J1
- : i . J. . ' . . .
. '
p -it.
It
t
'
. 1i
MM
;Sunday.;May'21;,1922
' 1 T f i- rrum
1
si
f 1 IIM tl
I,
...
By R. Brace Horsfafl '
J TOLD yon twwit my baax-fieht,
said ttx old-timer when the tender
foot returned . after, hla first experience
with a- black bear, for. tfeei bear was a
mother : with cubs, and the . experienced
man leaves such bears strictly alone un
less hs has an-adequate supply of fire
arms. A mother bear, If she thinks her
cubs are In danger, will fight savagely,
though a-blow from her good forearm
is all that ' any enemy needs. The bear
hug so often used In speech has no foun
dation in fact However, if a bear . is
given a fair chance s she will leave you
entirely- alone. As an Illustration in
point, John Lee likes to tell of an expe
rience which he and, a fellow Maxama
had while on a hike. , The two men sud
denly discovered a mother," bear and two .
cubs in a- berry patch not- over 40 feet
distant. Mother bear! Immediately sig
naled her. babies to scamper -up the hill
toward the trees and; safety, rwhlle ..she
calmly; awaited the next ':. move t' by the
men; as 'there was ,mone,T because both
men knew enough to stand perfectly still,
she Ambled -of f after " her, cubs-
A. G. Jackson of the Ignited .States for
est service had quite , another 'experience.
As he was walking quietly along a forest
path he saw: a mother .'bear and one Cub,
Just across the creek, scratching an. old
- log to pieces to get "the California terr
mites In 1U hear. ;lNot "deeming himself
in any .danger,, he stooS .watching her -until
she spied him.' Then she gave,one
woof" " an d rushed '. across a ; fallen ; log
toward, Jackson, who, of course, prudent
ly retireated a shorty-distance. Mother
Bear -came bo farther than the tree under
'. -'which" he had been standing,. and the'se-
cret ' was revealed. , Away tip . In; thm -
branches was another cub. . r
;:" Black bears are'quite like humans, they
PMroughlyanJoyeWoksnveuaothej
- -i: vr.- - -.- v--t' :.:-r-'- o. o-: ;-x
(ft
:':ft:W:'iS:i;
- v V
...
and rarely resent one on, themselvea; but -you
never can tell from their expressions ;
of what they are thinking. We ate ac
customed to think of them as pugnacious,
but they are much more likely to . be -friendly.
! . I 1
I remember one fine old fellotr,- that
made my hair stand on end for time.
It happened while we were photograph
ing bears in the Yellowstone: . I haid pre
viously fed sugar to a mother btar-or
two that the hotel . people had .tjld . us
were not to be depended. upon for temper,
and had not felt the least bit nervous.
But this time we had gone to.thejjdump
behind the hotel and were getting pic
tures of the bears at their dinner, hen a
most superb specimen appeared, , His
coat was six or eight Inches longjj and. a
silky, glossy black. -I have never seen
a finer bear. Instead of going over and
feeding with the other .bears he 4llor
ately walked over , toward a woman . on-
looker, who, of course, did not lik it; one ,
bit and backed away. Then I tried to
shoo him off and . succeeded .in turning
him aside by throwing a piece of, biscuit
ahead of him. "After awhile we went ;
round to' where he was lying- fn he;tall
grass. It wu planned that L was to try
to feed him from -mr, hand while he. had c
his picture taken, but when, that enor
mous head rose toward .:My piecef of:bis-,
cult rose as high as ray shoiilde'r.-wlth- v
out the bear-getting-ononis feet I believe ,
' that every, hair, on my head stopdup lika :
. i iih iiuiii nn w ri sa nsrv rtw t- iiimii:. imii ri .
nin. anA h'nlv: n Kfart1f trh.lUnlKl
.k- . t a..i. .:a
r . y .-- . -
biscuit, but Brum couidnTt stand fprhat If
and fled. We - afterward; learneW that Mi
afterward learnd that m"P"'
tha genuest pet
ate . from thV scrtpheap; 1 ay,inablli,lto -.clim: treea,;,., r
"Old King" was
all and seldom-ate
. because he- was too .well fed by-shls friends
In the , hotel kitchen.
A S A contrast, , let me relate oulj, 1xperi-,
'ence with the grizzliesVatrthis 'same ;
- hotels .Although 'we t had -. been i tod vthat 1 k
uiey votui' mot1; come; oeroreoarsv we i
IE , h A . ' . n I A . A v. K A f
' bears'- drlfte
- moved around
a away 'oria-hyXoev sMfciwi4 i"fW"iWTr'
so as to be nearer ;,tha -? grindingmolars wholly1 unlike the molars N
" arbacstHOimtplncresskdB
i v t
4
about 60 feei off,, when, at; twilight, out
.trom.the oppjosite side of the 'open -space,
with plglikej grunts,? i crashed four, griz
zlies,' probably: a male, . a mother and two
cubs.. ?what an anxious. mother she
was- Silyer-ltips are .4nuch 'more nervous
in temperament than 'the blacks, and this
particular! mbther rushed back and forth,
; grunting, groaning and whooping like a
' score' of mad bulla f.We, no longer won
idered at thejblackles leaving the field to
s her. - This mother's gait was a, jumping
tgallop, t hum pety,-thump, thump"; quite
a different ,'frojm the black bear's shuffling
M lope.
frpHE gr
often I called silve
i-tip,-
is
I. . " a f iim 11 4r a nao raf n7 ' wnAif-vttttfiVAil
creature, jbu very prompt to resent an in-, -Jury
and jpublsh the offender.' JWhlle we
were In Uia ; Tellowstone a grizzly', came
about one of the. small shacks 1 after a
piece, of bacon and was shot "at- Jt re- ,
turned the following'night and killed one -of
the men;th other man saved himself
by sliding off the bed and crawling under
r " Oneeed j not lfear the grizily,; bear T
whenfm th Oregon woods, as there--was
jno- recorjd f ' grizzlies ; ever ! having', lived
here ;1In'.iwo..years.-'as;o,j'when- a molar,
tooth ,was found' on the4upper Sahtiam.
and given tijji Vertion Bailey of the United i
oiajesjpiotogicaij'suveyi--,-;' j l :. j
and mote -spowjerful
. black J hafi ' his
stralghter; along. th
hump ot:3ialr over
'f!
''iWA&: etralghth. accounts
Bears ure classed- as vcarnivora : and, as
". such, ome!of them-can well he called -th-1
largest-carnlvoras invtejworld:; the lajas-
,kan,5' browa j bear-.-weighs- around 7- 4500
.- blackf abiout 4 QO. CiBut. this -classf icatioa . '
; Is nlthi bisis ot soma'rtele;tal-character-J;
istles, rather thanifrom' their, habits.- for-
fajeyreaiiyaitemx -;-toief-r-neiiverous
Izzly,
"than"; Us6s it?J&'l I?'i1''thaword--root';-adTisely, I heuiif5.K 4? '.-:'' V-'SXib
Jiody; isf longer and; ,they"! cHmbedjfa:jtree.'g0 5t&vbed.;;The; - r-Grizzlies-havealhaDit
e 'i back, ; with 'a knot or. - ' mother had coaxed, them to the base ox ?4-:fearkrbm trees.; taking It
the shoulders,. "called; aaieiiormout "white" oak.' but- there 'theyy ;aa-thev-'caiareach. 1 This'
loOthecarnlvoTxmsvcafV-,wliicb,
t
-i
4.
s s," -K Js .
v
. J -
ting or shearing teeth. Their- herbaceous 1 -',
food consists of succulent roots, grass and
berries; for animal food, they scratch out ,
the ants, termites and wood-boring bee
tles and grubs from half-rotten logs; eat- ,
ing, also, mice and other ground rodents.-
Bears begin raising families when they
attain 'three or four years of age: Gener- i
ally there are two cubs at a time, born in j
winter quarters. In 'JMarch- orj about" the f
first of April. They are not niuch, larger -j
than pine squirrels, are not weaned until 1
fall and usually spend the winter and the i
following summer with the, mother.- Thus .
the average mother bear takes two years
to Year her : cubs.
West of the Cascades in Oregon the
bears do not 'hole up" for the winter to j
hibernate, but sleep- away only the most
' Inclement weather, in some snug retreat.
' Theyhave a-most amusing habit of sing-
lng , themselves, to sleep while . sucking
their thumbs, the - ear of aj comrade, or '
anything that is handy.- A.g seemingly "
i makes' no - difference in this j,habit. and ;;
"while th?y are sucking they miakeia hum- :t
' mimr pound like a hive of beesi . lve seen ;
j this; rwhen the? mouth was- al 'f rothy..asyf
; 1ft the bear were dreaming?; of 'ia hone'yjj;
I" coa1;i! u-forest -and -was, ,;to : memoryAjji'
' licking"; the f stickiness . off i ills - -finger a
They, will" follow, the scent 'of rhme'y, for-f
' .mlls,;' they- are . spfond r of vit$''swet.;v 'j J
a i once.;waicaa , nonaerq oiaca- oear r,
stalled backed: away and utteredjwhinlngif.
j;3tttH Wlrfmpersl C8---" ; f6 nucIaasT;
to' say; rph, -Mother.inot HUiat -tree; 'that , ;
tree. is too Wg But Mother; BIackirwas.,..
firm. Eh .blew.a few- times through .her
nose, then- cuffed one .littJei: fellow in tat
CedlenerHe JbeganHp;IIimbfan
aided him .with 'her .head iinrd :arrns as .-
hlgh up on!the'truhk asshe;could. reach. .
w&ere .ho -clung - to th : rough - Dane, ? rpr,.
. dw lifev'untn the other -was ablatooiiij:
h In-u - Mother ? Bear v th en . put her arms
- ana ; uius, auernatery. Demg pusnea ; ana j
jcHmWrig, they?.reaMrSS
-llmbf about AO'i f eetV from ihV ; ground.
rharemJ
"fU - "
'3 -t
i i
?.
tree; safe from all .harm, the two babies
contentedly, whimpered themselves to
sleep. . - - f ; j
' ' M : ''-' ' ': iV.
jgVERXBODT ; likes to watch: the cap-
are bo droll. - Cubs boxing and wrestling j.
with each. other. are: up to alii kinds of 4
tricks and monkeyshlnes. No cage is so ,j
attractive as theirs, j Our children's ' chil- i
dren ought to be able to enjoy them. too.
Of course, when bears are molesting
stock they should be killed, but we have
thousands of miles of forest that we hope
will ; never be' anything, else, and it is -;i
i there that omvwild life ought to. be i pre- ',
served. Anything smaller than : Yellow- J
stone park' is too, small to give protection, A
so long as they can be shot Just' over the f
border ; All of jour ljarger animals would -'
wanderr"at ;times,.'beyond the confines of ".
tny''park the . size of JCrater Lake1 park. . -4
I should like to s see a strip - of forest ,7 0 j
miles wide and equally as , long, I the ;
"hearti of the Cascade range,-Where we, '
could go, yes, -everybody could ;go,' in the
summer months and 'see wild,-life un- j"
afraid; . place where gun , inay not be ' j
-fired; where deer sc6uld come. ;to, browse J t
' before, your camp,- bear-would 'Inlbble. the .i
; berries -from the bushes as 'one i passed
along the trail,' even a cougar might doze
'.. atreiched- upon'a': log as he r watched ' y ou .f
saunier;pyi;.-Dui-ineyr,non i-aare, iuo.bimis uu
-tnem-'afraia v
of peeling the
Ofras;high:iup
donelnthe
i spring,- when -heriating Is iiverU and.'
fa some authorities ' consider it-m&totjofx exanilnaUon Xailed- to uncover any
s prlorltyof .claim tO a certain' reglDn.J - And.i
-other i bears : if : they r cannot 'each. tthe
L mark, respect the maker's, rights and, keep
r away, what happens when the mark, can.:
and whole
y ; f IBlack bears the same hing, only
'. they seem -to - choose , tho- summer time
-grapnea- TW nen ppy usea w. peei
: the outer : rough ;bark from-: the-'tree and 1
? -eatf thet inner UyerJ - rery UnderJulcy
-DdMfaice-Clavor4s.
when the san is running, 'andilt iooics as j , ,wer
f p If Vtheyjhrere after ihe-aweety eMiabinm'j'
a "layer. ; - S. Leak . of wyemihg. thua de- T now.
t
A.
' f
-'''i' .."
- - - - ' '
June, when the tree was making its first
growth of the season. The accompany
ing photograph J shows .where the bear
having in some way learned of the nice
flavor-and" excellent eating i qualities of
this inner growth, has with his teeth and
claws peeled off . the - outer bark. His
teeth marks may be seen upon the trunk
of the peeled tree, where he has scraped
off the inner,f tender j pine - flavored
growth." , . . ji -
A tract of , several acres in Tellowstone
park was so stripped and' mutilated that
practically every tree was dead. It was
close to a long, marshy bog which bears
frequented for ; mud - baths., This bog
probably j contained some mineral prop
erties recognized by, the :
bears as vermin'
destroyers. i
TTORSE3 as
rulej
are i instinctively
afraid, of : bears, and I. had that fact
brought home very -forcibly tone night in
California, as we were camped under the
Calaveras; grove of Sequoias. 1 Our valley i
"horses had never "seen (a1 bear in their ;
lives; yet they suddenly; became Very rest- :
less, and stamped and snorted,and were
with difficulty -quieted down again. As
we 'drove I put abouttiooiti 'the' next day we '
'found,'5 in; th dust of tho road, the foot- '
prints of a bear, and those horses snorted
and pranced as long as -the bear tracks ;
1sol'letrtfe'dtV J'; 7 ' ;
i Bears are suDtosed to be: verr nlentlful i
! . even' a trackof one. ' I
jr'the' Ketartaci hills the -
was told' that on
criss-cross' tracks
and .' tunnels through
the ! salal brush
were .made by "hear 'and; deer, yet a thor-
- T fresh,.traces of either . animal, and it was
-.uuiiii uiQ.i -well scuy m iuau -y
' wjh'eiqB 'but ,on '.the Oregon, and. Washlng
f ton" eoast."1floes the T salal grow5 to " such
Ihese tracts are '. tunnels and open "paths; ;
tht)ymade. asvsuppdsed, by bears
deeif T' lAnd' are" they the ', only traces
left in a iregion once thickly popu
lated T ..And, Like the buffalo trails across
the plains,, are the to jremaln long after
the animals" that: made 'them rare; gone 7 ;
iWhacaa Ull? r I'ertainly found no-rs
;eit-iiack-thars;
- - 'i r f'-- - s J