no means easy to kill unless hit in the vulnerable spot behind the ear. Those who fancy lion-hunting in the jungles of Africa might find equally good sport in hunting grizzlies in California, Oregon, and in some parts of the Rocky Mountains.
During the summer months they retire to the mountains; but, as the berries ripen, they seek the foot-hills and river-banks, to feed upon their favorite fruits. If a cavern is not at hand when winter comes on in the cold regions, they make a bed for themselves in some thicket, or sometimes dig a hole below the surface, in which they pass the winter sucking their paws. It would seem that where the winters are as mild as in the Coast Mountains of California, they do not hibernate, as they are met with all through the winter season, and kill, and are killed, more than ever at that time, on account of the scarcity of berries.
There are several curious facts in the natural history of this bear, one of the most singular of which is, that the period of gestation is entirely unknown, even to the most observant and experienced mountain men. No one has ever killed a female carrying young, at any time of the year, though they are often discovered with their cubs evidently but a few weeks old. Where they hide themselves during this period, or how long it lasts, no hui\ter has ever been able to observe, though there are men who have spent half their lives in the mountains, and killed, in desperate encounter, many a grizzly, and at all times of the year, even when hibernating.
The grizzly seems to be “a man of many minds,” with regard to attack. Usually, unless in charge of cubs, it quietly avoids a meeting with the hunter, and at times even seems timid and easily alarmed. But because one grizzly has given you room, you must not depend upon the next one doing the same. It is quite as likely that he will challenge you as you pass; and, unless well prepared to take up the glove, you had better “take up” the first tree you come to. It is not a pleasant sight to see one of these monsters on his hind-quarters, with his fore-paws ready for action; and when it comes to running, he can run as fast as you can.
The brown, or cinnamon, bear is also a savage creature, with many of the traits of the grizzly, but inferior in size. He in-
