Bear Hunting...The Indian Way

BEAR FACTS:

Hunting bears with the bow and arrow is a very old pastime, in fact, it ranks next in antiquity to killing them with a club.

The bear has stood for all that is dangerous and horrible for ages. No doubt, our ancestral experiences with the cave bears stamped the dread of these mighty beasts indelibly in our hearts.

The Yana indian method of hunting bears was to shoot the beast in the open mouth. It is said that the blood thus choked and killed him.

But after examining the bear skulls, it seems that a shot in the mouth is more likely to be fatal because the base of the brain is here covered with the thinnest layers of bone. Arrows can hardly penetrate the thick frontal bones of the skull, but up through the palate there would be no difficulty in entering the brain.

All Indians seem to have had a wholesome respect for the grizzly, the mighty brother of the mountains, and they gave him the right of way.

The black bear is, of course, the same animal whether brown or cinnamon, these color variations are simply brunette, blonde and auburn complexions, the essential anatomical and habit characteristics are identical.

The American black bear at one time ranged all over the United States and Canada.

In the western mountains he is to be met with quite frequently, but is not given to unprovoked attack, and with high-powered rifles an encounter with him is not fraught with great danger.

He, or more properly, she will charge man with intent to kill upon certain rare occasions--when wounded, surprised, or when feeling that her young are in danger.

But the bear, in company with all the other animals of the wilds, has learned to fear man since gunpowder was invented. Prior to this time, it felt the game was more equal, and seldom avoided a meeting, even courted it.

Bears are a mixture of the curious comedy traits with cunning and savage ferocity, exibiting pilfering habits.

The black bear has killed and will kill men when brought to bay or wounded or even when he feels himself cornered.

Although largely vegetarian, bear also capture and devour prey. Young deer, marmots, ground squirrels, sheep, and cattle are their diet. In certain districts great damage is done to flocks by bears that have become killers.

In our hunts we have come across dead sheep, slain and partially devoured by black bears. All ranchers can tell of the depredations of these animals.

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