A "most tremendous looking animal, and extreemly hard to kill," wrote Lewis in his journal on May 5, 1805. Read more about The Beaver; Elk. All of a sudden he saw a grizzly bear in the bushes. ... one of the party wounded a brown bear very badly, but being alone did not think proper to pursue him. He decided to make camp and shot a buffalo. The bear raised itself up to attack. I have eaten bear meat. It was from a big black bear, not a grizzly bear. … Gass's journal, shows Captain Clark with his men shooting a grizzly bear. May 14, 1805 [Lewis] Tuesday May 14th 1805. Lewis and Clark Artifact Found A piece of jewelry brought back East by explorers Lewis and Clark had been missing for the past 60 years. The grizzly bear account is one of the stories you will find in my book #Where Did Sacagawea Join the Corps of Discovery?And Other Questions about the Lewis and Clark Expedition (Lerner Publishing Group, 2011). Dangers of the Trail. This picture from Sgt. Clark had estimated the beast weighed 500 pounds, but Lewis thought it was closer to 600. Grizzly Bear: Ursus arctos horribilis Grizzlies in the Journals "the Indians give a very formidable account of the strength and ferocity of this anamal, which they never dare to attack but in parties of six, eight or ten persons; and are even then frequently defeated with the loss of one or more of their party . Revered by Plains Indians, the grizzly also impressed Lewis and Clark: Accustomed to the smaller, shier black bear of the East, they initially brushed aside native warnings about the "white bear's" ferocity, but that quickly changed once they’d experienced it for themselves firsthand. The Beaver. On July 15, 1806, Hugh McNeal was out alone on horseback. LEWIS, CLARK AMONG THE BEARS ~ FIRST ENCOUNTERS (You are here) Map PLUS Lewis and Clark timeline of regional encounters (PDF)From a distance the grizzly bear was unfamiliar to science and Lewis and Clark: Grizzly Bear: A Close Encounter for Meriwether Lewis The journals of Lewis and Clark, and those written by members of the Corps of Discovery, record at least forty terrifying encounters with the ferocious Grizzly Bear on the Lewis and Clark expedition. Griz Quiz. The Grizzly Bear in Native American Culture “Lewis and Clark provided a sound outline of other aspects of grizzly bear natural history, including quite a few preferred foods and foraging behavior, mating season, and a surprising number of details about the relationship between grizzly bears and Indians. O n October 20, 1804, near the Heart River at today's Mandan, North Dakota, men of the Lewis and Clark Expedition saw their first sign of the grizzly bear. Lewis raised his gun to shoot and then realized he had not reloaded his riffle. ." Lewis and Clark Artifact Found A piece of jewelry brought back East by explorers Lewis and Clark had been missing for the past 60 years.