"The Ears Are Large, Erect, And Pointed; The Head Is Long
And Pointed, Like That Of The Fox; The Tail
Long and bushy;
the hair and fur are of a pale reddish-brown color, though much
coarser than that of
The fox; the eye is of a deep sea-green color,
small and piercing; the talons are rather longer than those of the wolf
of the Atlantic States, which animal, as far as we can perceive,
is not to be found on this side of the Platte. These wolves usually
associate in bands of ten or twelve, and are rarely, if ever,
seen alone, not being able, singly, to attack a deer or antelope.
They live and rear their young in burrows, which they fix near
some pass or spot much frequented by game, and sally out in a
body against any animal which they think they can overpower;
but on the slightest alarm retreat to their burrows, making a noise
exactly like that of a small dog.
"A second species is lower, shorter in the legs, and thicker than the
Atlantic wolf; the color, which is not affected by the seasons, is of every
variety of shade, from a gray or blackish-brown to a cream-colored white.
They do not burrow, nor do they bark, but howl; they frequent the woods
and plains, and skulk along the skirts of the buffalo herds, in order
to attack the weary or wounded."
Under date of May 5, the journal has an interesting story of an encounter
with a grizzly bear, which, by way of variety, is here called "brown,"
instead of "white." It is noticeable that the explorers dwelt with
much minuteness upon the peculiar characteristics of the grizzly;
this is natural enough when we consider that they were the first
white men to form an intimate acquaintance with "Ursus horribilis."
The account says: -
"Captain Clark and one of the hunters met, this evening, the largest
brown bear we have seen. As they fired he did not attempt to attack,
but fled with a most tremendous roar; and such was his extraordinary
tenacity of life, that, although he had five balls passed
through his lungs, and five other wounds, he swam more than half
across the river to a sand-bar, and survived twenty minutes.
He weighed between five and six hundred pounds at least,
and measured eight feet seven inches and a half from the nose
to the extremity of the hind feet, five feet ten inches and a half
round the breast, three feet eleven inches round the neck, one foot
eleven inches round the middle of the fore leg, and his claws
five on each foot, were four inches and three-eighths in length.
This animal differs from the common black bear in having his
claws much longer and more blunt; his tail shorter; his hair
of a reddish or bay brown, longer, finer, and more abundant;
his liver, lungs, and heart much larger even in proportion to his size,
the heart, particularly, being equal to that of a large ox;
and his maw ten times larger.
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