In almost every district there is a monster grizzly that
nobody can kill; his footprints are eighteen inches
long and nearly a foot wide (they have always been
measured to a fraction of an inch); he stands nearly
as high as an ox and weighs a ton or two. Your
informant will tell you with bated breath how he
was chased for over a mile, and only escaped by
spending a night in a tree or by swimming a river.
You will also be told stories of how a wounded
grizzly advanced on his hind legs towards some in-
trepid hunter, roaring defiance, and gnashing his
teeth in rage.

“|. . During my long sojourn in this country I
have met hundreds of bears of all sorts, and they
were usually most inoffensive animals. It is doubtful
if the percentage of ill-tempered grizzlies is any
greater than that of cross cows or vicious dogs, while
it is infinitely less than that of savage bulls. So it
seems to me that the chance of anybody getting
hurt by a bear while out in the mountains is not any
greater than when taking an ordinary walk in the
country, nor are all the risks taken when out in the

mountains, anything to compare with those one
takes every day in a big city. Anyway, such is my
experience, as after travelling for over thirty years
in all sorts of rough, wild country, the only serious

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