Wiid&j* January, 1960 — Montana Fish and Game Department Official Publication Information-Education Division Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2010 with funding from Montana State Library http://www.archive.org/details/montanawildlifejan1960mont Governor. STATE OF MONTANA J. Hugo Aronson Chairman Vice Chairman. Secretary. Director Deputy Director Chief, Information and Education Fisheries Superintendent Chief of Game Management Chief Law Enforcement Officer Chief Clerk MONTANA FISH AND GAME COMMISSION H. W. Black, Poison John T. Hanson, Sr., Malta Ralph D. Shipley, Miles City E. J. Skibby, Lewistown William T. Sweet, Butte Walter J. Everin HECTORS Walter J. Everin Don L. Brown Frank H. Dunkle Walter M. Allen Robert F. Cooney Orville W. Lewis R. H. Turnbull Editor — V. E. Craig TABLE OF CONTENTS Page The Good Old Days? 2 Trail Trout ....... 3 How Big Game Hunting Seasons Are Set 8 The Grizzly, Fabled Giant of Western History 15 McKee Print. THE QOOD OLD DATS? To those who extol hunting in "the good old days," here is a letter from a man who was there: State Fish and Game Commission Helena, Montana "Gentlemen: There is probably a great deal of criticism about the game management of Montana, both from landowners who suffer from the carelessness of some sportsmen and the sportsmen who are not satisfied with the present supply of game. I can safely say that I have seen a great improvement in hunting conditions since I began this exhilarating sport some fifty years ago. I lived along the Musselshell during those tender years and I took my .22 to school with me, hunting rabbits on the way home. If I got a rabbit I had meat in my lunch the next day. No rabbit, no meat. In those days, deer were almost unheard of and antelope were practically a myth. Now, from that same area a harvest of thousands of antelope is taken annually. Even 30 years ago, bagging a mule deer buck was a feat requiring per- severance, skill, and a great deal of luck. I can remember hunting an en- tire season without seeing a deer in areas that are now heavily populated with them. I have hunted and fished from one end of the state to the other, from the Yaak to the Rosebud, from the Big Dry to the Beaverhead. It would be difficult to say which is the greater sport, hunting antelope in the Badlands of eastern Montana where one can see his quarry — and it can see him — for miles or hunting majestic elk in the rugged Rockies in the western part of the state. In my many years in the fields and woods, I have had many amusing experiences and some near tragic. I enjoy recalling how I have stalked elk in the dense jungle of dead falls and jackpine and shot them in their beds and how I have crawled on my belly through sagebrush to bag an antelope before the herd was aware of my presence. But the morning two elk watched me eat my breakfast in broad daylight from a distance of about 50 yards and I never saw them — just their tracks — is one incident I am trying to forget. Nor the time I saw the big buck come across a sagebrush flat and I squatted behind a little fir until he was within 30 yards, put the bead on a spot on his throat, squeezed the trigger— MISSED! Thanks to a well-managed game conservation program, we are enjoying better hunting than we were a generation ago, and if the interest of the pub- lic, the landowners, and the sportsmen can continue as at present, there is no reason why the coming generations cannot enjoy this same sport that has meant so much to us. Yours very truly, D. R. Nickerson, Butte, Montana 7*ait 7* Trips afield that include sportsmen and department personnel provide information that often leads to better understanding of department policies. 3. Hunter Harvest. Checking sta- tions and mail questionnaires sup- ply the answers here. Compila- tion and analysis of this informa- tion requires the use of higher mathematics and electronic busi- ness machines. How does the information program operate? The formal job of getting out information is carried on by the Information and Education Division through news stories, newspaper feature articles, direct correspond- ence, bulletins, movies, TV programs and public speaking. All department employees participate in the less formal aspects of the program by speaking at meetings and by answer- ing questions in their daily work. What is meant by "management?" Management is the climax of step 1 and 2. It is the action program where research findings are applied. Big game management has two major ob- jectives: First, to give hunters the chance to bag a big game animal in a sporting manner under pleasing conditions and, second, to maintain big game herds which are in balance with their food supply and compati- ble with other uses of the land. An- rual crops of big game must be used as they are produced. When too many animals are carried, winter food plants are used up and game is lost to malnutrition, disease and pred- ators. When over-populations exist year after year plants and soil be- come damaged and depleted to the point where smaller and smaller crops of game are produced. Many of Montana's winter ranges fall into this depleted category. In past years, the few game managers there were had too much country to cover. As a result, they were armed wi'h too few facts and public support for progres- sive management was slow in com- ing. Too much interest was turned to antlers instead of bushes when season-setting time came around. Montanans do, however, owe a last- ing debt of gratitude to the many well-informed, progressive sports- men who helped to bring about sound management programs. We can best demonstrate how the functions of research, information and management are merged to produce sound big game seasons by follow- ing the progress of season-setting month by month. 10 The annual cycle begins with December. Each activity is identified as to function by a prefix (R) — research, (I) — information, (M) — management. DECEMBER: (R) Checking station information is compiled. (R) Postseason classification counts begin on big game to categorize animals in age, sex and classes. (R) Distribution of game on winter ranges is checked by ground and air. Bighorn sheep population trend counts are made. (I) Information releases on checking station data and season extensions. (R) Antelope hunter questionnaires mailed. JANUARY: (R) Mail questionnaires go out to all types of hunters including non-residents. (R) Classification counts continue. (R) Distribution of game on winter ranges is checked by ground and air. (R) Compilation of checking station informa- tion is completed. (R) Returned antelope hunter questionnaires are analyzed. (M) Opening dates and hunting area bound- aries are considered in meetings of de- partment personnel. (I) Information releases on mail survey and wintering conditions. FEBRUARY: (M) Opening dates and hunting area bound- aries are considered in meetings of depart- ment personnel and proposed to the fish and game commission. (R) Classification counts continue. (R) Distribution on winter ranges is checked. Population trend counts may be made. [I) Information releases on wintering condi- tions, opening dates and area bound- aries. MARCH: (M) Recommendations and suggestions re- ceived from cooperators are reviewed and presented to commission with final de- partment proposals. (M) Commission sets final opening dates and hunting area boundaries for all big game species. (R) Classification counts continue. (R) Distribution on winter ranges is checked by ground and air. Population trend counts may be made. (R) Range surveys to determine winter for- age use begin. (R) Winter mortality studies begin. (M) Seasons for antelope, moose, mountain goat and bighorn sheep are considered in meetings of department personnel. (R) Returns from mail questionnaires are compiled and analysis begins. (I) Information releases on opening dates and area boundaries, range surveys, winter losses and special seasons. APRIL: (R) Distribution surveys continue. (R) Classification counts continue. (R) Range surveys continue. (R) Mortality studies may continue. (R) Analysis of mail survey is completed. (M) Commission sets final antelope, moose, mountain goat and bighorn sheep seasons and tentative quotas. (M) Special season map and regulations sub- mitted to printer. (I) Information releases on results of mail survey and special big game seasons. MAY: (R) Distribution surveys completed. (R) Classification counts completed. (R) Range surveys completed. (R) Mortality studies completed. (R) Findings from all surveys compiled and analyzed to guide discussions of season lengths and bag limits at meetings of de- partment personnel and at meetings with land management agencies. (M) Season lengths and bag limits for elk and deer are proposed to the Fish and Game Commission. (I) These proposals are sent to sportsmen's clubs and other interested groups. (I) Information releases on results of surveys and season proposals. LATE MAY— EARLY JUNE: (I) Meetings are set up throughout the state to explain the basis and purpose of big game seasons. Representation is invited 11 Annual crops oi big game must be used as they are produced. When too many animals are carried winter food plants are used up. from sportsmen, livestock associations, other state and federal agencies and other interested groups and individuals. JUNE: (R) Emphasis of field work turns to game bird investigations. (M) Commission sets final elk and deer bag limits and season closing dates. (M) Big game hunter map submitted to printer. (I) Special season maps are distributed. (I) Meetings and information releases to ex- plain seasons and regulations continue. JULY: (R) Antelope census begins. (R) Emphasis of field work on game bird in- vestigations. AUGUST: (R) Preseason classification counts begin.. (R) Grass condition and trend surveys begin. (I) Big game hunter maps are distributed. SEPTEMBER: (R) Preseason classification counts continue. (R) Grass condition and trend surveys con- tinue. (R) Forage use studies begin on multiple-use ranges. (M) Antelope seasons and other early big game seasons open. (R) Field checks on early-season hunter ac- tivity begin. (R) Checking stations are set up for antelope and other early big game seasons. OCTOBER: (M) General big game seasons open. (R) Checking station operations continue. (R) Field checks of hunter activity continue. (R) Grass condition and trend surveys are completed. (R) Forage utilization studies en multiple-use ranges are completed. (M) Quotas for special elk drawings are sei. (I) Information releases on hunting season progress announcement of quotas for drawings. NOVEMBER: (R) Checking station operations continue. (R) Field checks of hunter activity continue. (M) General big game season closes. (M) Recommendations for extended seasons made where necessary. (I) Information releases on hunting season progress and season extensions. 12 And game is lost to malnutrition, disease and predators. The mechanics of preparing sea- son recommendations often are not clearly understood. This lack of un- derstanding has been the source of much confusion and controversy. After game managers and biolo- gists have compiled and intrepreted findings of the various management investigations, department personnel meet in the seven administrative dis- tricts. At this point the observations and suggestions of game wardens and other personnel also are taken advantage of. The district game man- ager then prepares the formal recom- mendations for the season in ques- tion. He bases these recommenda- tions on the data gathered by sur- veys and other reliable sources of in- formation. The formal recommenda- tions are adopted by the district staff as the best course to follow in carry- ing out sound game management. If any department personnel do not agree with the formal recommenda- tions they may submit independent recommendations through channels. The formal recommendations are submitted to the chief of game man- agement. He is assisted by the state big game manager in merging the formal recommendations from the seven administrative districts into a workable statewide program. This formal statewide program is then proposed to the Fish and Game Com- mission. The commission tentatively adopts the recommendations with such changes as they may desire. After the proposed seasons and regulations have been approved by the commission, they are given wide distribution and publicity. They are 13 explained at meetings with sports- men, stockmen, personnel of other agencies and other interested per- sons. At its subsequent meeting the Fish and Game Commission again con- siders the formal recommendations in the light of expressed public opin- ion. Where public support has not been secured for a certain recommen- dation, the commission in its judg- ment may effect a compromise action or otherwise resolve the matter. Usually public support for the for- mal recommendations is secured and they are enacted into final seasons and regulations. Game managers sometimes have been called "dictatorial" for their un- compromising attitude in the prep- aration of formal recommendations. The necessity for this attitude per- haps has not been adequately ex- plained. Game managers are in- structed to base their recommenda- tions upon scientific data. These recommendations are prepared only with the two objectives of big game management, recreation and balanc- ing of herds against food supplies, and land use, in mind. At this point, public opinion is not a factor. This does not mean that the game man- ager is not aware of his responsibility to explain his program and to be alert and responsive to public opin- ion. Formal recommendations based upon factual information on big game food supplies, herd welfare and harvest must be available for the information of the Fish and Game Commission. If these recommenda- tions are compromised with some segment of public opinion at local levels, the commission cannot be ex- pected to arbitrate wisely at the state- wide level. Big game seasons based upon facts gathered by careful study and sup- ported by an informed public will in- sure that Montana will continue to lead the nation as a big game hunt- er's paradise. 14 —Photo by Lloyd Casagranda, Mont. Fish & Game Dept. 7^e tytvffibf - FABLED GIANT OF WESTERN HISTORY By Michael Kennedy, Acting Director Historical Society of Montana Although historians now generally agree that Henry Kelsey, a literate early-day Hudson's Bay trader and trapper, made reference to a fierce and brutish type of Canadian bear — now known to be the grizzly — as early as 1691, more than a century had to pass before more explicit de- tails came to light about this huge and dangerous animal. Captains Lewis and Clark in their valiant 19th century expedition which opened much of the Northern Great Plains and Northern Rocky Moun- tain regions to exploration and fur- trading are acknowledged to have produced the first authentic informa- tion on record for eager Americans concerning this formidable beast. Since their journals and reports were not published until some years later, the people of the Americas actually waited for some time after the great 1804-06 expedition before they be- came fully cognizant of such an ani- mal as the grizzly. The official Lewis and Clark rec- ords were restricted to scientists and others — and only a handful of others — for a rather long period, into the 15 first quarter of the 19th century. And so it came to pass that the people of America had their appetite first whetted by tales of the formidable grizzly only after word began to filter back to "civilization" of the daring adventures of that group known to history as the mountain men, the early explorers - trappers - traders-ad- venturers of the western wilderness. The first significant news stories in eastern newspapers followed the launching of the exciting General William Ashley fur-hunting expedi- tions from St. Louis, which from 1823- 25 sent such valiants as Jim Bridger, Hugh Glass, the Sublettes, David Jackson, Brokenhand Fitzpatrick, Seth Grant and Jedediah Smith to trap vast expanses of wild country along the Missouri, Big Horn, Platte, Green, Wind and Sweetwater rivers — even into the uncharted reaches of the Columbia and the Snake. The pulp writers of the day, even the good literary journals and cer- tainly all of the newspapers, had their first big journalistic break- through when Hugh Glass managed to get mangled by a savage she- grizzly. There are many accounts in American journalism, literature and history — mostly inaccurate, fanciful (and some even ridiculous) — of the Hugh Glass incident. Even an epic poem, beautifully done, "The Song of Hugh Glass," in recent years has graced the episode! But one of the most fascinating early accounts is given here, because it illustrates the world-wide interest that suddenly developed on the subject of the North American grizzly. This account appeared in a book, avidly read in England, Germany, France and in most other parts of the world, before it was republished in the United States. It was written by George Frederic Ruxton, an adven- turer if ever there was one. George Ruxton was a precocious youth. Ex- pelled from the Royal British Military Academy at 15, he became a soldier of fortune in Spain in 1836. At 17 he wore the Cross of San Fernando and was a Spanish knight. Then, as an Irish lieutenant he fought in the early Indian Wars in Canada and then ex- plored the deserts of Morocco and the jungles of South Africa. When only 25 he turned up in Mexico and the Rocky Mountain region of the United States to write scholarly but exciting accounts of ethnology and geography and became known to a wide field of readers of the day as "Ruxton of the Rockies," because of his many articles and his widely read book "Life in the Far West." The story of Hugh Glass was still fresh in the minds of many moun- tain men, a score of whom were in- terviewed by the mercurial English journalist. This is what he wrote of Hugh Glass in 1847: "The grizzly bear is the fiercest of the ferae naturae of the mountains. His great strength and wonderful tenacity of life render an encounter with him anything but desirable, and therefore it is a rule with the Indians 16 The shoulder hump is a typical grizzly characteristic. — Photo by Lloyd Casagranda, Mont. Fish & Game Dept. and white hunters never to attack him unless backed by a strong party. Although, like every other wild ani- mal, he usually flees from man, yet at certain seasons, when maddened by love or hunger, he not infrequently charges at first sight of a foe, when, unless killed dead, a hug at close quarters is anything but a pleasant embrace, his strong hooked claws stripping the flesh from bones as easily as a cook peels an onion. Many are the tales of bloody en- counters with these animals which the trappers delight to recount to the greenhorn, to enforce their cau- tion as to the foolhardiness of ever attacking the grizzly bear. "Some years ago a trapping party was on their way to the mountains, led, I believe, by old Sublette, a well-known captain of the West. Amongst the band was one John (Hugh) Glass, a trapper who had been all his life in the mountains., and had seen, probably, more excit- ing adventures, and had had more wonderful and hair-breadth escapes, than any of the rough and hardy fel- lows who make the West their homes, and whose lives are spent in a suc- cession of perils and privations. On one of the streams running from the Black Hills, a range of mountains northward of the Platte, Glass and a companion were one day setting their traps, when, on passing through a cherry thicket which skirted the stream, the former, who was in ad- vance, descried a large grizzly bear quietly turning up the turf with his nose, searching for yampa roots or pig nuts, which there abounded. Glass immediately called his com- 17 pctnion, and both proceeding cau- tiously, crept to the skirt of the thicket, and taking steady aim at the animal, whose broadside was fairly exposed at the distance of twenty yards, discharged their rifles at the same instant, both balls taking ef- fect, but not inflicting a mortal wound. The bear, giving a groan of pain, jumped with all four legs from the ground, and seeing the wreaths of smoke hanging at the edge of the brush, charged at once in that direc- tion, snorting with pain and fury. " 'Harraw, Bill!' roared out Glass, as he saw the animal rushing to- wards them, 'we'll be made meat of as sure as shootin!' and leaving the tree behind which he had concealed himself, he bolted through the thick- et, followed closely by his compan- ion. The brush was so thick that they could scarcely make their way through, whereas the weight and strength of the bear carried him through all obstructions, and he was soon close upon them. "About a hundred yards from the thicket was a steep bluff, and be- tween these points was a level piece of prairie. Glass saw that his only chance was to reach this bluff, and shouting to his companion to make for it, they broke from the cover and flew like lightning across the open space. When more than half way across, the bear being about 50-yards behind them, Glass, who was lead- ing, tripped over a stone and fell to the ground, and just as he rose to his feet, the beast, rising on his hind feet, confronted him. As he closed Glass, never losing his presence of mind, cried to his companion to load up quickly, and discharged his pistol full into the body of the animal, at the same moment that the bear, with blood streaming from its nose and mouth, knocked the pistol from his hand with one blow of its paw, and fixing its claws deep into his flesh, rolled with him to the ground. "The hunter, notwithstanding his hopeless situation, struggled man- fully, drawing his knife and plung- ing it several times into the body of the beast, which, furious with pain, tore with tooth and claw the body of the wretched victim, actually baring the ribs of flesh and expos- ing the very bones. Weak with loss of blood, and with eyes blinded with the blood which streamed from his lacerated scalp, the knife at length fell from his hand, and Glass sank down insensible, and to all appear- ance dead. "His companion, who up to this moment, had watched the conflict, which however, lasted but a few sec- onds, thinking that his turn would come next, and not having had pres- ence of mind even to load his rifle, fled with might and main back to camp, where he narrated the miser- able fate of poor Glass. The cap- tain of the band of trappers, however, dispatched the man with a compan- ion back to the spot where he lay, with instructions to remain by him if still alive, or to bury him if, as all supposed he was, defunct, promising them at the same time a sum of money for so doing. 18 "On reaching the spot, which was red with blood, they found Glass still breathing, and the bear, dead and stiff, actually lying upon his body. Poor Glass presented a horrifying spectacle: the flesh was torn in strips from his chest and limbs, and large flaps strewed the ground; his scalp hung bleeding over his face, which was also lacerated in a shocking manner. "The bear, besides the three bul- lets which had pierced its body, bore the marks of the fierce nature of Glass's final struggle, no less than twenty gaping wounds in the breast and belly testifying to the gallant defense of the mountaineer. "Imagining that, if not already dead, the poor fellow could not pos- sibly survive more than a few mo- ments, the men collected his arms, stripped him even of his hunting shirt and moccasins, and merely pull- ing the dead bear off the body, mounted their horses and slowly fol- lowed the remainder of the party, saying, when they reached it, that Glass was dead, as probably they thought, and that they had buried him. "In a few days the gloom which pervaded the trappers' camp, occa- sioned by the loss of a favourite com- panion, disappeared and Glass's misfortune, although frequently men- tioned over the campfire, at length was almost entirely forgotten in the excitement of the hunt and Indian perils which surrounded them. "Months elapsed, the hunt was over, and the party of trappers were en their way to the trading fort with their packs of beaver. It was nearly sundown, and the round adobe bas- tions of the mud-built fort were just in sight, when a horseman was seen slowly approaching them along the banks of the river. When near enough to discern his figure, they saw a lank cadaverous form with a face so scarred and disfigured that scarcely a feature was discernible. Approaching the leading horsemen, one of whom happened to be the companion of the defunct Glass in his memorable bear scrape, the stranger, in a hollow voice, reining in his horse before them, exclaimed, 'Har- row, Bill, my boy! You thought I was gone under that time, did you? But hand me over my horse and gun, my lad; I ain't dead yet by a dam sight!' "What was the astonishment of the whole party, and the genuine hor- ror of Bill and his worthy companion in the burial story, to hear the well- known, though now much altered, voice of fohn Glass, who had been killed by a grizzly bear months be- fore, and comfortably interred, as the two men had reported, and all had believed! "There he was, however, and no mistake about it; and all crowded round to hear from his lips, how af- ter the lapse of he knew not how long, he had gradually recovered, and being without arms, or even a butcher knife, he had fed upon the almost putrid carcass of the bear for several days, until he had regained sufficient strength to crawl, when, 19 ;* , . **'* * V^f «*!* > *..' * -. Though grizzlies will usually evade encounters with humans, they will occasionally attack. To molest cubs is an outright invitation to disaster. — Photo by Lloyd Casagranda, Mont. Fish & Game Dept. tearing off as much of the bear's meat as he could carry in his enfeebled state, he crept down the river, and suffering excessive torture from his wounds and hunger and cold, he made the best of his way to the fort, which was some 80 or 90 miles from the place of his encounter with the bear, and living the greater part of the way upon roots and berries, he after many, many days arrived in a pitiable state, from which he had now recovered, and was, to use his own expression, 'as slick as a peeled onion.' "A trapper on Arkansa, named Valentine Herring, but better known as 'Old Rube,' told me that once, when visiting his traps one morning on a stream beyond the mountains, he found one missing, at the same time that he discovered fresh bear 'sign' about the banks. Proceeding down the river in search of the lost trap, he heard the noise of some large body breaking through the thicket of plum bushes which belted the stream. Ensconcing himself behind a rock, he presently observed a huge grizzly bear emerge from the bush and limp on three legs to a flat rock, which he mounted, and then guietly seat- ing himself, he raised one of his fore- paws, on which Rube, to his amaze- ment, discovered his trap tight and fast. "The bear, lifting his iron-gloved foot close to his face, gravely ex- amined it, turning his paw round and round, and quaintly bending his head from side to side, looking at the trap from the corners of his eyes, and with an air of mystery and puz- zled curiosity, for he evidently could not make out what the novel and painful appendage could be, and every now and then smelt it and tapped it lightly on the rock. This, however, only paining the animal the more, he would lick the trap, as if deprecating its anger and wishing to conciliate it. "After watching these curious an- tics for some time, as the bear seemed inclined to resume his trav- els, Rube, to regain his trap, was necessitated to bring the bear's cogi- tations to a close; and levelling his rifle, shot him dead, cutting off his paw and returning with it to camp, where the trappers were highly amused at the idea of trapping a b'ar. 20 "Near the same spot where Glass encountered his 'scrape,' some score of Sioux squaws were one day en- gaged in gathering cherries in a thicket near their village, and had already nearly filled their baskets, when a bear suddenly appeared in the midst, and with a savage growl, charged amongst them. Away ran the terrified squaws, yelling and shrieking out of the shrubbery, nor stopped until safely ensconced within their lodges. Bruin, however, prefer- ring fruit to meat, albeit of tender squaws, after routing the petticoats, quietly betook himself to the baskets, which he quickly emptied and then quietly retired. "Bears are exceedingly fond of plums and cherries, and a thicket of this fruit in the vicinity of the moun- tains is, at the season when they are ripe, a sure find for Mr. Bruin. When they can get fruit they prefer such food to meat, but are, never- theless, carnivorous animals ..." As a contemporary writer, Ruxton made a few fundamental errors. The grizzly was a female with cub, and if Jim Bridger is to be believed at ail (he was notorious, of course, for his tall tales), some of the human flesh of Hugh Glass was devoured by the cub, who later disappeared. Like the Custer Battle, historians still quibble over whether Glass was abandoned in cold bood, although not quite dead, and was deliberately robbed by his companions of his knife, gun, cloth- ing and other gear. This is dis- putable but there is no doubt that Glass, when he later emerged from the dead at Fort Kiowa (having crawled most of the way from the region near the confluence of the Yellowstone and Missouri rivers, where the event actually took place) had only one thought in mind — re- venge! He had lived, he later told the startled men at Andrew Henry's new post at the mouth of the Big Horn, where he went after recovering his strength at Fort Kiowa, only for the purpose of killing Jim Bridger and the trapper known only as Fitzgerald (not Sublette) who had left him to die after the savage attack by the grizzly. But by this time, Glass was so glad to be alive that he forgot about the revenge and actually was a good friend of Bridger's until his (Glass') death at the hands of Black- feet marauders on the Upper Yellow- stone in the early spring of 1833. Another of many other true moun- tain men stories (this one discovered by Bernard De Voto) has to do with "Baldy" Markhead; although other writers have attributed it as having happened to Joe Meek, another wild mountain man. We'll assume that it was Markhead, because for a dec- ade thereafter he roamed the Rockies, scalped as bald as a billiard ball by a grizzly. Unlike most men of the period he had not learned to re- spect the species. He followed a giant grizzly into a thicket, boasting that he would kill it with nothing but his belt-axe. When Markham did not return, his companions found him savagely mangled, but breathing, part of his face and all of his scalp completely severed from his body, 21 the axe in his bloody hand and no grizzly in sight. Markhead was prob- ably the last mountain man to bother with a grizzly, except under the most extenuating of circumstances such as cornered and fighting for his life. Most of them, brave as they were, gave Mr. Grizzly a wide berth; as did the gold seekers, freighters, cow- men and other sturdy westerners who came in later years when the grizzly was still numerous. All of this is strange in retrospect because one of the most profound of all the great discoveries made by Lewis and Clark concerned the sav- agery of the grizzly. Their journals and reports repeatedly stressed that the grizzly was to be avoided at all costs; that it was the most savage of all the wild animals that roamed this wilderness. Even some members of Ashley's expedition must have read some accounts of the bear from published reports of the Lewis and Clark expedition, which after 1825 were gaining wide circulation among the reading public! Yet, oddly enough (or perhaps it was not strange, because they knew nothing whatsoever of the animal) the first accounts in the Lewis and Clark "Journals" did not report the grizzly as such. He was simply a different kind of "brown or yellow bear." The first mention of any, comes in the handwriting of Lewis, dated April 29, 1805 after the winter in the Mandan villages when the expedition was then moving along the Missouri between the mouth ol the Yellowstone and the Musselshell. Here are Lewis' own words, recount- ing the incident, with footnote by the eminent DeVoto, (other passages re- lating to the "Grisley Beare," as noted by the expedition on Montana soil, follow): "I walked on shore with one man. About 8 a. m. we fell in with two brown or yellow bear;1 both of which we wounded; one of them made his escape, the other after my firing on him pursued me seventy or eighty yards, but fortunately had been so badly wounded that he was unable to pursue me so closely as to prevent my charging my gun; we again re- peated our fir(e) and killed him. It was a male not fully grown, we esti- mated his weight at 300 lbs. not hav- ing the means of ascertaining it pre- cisely. The legs of this bear are somewhat longer than those of the black, as are its tallons and tusks incomparably larger and longer. The testicles, which in the black bear are placed pretty well back between the thyes and contained in one pouch like those of the dog and most quad- rupeds, are in the yellow or brown bear placed much further forward, and are suspended in separate pouches from two or four inches asun- der, it's colour is yellowish brown, the eyes small, black and piercing; A grizzly, the first one. Lewis presently loses his easy superiority, the result of the ease with which this one was killed. His erroneous statement that the grizzly's testicles are provided separate individual scrota, which he later repeats, is inexplicable. Though far from being the first description of a grizzly as some texts have said, this is the first detailed one. Henry Kelsey, in 1691, was probably the first white man to see a grizzly. 22 3^^#* Jrw»4 * — * ■ Bears have a limited ranqe of vision when it comes to seeinq objects on either side. Conse- quently, they will often sit or stand up and swinq their heads in order to detect the source of some sound or smell. Photo by Lloyd Casagranda, Mont. Fish & Game Depl. the front of the tore legs near the feet is usually black; the fur is finer thicker and deeper than that of the black bear, these are all the par- ticulars in which this anamal ap- peared to me to differ from the black bear; it is a much more furious and formidable anamal, and will fre- quently pursue the hunter when wounded, it is asstonishing to see the wounds they will bear before they can be put to death, the Indians may well fear this anamal equiped as they generally are with their bows and arrows or indifferent fuzees, but in the hands of skillfull riflemen they are by no means as formidable or dangerous as they have been repre- sented. "game is still very abundant we can scarcely cast our eyes in any di- rection without percieving deer Elk Buffaloe or Antelopes. The quantity of wolves appear to increase in the same proportion; they generally hunt in parties of six eight or ten they kill a great number of the Antelopes at this season; the Antelopes are yet meagre and the females are big with young; the wolves take them most generally in attempting to swim the river; in this manner my dog caught one drowned it and brought it on- shore; they are but clumsey swim- ers, tho' on land when in good order, they are extreemly fleet and dure- ble. we have frequently seen the wolves in pursuit of the Antelope in the plains; they appear to decoy a single one from a flock, and then pursue it, alturnately relieving each other untill they take it. on joining Capt Clark he informed me that he had seen a female and faun of the bighorned anamal; that they ran for some distance with great aparent ease along the side of the river bluff where it was almost perpendicular: 23 two of the party fired on them while in motion without effect, we took the flesh of the bear on board and pro- ceeded. Capt. Clark walked on shore this evening, killed a deer, and saw several of the bighorned ana- mals- ..." "5th of May Sunday 1805 We set out verry early and had not pro- ceeded far before the rudder irons of one of the Perogus broke which de- tained us a short time Capt Lewis walked on shore this morning and killed a Deer, after brackfast I walked on shore Saw great numbers of Buf- falow & Elk Saw also a Den of young wolves and a number of Grown Wolves in every direction. The Countrey on both sides is as yester- day handsom & fertile. The river rising & current Strong & in the eve- ning we saw a Brown or Grisley beare on a sand beech, I went out with one man Geo Drewyer & Killed the bear, which was verry hard to kill we Shot ten Balls into him be- fore we killed him, & 5 of those Balls through his lights This animal is the largest of the carnivorous kind I ever saw . . ." (Lewis) "Sunday May 5th 1805 it was a most tremendious looking ana- mal, and extreemly hard to kill not- withstanding he had five balls through his lungs and five others in various parts he swam more than half the distance across the river to a sandbar & it was at least twenty minutes before he died; he did not attempt to attack, but fled and made the most tremendous roaring from the moment he was shot. We had no means of weighing this monster; Capt. Clark thought he would weigh 500 lbs. for my own part I think the estimate too small by 100 lbs. he measured 8 Feet 7 V2 Inches from the nose to the extremety of the hind feet, 5 F. 1 0 V2 Ins. arround the breast, 1 F. 11. I. arround the middle of the arm, & 3 Ft. 11 I. arround the neck; his tallons which were five in num- ber on each foot were 4-3/s inches in length, he was in good order, we therefore divided him among the party and made them boil the oil and put it in a cask for future uce; the oil is as hard as hogs lard when cool, much more so than that of the black bear. This bear differs from the common black bear in several respects; it's tallons are much longer and more blont, it's tale shorter, it's hair which is of a redish or bey brown, is longer thicker and finer than that of the black bear; his liver lungs and heart are much larger even in proportion with his size; the heart particularly was as large as that of a large Ox. his maw was also ten times the size of black bear, and was filled with flesh and fish. "The party killed two Elk and a Buff aloe today, and my dog caught a goat, which he overtook by su- perior fleetness, the goat it must be understood was with young and ex- treemly poor. "Monday May 6th 1805 saw a brown (grizzly) bear swim the river above us, he disappeared before we can get in reach of him; I find thai 2The bighorn or Rocky Mountain sheep. Its meat was one of the great delicacies of the West. 24 the curiossity ot our party is pretty well satisfyed with rispect to this ana- mal, the formidable appearance oi the male bear killed on the 5th added to the difficulty with which they die when even shot through the vital parts, has staggered the resolu- tion (of) several of them, others how- ever seem keen for action with the bear; I expect these gentlemen will give us some amusement sho(r)tly as they (the bears) soon begin now to coppolate. saw a great quantity of game of every species common here. Capt Clark walked on shore and killed two Elk; they were not in very good order, we therefore took a part of the meat only; it is now only amusement for Capt. C. and myself to kill as much meat as the party can consum. "Tuesday May 14th 1805 one of the party wounded a brown (grizzly) bear very badly, but being alone did not think proper to pursue him. In the evening the men in two of the rear canoes discovered a large brown bear lying in the open grounds about 300 paces from the river, and six of them went out to attack him, all good hunters; they took the advantage of a small eminence which concealed them and got within 40 paces of him unperceived, two of them reserved their fires as has been previously conscerted, the four others fired nearly at the same time and put each his bullet through him, two of the balls passed through the bulk of both lobes of his lungs, in an instant this monster ran at them with open mouth, the two who had reserved their fir(e)s discharged their pieces at him as he came towards them, boath of them struck him, one only slightly and the other fortunately broke his shoulder, this however only retarded his motion for a moment only, the men unable to reload their guns took to flight, the bear pursued and had very nearly overtaken them before they reached the river; two of the party betook themselves to a canoe and the others seperated and(d) con- cealed themselves among the wil- lows, reloaded their pieces, each dis- charged his piece at him as they had an opportunity they struck him sev- eral times again but the guns served only to direct the bear to them, in this manner he pursued two of them seperately so close that they were obliged to throw aside their guns and pouches and throw themselves into the river altho the bank was nearly twenty feet perpendicular; so enraged was this anamal that he plunged into the river only a few feet behind the second man he had compelled (to) take refuge in the water, when one of those who still remained on shore shot him through the head and finally killed him; they then took him on shore and butch- (er)ed him when they found eight balls had passed through him in different directions; the bear being old the flesh was indifferent, they therefore only took the skin and fleece, the latter made us several gal- lons of oil. "I descended the hill and directed my course to the bend of the Missouri near which there was a herd of at 25 least a thousand buffaloe; here I thought it would be well to kill a buf- faloe and leave him untill my return from the river and if I then found that I had not time to get back to camp this evening to remain all night here there being a few sticks of drift wood lying along shore which would an- swer for my fire and a few scatter- ing cottonwcod trees a few hundred yards below which would afford me ct least the semblance of a shelter- under this impression I scelected a fat buffaloe and shot him very well, through the lungs; while I was gaze- ing attentively on the poor anamal discharging blood in streams from his mouth and nostrils, expecting him to fall every instant, and having en- tirely forgotten to reload my rifle, a large white, or reather brown bear, had perceived and crept on me with- in 20 steps before I discovered him; in the first moment I drew up my gun to shoot, but at the same instant recolected that she was not loaded and that he was too near for me to hope to perform this opperation be- fore he reached me, as he was then briskly advancing on me; it was an open level plain, not a bush within miles nor a tree within less than three hundred yards of me; the river bank was sloping and not more than three feet above the level of the water; in short there was no place by means of which I could conceal myself from this monster untill I could charge my rifle; in this situation 1 thought of retreating in a brisk walk as fast as he was advancing untill I could reach a tree about 300 yards below me, but I had no sooner terned myself about but he pitched at me, open mouthed and full speed, I ran about 80 yards and found he gained on me fast I, then run into the water the idea struk me to get into the water to such debth that I could stand and he would be obliged to swim, and that I could in that sit- uation defend myself with my espon- toon; accordingly I ran haistily into the water about waist deep, and faced about and presented the point of my espontoon, at this instant he arrived at the edge of the water with- in about 20 feet of me; the moment I put myself in this attitude of defence he sudonly wheeled about as if frightened, declined to combat on such unequal grounds and retreated with quite as great precipitation as he had just before pursued me. "As soon as I saw him run in that manner I returned to the shore and charged my gun, which I had still retained in my hand through this curious adventure. I saw him run through the level open plain about three miles, till he disappeared in the woods on medecine river; during the whole of this distance he ran at full speed, sometimes appearing to look behind him as if he expected pur- suit. I now began to reflect on this novil occurence and indeavoured to account for this sudden retreat of the bear. I at first thought that perhaps he had not smelt me bofore he ar- rived at the waters edge so near me, but I then reflected that he had pur- sued me for about 80 or 90 yards be- fore I took the water and on examina- 26 Historically, grizzlies were principally oriented to the east slopes of the Rockies. —Photo Courtesy of Montana Historical Society tion saw the grownd team with his tallons immediately on the impres- sion of my steps; and the cause of his allarm still remains with me mis- terious and unaccountable. So it was and I felt myself not a little gratifyed that he had declined the combat, my gun reloaded I felt confidence once more in my strength. "in returning through the level bot- tom of Medecine River and about 200 yards distant from the Missouri, my direction led me directly to an ana- mal that I at first supposed was a wolf; but on nearer approach or about sixty paces distant I discov- ered that it was not, it's colour was a brownish yellow; it was standing near it's burrow, and when I ap- proached it thus nearly, it couched itself down like a cat looking immedi- ately at me as if it designed to spring on me. I took aim at it and fired, it instantly disappeared in its bur- row; I loaded my gun and ex(a)mined the place which was dusty and saw the track from which I am still further convinced that it was of the tiger kind, whether I struck it or not I could not determine, but I am almost confident that I did; my gun is true and I had a steady rest by means of my espontoon, which I have found very serviceable to me in this way in the open plains. It now seemed to me that all the beasts of the neigh- bourhood had made a league to dis- troy me, or that some fortune was dis- posed to amuse herself at my ex- pence, for I had not proceded more than three hundred yards from the burrow of this tyger cat, before three 27 bull buffaloe, which wer feeding with a large herd about half a mile from me on my left, seperated from the herd and ran full speed towards me, I thought at least to give them some amusement and altered my direc- tion to meet them; when they arrived within a hundred yards they mad(e) a halt, took a good view of me and retreated with precipitation. I then continued my rout homewards . . ." The final mention of this early ac- count of the western grizzly, we leave to Bernard DeVoto. It proves only one point. Historically, during the entire period of exploration and early settlement, probably as late as the first major rush for gold in Montana Territory- in the early 1860's, the griz- zly was principally oriented tc the east slope of the Rockies. But it is important to note that he was not, fundamentally, a mountain animal. The encroachment of civilization caused the grizzly to constantly go further and further away from the (for him) damnable smell of man and his machinations. Lewis and Clark noted huge numbers of grizzlies in the area of the Great Falls of the Mis- souri, feasting on the broken carcas- ses of countless buffalo, killed or drowned there by the dangerous cut banks and swift waterfalls. There- after they did not mention another grizzly on the long trek to the Pacific and back — until they again returned to Montana soil on the return journey to St. Louis. The final words are those of De- Voto in his brilliant editing which ap- pear in his THE JOURNALS OF LEWIS AND CLARK (Houghton, Mif- flin Company, Boston, 1953): "On h,s way to the Great Falls Lewis had noted the abundance of buffalo and grizzlies. One herd of the former, Clark said, numbered ten thousand, and there were so many of the latter and they became so "troublesome that I (Lewis) do not think it prudent to send one man alone on an errand of any kind." One (grizzly) charged Joseph Fields and he was able to escape only by leap- ing into the river and crouching un- der an overhanging bank. Another chased Drewyer for a hundred yards after he had shot it through the heart. But all this game — there were large herds of elk and antelope as well — meant that the party lived high. Af- ter leaving the Missouri, especially in the Bitterroot Mountains where there was no game at all and along the Columbia where they had to live on salmon, they were to remember this area with the longing of hungry men. The captains were prepared for the short rations to come, having been told by the Minnetarees that there were no buffalo (or grizzlies) west of the mountains." 28 Return To MONTANA FISH & GAME DEPARTMENT Helena, Montana Helena, Montana Sec. 34.66, P. L. & R. U. S. POSTAGE PAID Permit No. 50 FORM 3547 REQUESTED