THE GRIZZLY AND THE CAN
When one remembers the Grizzly Bear as the monarch of the mountains, the king of the plains, and the one of matchless might and unquestioned sway among the wild things of the West, it gives one a shock to think of him being conquered and cowed by a little tin can. Yet he was, and this is how it came about.
A grand old Grizzly, that was among the summer retinue of a Park hotel, was working with two claws to get out the very last morsel of some exceptionally delicious canned stuff. The can was extra strong, its ragged edges were turned in, and presently both toes of the Bear were wedged firmly in the clutch of that impossible, horrid little tin trap. The monster shook his paw, and battered the enemy, but it was as sharp within as it was smooth without, and it gripped his paw with the fell clutch of a disease. His toes began to swell with all this effort and violence, till they filled the inner space completely. The trouble was made worse and the paw became painfully inflamed.
All day long that old Grizzly was heard clumping around with that dreadful little tin pot wedged on his foot. Sometimes there was a loud succession of clamp, clamp, clamp's which told that the enraged monarch with canned toes was venting his rage on some of the neighbouring Blackbears.
The next day and the next that shiny tin maintained its frightful grip on the Grizzly, who, limping noisily around, was known and recognized as "Can-foot." His comings and goings to and from the garbage heap, by day and by night, were plainly announced to all by the clamp, clamp, clamp of that maddening, galling tin. Some weeks went by and still the implacable meat box held on.
The officer in charge of the Park came riding by one day; he heard the strange tale of trouble, and saw with his own eyes the limping Grizzly, with his muzzled foot. At a wave of his hand two of the trusty scouts of the Park patrol set out with their ponies and whistling lassoes on the strangest errand that they, or any of their kind, had ever known. In a few minutes those wonderful raw-hide ropes had seized him and the monarch of the mountains was a prisoner bound. Strong shears were at hand. That vicious little can was ripped open. It was completely filled now with the swollen toes. The surgeon dressed the wounds, and the Grizzly was set free. His first blind animal impulse was to attack his seeming tormenters, but they were wise and the ponies were bear-broken; they easily avoided the charge, and he hastened to the woods to recover, finally, both his health and his good temper, and continue about the Park, the only full-grown Grizzly Bear, probably, that man ever captured to help in time of trouble, and then set loose again to live his life in peace.
XLV. The Bears at feeding time
Photos by F. Jay Haynes
XLVI. (a) Tom Newcomb pointing out the bear's mark.
Photo by E. T. Seton
(b) E. T. Seton feeding a Bear.
Photo by C. B. Harmon
Appendix
Mammals of the Yellowstone Park
A list of the Species Found in the Park in 1912
By Ernest Thompson Seton
With assistance from the U. S. Biological Survey,
and Colonel L. M. Brett, in charge of the Park.
Elk or Wapiti (Cervus canadensis)
Abundant. By actual official count, and estimate of stray bands, they number at least 35,000, of which about 5,000 winter in the Park.
Mule Deer or Rocky Mt. Blacktail (Odocoileus heminus)
Common. The official census gives their number at 400, of which at least 100 winter about Fort Yellowstone.
Whitetail Deer (Odocoileus virginianus macrourus)
A few found about Gardiner, on Willow Creek, on Indian Creek, at Crevasse Mt. and in Cottonwood Basin. The official census gives their number at 100.
Moose (Alces americanus)
Formerly rare, now abundant in all the southerly third of the Park. In 1897 they were estimated at 50. The official census gives their number at 550 in 1912.
Antelope or Pronghorn (Antilocapra americana)
Formerly abundant, now rare; found only in broad open places such as Lamar Valley, etc. Their numbers have shrunk from many thousands in the '70's to about 1,500 in 1897, and 500 in 1912.
Mountain Sheep or Bighorn (Ovis canadensis)
Formerly rare, now common about Mt. Evarts, Mt. Washburn and the western boundary. In 1897 there were about 100, perhaps only 75; in 1912 they are reported numbering 210 by actual count.
American Buffalo or Bison (Bison bison)
Steadily increasing. In 1897 there were about 30; they now number 199 by actual count. These are in two herds, of 49 wild, and 150 in the fenced corrals.
Richardson Red-squirrel (Sciurus hudsonicus richardsoni)
Abundant in all pine woods.
Northern Chipmunk (Eutamias quadrivittatus luteiventris)
Extremely abundant everywhere.
Least Chipmunk (Eutamias minimus pictus)
Common about Mammoth Hot Springs.
Golden Ground-squirrel (Citellus lateralis cinerascens)
Common.
Picket-pin Ground-squirrel (Citellus armatus)
Abundant on all level prairies.
Prairie-dog (Cynomys ludovicianus)
Gen. Geo. S. Anderson told me long ago that the Prairie-dogs, so abundant on the Lower Yellowstone, were sometimes seen as far up as the Park at Gardiner.
XLVII. Johnnie Bear: his sins and his troubles
Sketches by E. T. Seton
XLVIII. Johnnie happy at last
Photo by Miss L. Griscom
Yellow Woodchuck, Rock Chuck or Marmot (Marmota flaviventer)
Abundant on all mountains.
Rocky Mt. Flying Squirrel (Sciuropterus alpinus)
Said to be found. I did not see one.
Beaver (Castor canadensis)
Abundant and increasing.
Grasshopper Mouse (Onychomys leucogaster)
I found a typical colony of this species on the Yellowstone near Yancey's but did not secure any.
Mountain Deer-mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus artemisiae)
Abundant everywhere.
Mountain Rat, Pack-rat or Wood-rat (Neotoma cinerea)
Said to be found, but I saw none.
Redbacked Vole or Field-mouse (Evotomys gapperi galei)
Not taken yet in the Park but found in all the surrounding country, therefore, probable.