Humans and bears - Wild encounters

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Man Meets Grizzly by Young and Beyers.
This account describes perhaps the first meeting of white men and grizzly bears of which we have any record, nearly one hundred years before Lewis and Clark met the white bear on the Missouri River. The bears in this account were undoubtedly grizzlies, although they were not yet known by that name and in fact had no distinguishing name.
In his excellent book, reviewing the Diary of the Campaign of Governor Antonio de Valverde against the Ute and Comanche Indians in 1719, Alfred Barnaby Thomas gives us an interesting history of New Mexico and Colorado. Both the territory and the bears were new and strange to these explorers: we note the governor giving names to the various springs and campgrounds along the way.

The EXPEDITION having set out from Santa Fe, crossed the river and went along its meadows for four leagues over level ground; his lordship gave the name of the place San Francisco. It is a cheerful spot with a beautiful view and excellent springs. On the left there is a range of mountains and on the right a very extensive plain. On this road today many deer and prairie chickens which moved about in flocks were caught to such an extent that nowhere else were more caught because of their abundance in this region. The governor hunted deer and chicken. On this day a mountain lion and a wildcat were killed. At about sunset some Indians came in running from a bear, which plunged into the middle of the camp, throwing the people into confusion. With great shouting and uproar, they killed him with many spear thrusts and arrows. His strength and size were so formidable that the governor was impelled to go with the chaplain to view it.

They camped at a spring the governor named Nuestra Senora de Dolores. On the sixth of the present month of October, the senor governor and all his camp left this spring of Nuestra Senora de Dolores and marched over level land and through many good pastures because it was grassy. On the road to the left was a summit sloping to the east, heavily wooded with pines. Having traveled some six leagues, they arrived at a spring which had considerable water. There the camp was put up and the governor called it Nuestra Senora del Carmen. On this day before the halt a bear was met. It was larger than the preceding ones, for its size and height were probably greater than of a donkey. One of the soldiers went out and put a spear into him up to the middle of the shaft. The brute turning around seized the lance, and grasped the horse by the hocks. At the same time another soldier went to the rescue and gave the bear another spear thrust. The bear, seizing the horse by the tail, held him down and clawing viciously, tore a piece of flesh off the rump. Having tied the bear up finally, they finished killing him. The soldiers who were bringing up the rear guard of the cavalry met a female and two cubs which they also killed. Reply