As we cleaned his bones we hurled great slabs of muscle down the
canyon, knowing from experience that this would be a sign for all other
bears to leave the vicinity. Only the wolves and jays will eat grizzly
meat.
At last we finished him, as the sun rose over the mountain ridges and
gilded all the canyon with glory. We cleaned and salted the pelts,
packed them on our backs, and, dripping with salt brine and bear
grease, staggered to the nearest wagon trail. The hide of the big bear,
with unskinned paws and skull, weighed nearly one hundred and fifty
pounds.
We cached our trophies, tramped the weary miles back to camp, cleaned
up, packed and wandered to the nearest station, from which we ordered a
machine. When this arrived we gathered our belongings, turned our
various specimens over to a park ranger, to be given the final
treatments, and started on our homeward trip.
We were so exhausted from loss of sleep, exertion and excitement, that
we sank into a stupor that lasted almost the entire way home.
The California Academy of Sciences now has a handsome representative
group of _Ursus Horribilis Imperator_.
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