o particularly
dangerous, and at any rate is better than his reputation. If he is only
left in peace he will not come near a man, and if he is attacked he
almost always takes to flight. But if he is wounded at close quarters he
may take a terrible revenge, and he is the strongest of all the animals
in his native haunts. It was formerly considered a great honour to wear
a necklace of a grizzly bear's teeth and claws.

"It is a fine sight to see a grizzly bear roaming through the woods and
thickets, where he considers himself absolute master of all the animals
of the region. He is sometimes brownish, sometimes grey, and a grey bear
is supposed to be more dangerous than a brown. He lives like all other
bears, hibernates, eats berries, fruit, nuts, and roots, but he also
kills animals and is said to be very expert in fishing. I will tell you
a little hunting story.

"A white hunter was once eager for an opportunity of killing a grizzly
bear, and a young Indian undertook to lead him to a spot where he would
not have to wait long. The two marksmen hid behind a small knoll, after
having laid out a newly-killed deer as bait. The Indian, who knew the
habits of bears, was not mistaken. Soon a huge bear came waddling out
of the wood with such a ridiculous gait that the white hunter could
hardly control his laughter, though the Indian remained silent and
serious. The old fellow stopped frequently, lifted his nose in the air,
and looked about to convince himself that no danger lurked around. Once
he began to scratch in the ground, and then smelled his forepaws and lay
down on his back and rolled. He wanted probably to rub his coat in some
strongly smelling plant.

"Then he went on again. After a time he sat and clawed his fur, looked
at his paws, and licked his pads. Then he scratched himself behind the
ears with his hind paws. And when his toilet was finished he trotted
straight towards the place where the deer lay. When he saw the animal he
was surprised, reared up on his hind legs to his full height, cocked his
ears, wrinkled his forehead, and seemed perplexed. When he was sure that
the stag was dead he went up to it and smelt it. Then he went round and
nosed about on the other side to see if the animal were dead on that
side also.

"His meditations were here interrupted, for the white hunter fired and
the bear fell, but raised himself again on his hind legs. The hunter
followed his example, but the Indian, who saw that the b