Humans and bears - Wild encounters

[brotherbear]

Man Meets Grizzly by Young and Beyers.
Few people have desired grizzly bears as pets. James Capen Adams was one exception. He captured a female cub in Oregon and named her Martha Washington. She became remarkably domesticated and followed Adams through the mountains, where on cold winter nights he would build a fire and have the bear lie down near it, then cuddle himself up very cozily between the bear and the fire. In 1854 he captured the cub Ben Franklin. To raise this cub he took two pups away from a greyhound dog named Rambler, and the grizzly, Ben Franklin, grew to maturity close chums with the dog. This bear was Adam's close companion during his later years, once saving his life from a wounded grizzly by engaging it in combat while Adams reloaded his gun. Adams would pack his camp equipment on Ben or load a deer upon his back to carry to camp. After he quit hunting, he kept a small museum where he let children ride Ben for a dime. Adams demonstrated that the monarch of the mountains, the much feared and maligned grizzly, could be wholly domesticated and become a true and loyal friend.

Yet captivity, however gentle and kindly, is not to a bear's liking, and, ironically, Adams death resulted from the effects of a blow to the head administered by his domesticated grizzly. Most captive bears seem to resent their present condition. Reply