nine in all.
CHAPTER XVIII.
SOMETHING ABOUT GAME AND WILD SPORTS.
Notwithstanding the thick growth of the forests of Oregon and Washington, the hunter may find sport, with game worthy of his rifle, if he is not afraid of the exertion and foot-service. There are numerous “ openings” in the forest, and plenty of wild country in the foot-hills, where game may be found if the habitat of each animal is known.
The most formidable of the bear family is the grizzly, which inhabits less the thick forests of the north than the manzanita thickets and the scrub-oak coverts of Southern Oregon. The color of this bear is a silvery gray, its bulk immense, sometimes weighing two thousand pounds, and its habits herbivorous chiefly, though it will, on sufficient provocation, kill and eat other animals, and even man. It subsists in Southern Oregon upon the berries of the manzanita, of which it is very fond, and will feed upon any berries or fruits within its reach,—occasionally, as a relish, digging up a wasps’-nest for the sake of the" honey, not being able, like the black bear, to climb in search of bees’-nests.
In seasons when drought has destroyed its customary food in the mountains of California, it has been known to descend into the valleys and dig up gophers for food. If it scents fresh venison or beet, it will steal it if possible, and has been known to take the hunter’s provisions out from under his head while sleeping. In such a case it is better to pretend to be sound asleep during the stealing, even if very wide awake, as is most likely to be the case, for any movement will be certain to bring down the bear’s paw with force upon the hunter’s head,—“ a consummation most devoutly to be” avoided.
This trick of the grizzly—striking a man on the head, or “ boxing his ears”—is a dangerous one. It is not at all rare to find men in the mountains and valleys where the grizzly ranges who have had their skulls broken by the blow of its immense paw. It is much to be dreaded in a personal encounter, and by
