im, and if in the Yellowstone you run
across a Grizzly that seems aggressive, rest assured he has been taught
such bad manners by association with our own species around the hotels.

THE DIFFERENT KINDS OF BEARS

[Illustration]

Some guides of unsound information will tell the traveller that there
are half a dozen different kinds of Bears in or near the Yellowstone
Park--Blackbear, Little Cinnamon, Big Cinnamon, Grizzlies, Silver-tip,
and Roach-backs. This is sure however, there are but two species,
namely, the Blackbear and the Grizzly.

The Blackbear is known by its short front claws, flat profile and black
colour, with or without a tan-coloured muzzle. Sometimes in a family of
Blackbears there appears a red-headed youngster, just as with ourselves;
he is much like his brethren but "all over red complected" as they say
in Canada. This is known to hunters as a "Little Cinnamon."

The Grizzly is known by its great size, its long fore claws, its hollow
profile and its silver-sprinkled coat. Sometimes a Grizzly has an
excessive amount of silver; this makes a Silver-tip. Sometimes the
silver is nearly absent, in which case the Bear is called a "Big
Cinnamon." Sometimes the short mane over his humped shoulders is
exaggerated; this makes a "Roach-back." Any or all of these are to be
looked for in the Park, yet remember! they form only two species. All of
the Blackbear group are good climbers; none of the Grizzly group climb
after they are fully grown.

BEAR-TREES

There is a curious habit of Bears that is well known without being well
understood; it is common to all these mentioned. In travelling along
some familiar trail they will stop at a certain tree, claw it, tear it
with their teeth, and rub their back and head up against it as high as
they can reach, even with the tip of the snout, and standing on tiptoes.
There can be no doubt that a Bear coming to a tree can tell by scent
whether another Bear has been there recently, and whether that Bear is a
male or female, a friend, a foe or a stranger. Thus the tree serves as a
sort of news depot; and there is one every few hundred yards in country
with a large Bear population.

These trees, of course, abound in the Park. Any good guide will point
out some examples. In the country south of the Lake, I found them so
common that it seemed as if the Bears had made many of them for mere
sport.

A PEEP INTO BEAR FAMILY LIFE

When we went to the Yellowstone in 1897