enough to sustain his weight.

A short time after "Monarch," the large grizzly, arrived in San Francisco, my model, a very considerate young person, who loved all animals, came to the studio one day with the story that she had made friends with the great beast. It was about the time when "Monarch" was being starved. He had been removed from the pit to the cage. With very little forethought the cage was built without a cover, and "Monarch" was found one night making an attempt to escape. He was prodded back with red-hot irons. It was not possible to work about the cage, and "Monarch" must be confined in smaller quarters. A very small cage was dropped into the enclosure; this had a slide door and was to serve as a trap. I believe the grizzly is the quickest of all animals. Six times a live chicken was fastened in the small cage, and six times "Monarch's" long arm had literally "swiped" that fowl. So quick was he that the slide fell only as he was already safely crunching its bones. At the seventh attempt he was a little slow and was caught. After that the iron workers placed the roof in position. The trapping of the monster took six days, and "Monarch" received only the food he managed to get from the trap, and that which my tender-hearted model was feeding him (apples and candy) surreptitiously. As this was against the orders of the keeper, the young woman could feed the bear only at irregular intervals. She continued her kindnesses to him after he had been again given the freedom of the larger cage. Then she went away from the city. She was gone for two years. She married and assumed the rotund proportions of a staid matron, and when next I saw her I joked her about this, saying that she was nearly as fat as her old friend "Monarch."

At this she was indignant. "Indeed," she said, "animals are less forgetful than man, and 'Monarch' undoubtedly will remember me, even if I am not the slim artist's model I once was." I told her "Monarch" was far too much like a man, and that he was now satisfied to look upon the world as well lost, and that short of his dinner there was little that could move him from a comfortable position upon his back, his toes in the air, apparently content, and like a philosopher, wondering why the human displays so much curiosity. "I'll bet he won't stir," I said. The upshot of this conversation was that we found ourselves just outside the railing gazing at his lazy majesty. He rolled his head slowly from side to side, eyeing each newcomer with his bead-like eyes. Suddenly the lady in the case said, "Oh, you dear old darling!" "Monarch" seemed electrified; he rose as quickly as possible--certainly he had grown fat--and then he rushed to the side of the cage. He was not satisfied with looking at her from his ordinary standpoint, but rose upon his feet, extending himself his entire height, that he might better look upon the friend of times of trouble. She held up an apple. "Monarch" dropped to his feet, placed his snout as far out as the bars allowed, and opened his immense jaws. She threw the apple, and the bear sat himself down contentedly to chew it. I firmly believe that young woman could have walked into the cage with an apron full of apples and escaped without injury. "Monarch" remembered his friend.

III.

THE POLAR BEAR.

_Thalassarctos Maritimus._