During the past thirty years I have had numerous experiences with the grizzly bear in various sections of his territory. In it I have camped alone and unarmed. I have trailed the grizzly without a gun. I have repeatedly been outwitted by him, but never has he attacked me. I have not found him ferocious, and I consider him in most respects the greatest animal on the North American continent, if not in the world. He excels in mental development and physical prowess, and he possesses the rare quality of loyalty. He is full of curiosity and is a born adventurer. The species impresses one with its superiority, and the individuality of each grizzly ever stands out.
The material in this book is drawn chiefly from my own experiences with grizzly bears in the wilderness. Ten of the chapters have not before appeared in print. The author acknowledges with thanks the courtesy of the editors of the Saturday Evening Post in granting permission to reprint from that magazine parts of three chapters contained in this book; and to the editors of The American Boy for two chapters reprinted herein. Dr. C. Hart Merriam has kindly consented to the reproduction of a part of his comment on the grizzly and big brown bears, together with his up-to-date classification of them. This valuable material represents the work of years.
E. A. M.
Contents
| Grizzly Sagacity | [1] |
| Cubs and Mother | [21] |
| His Exclusive Territory | [41] |
| Making a Bear Living | [61] |
| The Long Winter Sleep | [79] |
| Being Good to Bears | [99] |
| Trailing without a Gun | [117] |
| When the Grizzly Plays | [137] |
| Matching Wits with the Grizzly | [153] |
| Where Curiosity Wins | [173] |
| On the Defensive | [189] |
| Man’s Loyal Companion | [209] |
| New Environments | [227] |
| Description, History, and Classification | [245] |
| Will the Grizzly be Exterminated? | [271] |
| Index | [285] |
Illustrations
| [A Wild Grizzly] | Frontispiece | |
| From a Flashlight Photograph by F. C. Wolcott | ||
| [The Challenge (showing a young Alaskan Grizzly of the Big Brown Bear Type)] | 24 | |
| Photograph by Pedersen, Seward, Alaska | ||
| [Mexican Grizzlies: Group in the Field Columbian Museum, Chicago] | 64 | |
| Reproduced by courtesy of the Museum | ||
| [Jenny and Johnny, in the First Year of their Lives] | 102 | |
| Photograph by the Author | ||
| [Jenny and Johnny, at the Age of Fourteen] | 114 | |
| Photograph taken in the Denver Zoo | ||
| [Catching Black Bear Cubs] | 140 | |
| [Johnny] | 176 | |
| Photograph by J. D. Figgins | ||
| [A Black Bear in the Sequoia National Park] | 212 | |
| Photograph by Lindley Eddy, Giant Forest, Cal. | ||
| [A Black Bear and Cubs] | 232 | |
| Photograph by C. E. Huish, Eureka, Utah | ||
| [Grizzly Bear Group in Colorado Museum of Natural History, Denver] | 250 | |
| Reproduced by courtesy of the Museum | ||