The next insists
that the California grisly is the only really dangerous bear; while
another stoutly maintains that it does not compare in ferocity with what
he calls the "smaller" silver-tip or cinnamon. And so on, and so on,
without end. All of which is mere nonsense.
Nevertheless it is no easy task to determine how many species or
varieties of bear actually do exist in the United States, and I cannot
even say without doubt that a very large set of skins and skulls would
not show a nearly complete intergradation between the most widely
separated individuals. However, there are certainly two very distinct
types, which differ almost as widely from each other as a wapiti does
from a mule deer, and which exist in the same localities in most heavily
timbered portions of the Rockies. One is the small black bear, a bear
which will average about two hundred pounds weight, with fine, glossy,
black fur, and the fore-claws but little longer than the hinder ones; in
fact the hairs of the fore-paw often reach to their tips.
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