The Grizzly, Our Greatest Wild Animal

John Stuart Mill · en
"This animal is the monarch of the country which he inhabitates. The
    African lion or the Bengal tiger are not more terrible than he. He
    is the enemy of man and literally thirsts for human blood. So far
    from shunning, he seldom fails to attack and even to hunt him. The
    Indians make war upon these ferocious monsters with ceremonies as
    they do upon a tribe of their own species, and, in the recital of
    their victories, the death of one of them gives the warrior greater
    renown than the scalp of an enemy. He possesses an amazing strength,
    and attacks without hesitation and tears to pieces the largest
    buffalo."

The first paragraph which Lewis and Clark wrote concerning the grizzly,
April 29, 1805, says:

    "We proceeded early, with a moderate wind. Captain Lewis, who was on
    shore with one hunter, met about eight o'clock two white bears. Of
    the strength and ferocity of this animal the Indians had given us
    dreadful accounts; they never attack him but in parties of six or
    eight persons, and even then are often defeated with a loss of one
    or more of the party. Having no weapons but bows and arrows, and
    the bad guns which the traders supply them, they are obliged to
    approach very near the bear, and as no wound except through the head
    or heart is fatal they frequently fall a sacrifice if they miss
    their aim. He rather attacks than avoids man, and such is the terror
    which he has inspired that the Indians who go in quest of him paint
    themselves and perform all the superstitious rites customary when
    they make war on a neighboring nation. Hitherto those we had seen
    did not appear desirous of encountering us, but although to a
    skillful rifleman the danger is very much diminished, yet the white
    bear is still a terrible animal. On the approach of these two, both
    Captain Lewis and the hunter fired and each wounded a bear; one of
    them made his escape; the other turned upon Captain Lewis and
    pursued him seventy or eighty yards, but being badly wounded he
    could not run so fast as to prevent him reloading his piece, which
    he again aimed at him, and a third shot from the hunter brought him
    to the ground."

Below are two additional paragraphs from the Journal of Lewis and Clark.
These show that the grizzly was most wide-awake and curious, and also
that he was not accustomed to being afraid.