and the type of hunter who slew with the knife became extinct so long
ago that no specimens can be found in these days.

I have known many bear slayers, but never one who would say that he
ever did or would deliberately attack a Grizzly with a knife, or that
he should expect to survive if forced to defend himself with such a
weapon. Neither did I ever hear of a Grizzly that tried to kill a man
by hugging him.

The only case of successful use of the bowie in defence against a
Grizzly that seemed to be well authenticated, among all the stories I
heard from hunters, was that of Jim Wilburns' fight in Trinity.
Wilburn was a noted hunter and mountaineer of Long Ridge, and he had
the scars to show for proof of the story. His left arm was crippled,
the hand curled up like a claw, and the end of a broken bone made an
ugly knob on his wrist. On his scalp were two deep scars extending
from his forehead almost to the nape of his neck.

Wilburn had chased a big Grizzly into the brush and was unable to coax
him out where he could get a shot at the beast. An Indian offered to
go in and prospect for bear, and disappeared in the thicket. His
search was successful, but perhaps it was a question whether he found
the bear or the bear found him. The Indian came out of the thicket at
a sprinting gait with the bear a good second, and they came so suddenly
that even Jim Wilburn was taken by surprise. In two more jumps the
bear would have been on top of the Indian, but Jim sprang between them,
rifle in hand.

Before he could fire, the weapon was wrenched from his hands and broken
like a reed. He grabbed his pistol, and that was knocked out of his
hand in a jiffy. Then the bear closed on him and both went down, the
bear on top. The first thing the bear did was to try to swallow Jim's
head, but it was a large head and made more than a mouthful. The
bear's long upper teeth slipped along the skull, ploughing great
furrows in Jim's scalp, while the lower teeth lacerated his face.

Before the bear could make another grab at his head, Jim thrust his
left fist down the animal's throat and kept it there while the Grizzly
chewed his arm into pulp. Meanwhile he had got hold of his big knife
and plunged it into the bear's side with all his strength. Again he
tried to stab his enemy, but the knife did not penetrate the hide, and
he discovered that in the first thrust the knife had struck a rib and
the point was turned up.

[Illustratio