CHAPTERIII。
OLDEPHRAIM，THEGRISLYBEAR。
ThekingofthegamebeastsoftemperateNorthAmerica，becausethemostdangeroustothehunter，isthegrislybear；knowntothefewremainingold-timetrappersoftheRockiesandtheGreatPlains，sometimesas\"OldEphraim\"andsometimesas\"MoccasinJoe\"——thelastinallusiontohisqueer，half-humanfootprints，whichlookasifmadebysomemishapengiant，walkinginmoccasins。
Bearvarygreatlyinsizeandcolor，nolessthanintemperandhabits。Oldhuntersspeakmuchofthemintheirendlesstalksoverthecampfiresandinthesnow-boundwinterhuts。Theyinsistonmanyspecies；notmerelytheblackandthegrislybutthebrown，thecinnamon，thegray，thesilver-tip，andotherswithnamesknownonlyincertainlocalities，suchastherangebear，theroach-back，andthesmut-face。But，inspiteofpopularopiniontothecontrary，mostoldhuntersareveryuntrustworthyindealingwithpointsofnaturalhistory。Theyusuallyknowonlysomuchaboutanygivenanimalaswillenablethemtokillit。Theystudyitshabitssolelywiththisendinview；andonceslaintheyonlyexamineittoseeaboutitsconditionandfur。Withrareexceptionstheyarequiteincapableofpassingjudgmentuponquestionsofspecificidentityordifference。Whenquestioned，theynotonlyadvanceperfectlyimpossibletheoriesandfactsinsupportoftheirviews，buttheyrarelyevenagreeastotheviewsthemselves。OnehunterwillassertthatthetruegrislyisonlyfoundinCalifornia，heedlessofthefactthatthenamewasfirstusedbyLewisandClarkeasoneofthetitlestheyappliedtothelargebearsoftheplainscountryroundtheUpperMissouri，aquarterofacenturybeforetheCaliforniagrislywasknowntofame。Anotherhunterwillcallanybigbrindledbearagrislynomatterwhereitisfound；
andheandhiscompanionswilldisputebythehourastowhetherabearoflarge，butnotextreme，sizeisagrislyorasilver-tip。InOregonthecinnamonbearisaphaseofthesmallblackbear；inMontanaitistheplainsvarietyofthelargemountainsilver-tip。I