King of the Grizzlies (1970) Movie Script
NARRA TOR.' In the year 1899,
Ernest Thompson Seton wrote...
"Over the years,
I heard many tales...
"of the mighty
Moh-Sum-See-Wahb.
"The grizzl y
that nature fashioned...
"into a master of cunning
and a monument of power.
"These stories were told to me
by an assortment of men...
"the cattlemen
who hated Wahb...
"and the Indians who called
the great bear 'Brother'...
"and honored him
as their totem.
"I once saw Wahb myself,
across a river's canyon...
"when he still ruled
his mountain kingdom.
"And now, at last...
"I have determined
to set down his story...
"as best my humble pen
knows how. "
We shall begin
in a time long gone...
on the pine-timbered shores
of a little mountain lake.
NARRA TOR.'
In the way of her kind...
the old grizzl y
feared no living thing...
Yet today, she made certain...
that the open country beyond
the woods was clear of danger.
The two cubs had been born
during winter hibernation.
NARRA TOR.'
She was a very old grizzly.
This brother and sister
would be her last pair of cubs.
The little male had been born
short of one toe on one foot...
and by this track,
he would, in time...
become known
as "Moh-Sum-See-Wahb"...
an Indian term that means
"four-toed grizzly. "
But that was far
in the future.
Right now, Wahb was just
one of two curious cubs.
The sight of this little marmot
was an exciting discovery.
The cubs didn't know
whether the badger...
was a fellow they ought
to be friendly with...
or fearful of...
but Mom had no time for mixin'
with the local critters.
She was moving her family clear
out of this neighborhood...
to another part of the country.
It was only about one hill
and two valleys later...
that that old she-bear began
to feel the need for rest.
About the same time,
the cubs found an ideal spot...
for a game
of king of the mountain.
Actually, it started out
to be queen of the mountain...
but Wahb figured that
was a matter for debate.
NARRATOR.'
Sister finally made her point.
Then, as soon as she
gained the upper hand...
Wahb lost his footing and slid
right into the cafeteria.
Well, Sister had won,
but it was a hollow victory.
She'd rather go down there...
and share
the sweet taste of defeat.
During their first summer,
mother's liquid food...
would be only
part of the cubs'diet.
That made weaning important
in their training.
So, today it would
be a short nip...
followed by a short nap...
and after that, it was time
for an introduction...
to the wonderful world
of solid food.
Now, just about
anything and everything...
fills the bill of fare
for a grizzly...
and no amount of effort
is too much...
for a small reward,
even if it means...
turning over
a 2oo-pound rock...
to turn up two ounces
of grubs and beetles.
NARRATOR.' While the cubs
were diggin the beetles...
Mom figured
to take somethin'...
she'd been dreaming
about all winter...
a good, long, luxurious bath.
Once she got her nose wet,
the old gal was quite a cut-up.
Wow!
NARRATOR.'
Whatever Mom was doin'...
the cubs wanted no part of it.
They'd take their water sports
on the beach.
The fact is, bear cubs
are natural-born swimmers.
Meantime, Mom
had stopped foolin'around...
and settled down
to do some serious fishin'.
Now, fish ranks high
on a grizzly's menu...
but the youngsters
have to learn to like it.
Trouble was, this trout
wasn't about to cooperate.
NARRATOR.' Well, no use worrying
about the one that got away.
The cubs woul d just go back
and move in on Mom's meal.
Maybe in time
they'd acquire the taste...
but for Sister, fish was ish.
She wanted a mouthwash.
Wahb never even got that far.
About now,
travelin'fever hit Mom again.
The old bear wasn't
just wandering aimlessly.
She had a destination in mind...
a distant,
dimly-remembered place...
where the land was friendly
and the living easy.
It woul d be a long trek,
and there would be time...
for some recreation
along the way...
including winter sports
on the high levels.
Even Mom decided
to have a go at the snow.
NARRATOR.' Wahb was born
with a kind of compulsion...
for pushing things over.
This time, he got carried away.
NARRATOR.' That trip
had left Wahb a little wobbly.
The bears'journey led
across the highest peaks...
and down past
melting snow patches...
on the opposite side
of the mountains.
As the days
and the miles passed by...
the cubs grew
in strength and size...
and nothing does
a better job of growing...
than a bear cub...
especially a little grizzly.
Wahb and his sister had weighed
about ten ounces each...
at the time
of their mid-winter birth...
but as spring gave way
to summer, they had reached...
a well-rounded
forty pounds apiece...
and by now,
the she-bear was heading...
toward the last leg
of her long journey.
She couldn't know, of course,
that the passing years...
had brought changes to the
land she had known as a cub.
Even here...
on the remote headwaters
of the Greybull River...
the high country was no longer
an uncharted wilderness.
NARRATOR.' His name was Moki.
He was a Cree Indian.
In his childhood,
this land had been his home.
Long ago, he had taken
the white man's ways...
and served
in the white man's army...
but now he had come back
to the scenes of his youth...
and a flood
of long-forgotten memories.
Among these same crags,
he had watched Wahmdi...
the eagle,
lifted into the sky...
by the strong medicine
of the sun.
Here, too, he had chipped
the hunting points...
for his first small arrows,
down there by the river's edge.
And far up
in the high country...
was that secret place
called Takakawa...
a waterfall
where his grandfather...
had washed away
his childhood...
and placed upon his hand
the sign of the Great Bear.
NARRATOR.' Was it an omen
or just a coincidence?
Moki was glad
that the bears seemed to be...
at home here
in the high country.
If they followed the river
down into the bench lands...
there could be trouble.
Moki was a cattleman now.
He was the foreman
of the ranch...
whose wide borders
he had just completed mapping.
Hyah! Hyah hyah hyah!
Whoo! Hyah!
NARRATOR.'
In these early stages...
the spread was only
a couple of buildings...
surrounded by great stretches
of raw land.
But the beginnings of
an empire were already here...
including the first herds
of whiteface...
that would soon
replace the longhorn...
as king of the western cattle.
COWBOYS.' Hey, hey, hey!
Ha ha! Whoo!
NARRATOR.' The old bear's
first concern was for her cubs.
For them, a safe hiding place
and a warning to stay put.
For herself, a scouting trip
to check up on all that noise.
The cubs were a couple
of weeks larger now...
and Wahb figured that
was about the right size...
to go exploring,
no matter what Sister said.
Now, fate was preparing
the stage for the first act...
in the strange drama
of the four-toed grizzly...
the Indian
who would be his friend...
and the cattleman
who would be his enemy.
Colonel Pearson was
a retired Army officer.
Once Moki had served as
the colonel's aide and scout...
now as his friend and foreman.
Hi-yo! Hyah!
COWBOY.' Hyah! Hyah! Hyah!
Hi-yo!
Let's fan out!
Charlie, Tom, take that side!
Right!
- Pecos!
- Yeah!
Comb the draw!
Got ya. Come on.
Do you want
to stay with me, sir?
Yeah, right.
NARRATOR.'
She sensed danger to her cubs.
It woul d be better to take
her family far away from here.
Mom hadn't gone more than
a few feet when she realized...
of her following.
She couldn't see him
or hear him...
so she set out to find him.
Actually, Wahb had traveled
about a quarter of a mile...
and right now
was working his way...
toward something of a problem.
It took a hollow log
to bring it into focus.
NARRATOR.'
Wahb figured to extend...
the paw of friendship...
but the calf just couldn't see
a bear cub as a companion.
NARRATOR.' The little heifer
was hollerin'for help...
and she got it.
There, in the thicket!
Come on!
Look like we got 'em all.
COLONEL.'
Hmm. My first grizzly.
Too bad she cost me
a prime bull.
Yeah. Too bad.
Too bad about the bull
or the bear?
Too bad about the cubs.
Little grizzlies
grow big, Moki.
You've got a new totem now,
remember.
Cattle.
Yes, sir.
You'll want to save the hide,
I guess.
NARRATOR.' Against
the colonel's rifle...
Wahb had only the good luck
of a near miss.
NARRATOR.'
Wahb didn't waste any time.
More than anything else,
he wanted to get wrung out...
and right back
into the family fold...
wherever that was.
NARRATOR.' All through the early
morning hours the next day...
the roundup was still
in progress along the river...
but now the last few
head of cattle...
had been hazed out
of the willow breaks...
and headed for the ranch.
NARRATOR.' Throughout
the rest of the morning...
Moki continued
to comb the bench lands...
in case any hideout cattle
had been overlooked.
At this little waterhole,
he got off on another track.
NARRATOR.' The way Moki saw it,
he had two choices...
he coul d let the cub get down
and go about his business...
or he could shoot him.
But then, Moki figured
there was a third way...
and he decided to take it.
NARRATOR.'
It was a peculiar thing...
for a cattleman
to do for a grizzly...
even a little one...
but it wasn't so strange
for an Indian...
who happened to be a member
of the Bear Clan.
MOKI.' Come on, boy.
Let's not make this a problem.
Back up!
MOKI.' Back up!
Unh!
Easy!
Come on. Come on.
Unh!
Easy!
Come here! Come here, boy.
Whoa! Whoa!
Easy, boy! Come on!
Come back here!
Whoa, boy!
Easy now. Easy now.
Give me back my coat!
There you go.
All right, now.
Boy, you're...
makin' this tough.
Easy now. Easy.
There you go.
This won't hurt, boy.
This won't hurt you.
See? Come on.
Aw, be quiet.
NARRATOR.'
When Moki threw a rope...
instead of a bullet
at the grizzly cub...
he had an idea
that some day...
he might have
to face the consequences...
but right now he wasn't
thinking about the future.
In fact, he was making
a long journey into the past.
It was a journey...
his grandfather
woul d have approved.
For now, he'd decided there
was onl y one fitting place...
to turn the cub loose.
That had to be the exact spot
where Moki the Indian boy...
had passed through the ritual
of the Bear Clan...
to become a man.
Moki could still remember...
the voice of his grandfather
telling the legend...
of how the Clan of the Grizzl y
came to be.
NARRATOR.'
"In the sunrise of time...
"Kichemunito,
the great spirit...
"made the sky and the earth
and the waters.
"Then he made the grizzly
and the Cree. "
"There was war
between the two tribes...
"and the grizzly fell as
brown leaves in the forest. "
"The grizzly
was mighty in battle...
"but he coul d not stand against
the weapons of the Cree. "
"Kichemunito saw and was angry.
"He would not let
the Great Bear...
"vanish from the earth. "
"With a sweep of his hand...
"he piled up
the high lone mountains...
"and gave them to the grizzly
to be his hunting ground.
"He took from the Cree
the bravest warriors...
"and bound them together
in a clan. "
"In the waters
of the Takakawa...
"he washed the blood
from their hand...
"and placed a mark upon them.
"Then Kichemunito spoke. "
NARRATOR.' "Hear me,
warriors of the Cree.
"Now I have made you
brother to the bear.
"Go from this place.
"Meet your brother in peace.
"From this time...
"for as long as the waters
of the Takakawa fall. "
Take it easy now.
We're here.
This is it.
Now you stay up here,
where you belong!
Come back to my country,
and we're both in big trouble.
Go in peace, my little brother.
And you can thank
my grandfather.
NARRATOR.' It was in
this high, wide wilderness...
that being on his own
and all alone...
became a way of life for Wahb.
The first several days...
he had carried on the search
for his mother...
but nature has wisely
given young animals...
a short memory
about such things...
and so, as the days passed...
the problem
of finding his family...
graduall y gave way to
a full-time search for food.
Not that food was scarce.
It was the height
of the summer berry season.
The problem was Wahb's
incredible growth rate...
three to five pounds a day.
Fortunately, most of
the local berry eaters...
like the raccoon...
were more than willing to let
any grizzly, any size...
be first in line
at nature's pantry.
NARRATOR.'
Just one glimpse of Wahb...
was enough to give the fox
a case of the jitters.
And even a tough,
little pine marten...
yiel ded the right of way.
But there were all kinds
of critters around here...
and right now,
Wahb was about to meet...
the queen cat
of this timber tangle.
The mother cougar
had only one cub...
untouchable, unapproachable.
Well, Wahb didn't care
much for kittens, anyway.
He'd make a wide detour.
The cougar would
give him some help.
NARRATOR.' She had to admit,
that big lout...
had the best left hook
she'd ever seen.
NARRATOR.' Well, it was plain
that this royal kitten...
was due for a change
in summer residence.
If the rowdy element
was moving in...
the cougar was moving out.
The mother cat could have
saved herself the trouble...
because a certain
wayfaring bear cub...
had wasted no time
in hitting the trail again.
After such an easy victory...
Wahb's growing confidence
kept pace with his weight.
Then, just when Wahb
hit 150 pounds...
his confidence
got set back to zero.
NARRATOR.' Eating
was not a spectator sport...
the way Wahb saw it.
NARRATOR.' Turned out
that Blackie's sweet tooth...
was already pacified.
It was a temporary filling,
though.
Wahb took only enough time...
to make sure it was all clear
in the clearing.
NARRATOR.' Now, Blackie could've
gone right up after Wahb...
but he decided
the point had been made.
Besides, it just worked up
a whole new appetite.
But now,
joining the festivities...
the real boss bear
of these parts.
This young grizzly,
just entering his prime...
was at the peak of his power,
and, by right of might...
anything and everything
was his for the taking.
NARRATOR.' There was only one
way out, and Blackie took it.
NARRATOR.'
A squalling young'un...
was the one thing
the new king couldn't stand...
and that was bad.
But adult grizzlies
can't climb trees...
and that was good...
so he couldn't go up
and get him.
But he could do something
that was just as good...
and that was bad.
NARRATOR.' This hole
was only the groundwork.
Next thing
was to stuff that brat in...
and cover him up,
soon as he shook him down.
NARRATOR.' That swingin'trip
finally came to an end...
only because
the ground crew got tired.
As a final gesture...
the grizzly would leave
a permanent warning...
for all who trespassed
in his domain.
In the manner of bears...
he made the mark
that said he was the king...
and this was his country.
NARRATOR.' It was mid-morning
the next day...
before Wahb got up
the courage to get down.
NARRATOR.' Uh-oh. He didn't
like the look of that bush.
No telling what was behind it.
NARRATOR.' It was autumn now,
and the changing seasons...
brought a change
to Wahb's way of life.
As the fall colors
spread over the mountains...
more and more,
Wahb was drawn upward...
toward the higher country.
When Wahb found
the first snowfall...
he weighed
nearly four hundred pounds.
For some time now, he'd had
the definite feeling...
of being late
for something.
He didn't know what it was,
but one thing for certain...
he sure felt awful sleepy
these days.
In Wahb's slide for home...
he had by instinct
returned to the same den...
in which he was born.
All at once...
Wahb knew he'd found the cure
for what ailed him.
He just needed
a good long winter's nap.
Now, there already happened
to be one resident here...
a pack rat
that had staked himself...
a little quarter section.
Not far away
was a pair of wolverines...
that had been
apartment hunting.
This young couple had
decided on a certain place...
they'd staked out
last summer.
NARRATOR.'
The wolverines decided...
they'd got a lot more bear
than they'd bargained for.
He coul d just have
the whole den.
NARRATOR.' Considering
the circumstances...
the pack rat figured...
he wouldn't even
take time to pack.
There just wasn't
room enough...
for him and that bear, too.
And so, at last,
Wahb began his long sleep.
It would last
all through the storms...
of the high country winter.
The seasons changed,
and now the four-toed bear...
left his mark upon the land.
It was a pattern that
repeated again and again...
as the seasons completed
their cycles and became years.
The fourth winter came and
passed, and another spring.
This time, it was
a new awakening for Wahb.
He weighed nearly
eight hundred pounds now...
a young giant just moving
into early adulthood.
Today, the male grizzly's
instinct to wander...
told him it was time to leave
the familiar valley.
Then, on this day
in early summer, he moved...
into the Headwater Valley
of the Greybull River.
It was early
the next morning...
that Wahb began what would be
a day of learning.
Actually, he was looking
for food, not education.
This was a typical
Indian wolf-trap set...
a chunk of bait above,
a circle of traps below.
The wolves were
on their toes, though...
too smart to take the bait.
To Wahb, it sounded like
something interesting.
The wolves were more than
willing to move back...
and let this newcomer
move in on their problem.
Wahb was about to learn
that in the wilderness...
a free meal generally
has a catch to it.
To a bear, a wolf trap
is just a nuisance...
but Wahb woul d never forget
the scent of steel...
or the fact that traps
mean trouble.
COLONEL.'
Curly, eighteen seconds.
Powder face up.
Be right back.
NARRATOR.' On the long ride
home from his trapping trip...
it seems Moki's horse
had picked up a problem.
What's goin' on over there?
Oh, a little friendly war
between the Indians and us.
Threw a shoe.
There's the last
of that wolf pack.
Hmm, I'm glad we got rid of
that bunch of cattle killers.
MOKI.' Yes, sir.
But I want to have the boys
fence off...
some of that timberland,
just the same.
Oh?
Pretty wild back in there.
I saw a grizzly.
A grizzly, huh? Too bad
you couldn't get a shot at him.
Could have. But I wanted
to make sure of the wolves.
Sir?
Anyway, he was hightailing it
for the mountains.
Good. Let's hope
he keeps right on going.
If he doesn't...
I'm gonna be real disappointed
in my grandfather.
Your grandfather?
Remember that cub
we knocked in the river...
a couple of years back?
Yeah, I remember.
He had four toes
on his right hind foot.
The grizzly I saw today
left a four-toed track.
Now, how could you know
how many toes that cub had?
- We lost him in the river.
- Yes, sir...
but I found him
the next day...
and I got to thinking
about my grandfather...
and totems...
and legends...
and the first thing I knew
I had that cub hogtied...
and was heading
for high country.
Turned him loose up there.
Moki, sometimes I wonder
if you're not...
more medicine man
than cattleman.
Times I wonder myself, sir.
NARRATOR.'
A couple of days later...
Moki's fence-setting project
was well underway...
in charge of a cowhand
named Shorty Russell.
Shorty had a lot
of sterling qualities...
but hard work
wasn't one of them.
The ranch wagon wasn't due
to pick him up just yet...
and the way Shorty saw it...
wasn't any use
wasting good snoozing time.
By now, Wahb was already
deep in ranch country...
and this just happened to be
his day for pushing over trees.
So far, Wahb had downed
three pines and one aspen...
but he wasn't getting anywhere
with this bunch of birches.
Well, now, this little
single-file forest...
seemed just made to order.
Wahb had never seen
trees like these before...
but the shorter they came,
the quicker they fell.
Now, there's no denying
that all grizzlies...
are unpredictable
and potentially dangerous.
Wahb was no exception...
but today he was in
a particularly good mood...
a lot more curious
than cantankerous.
Too bad there was nobody
around to tell Shorty that.
You g-get away.
Oh... no, no.
Aah! Help!
Wahb was a little puzzled
by all these ups and downs.
Still,
Shorty's performance...
coul dn't have been
more sincere.
Maybe this critter'd stay put
if he buried it.
Looks like Shorty
got tired again.
Come on.
COWBOY.' Hey, Shorty!
Shorty! Where are you?
Here! Here!
Grizzly! Grizzly!
There's a grizzly.
There's a grizzly.
It is a grizzly.
COWBOY.'
Let's get out of here.
Hyah!
Hyah! Hyah!
Stop! Wait! Let me on!
COWBOY.'
Come on, hurry up.
SHORTY.' Wait! Stop!
Hey.
Ooh.
Ah, thanks a lot, boys. Heh.
COWBOY.' Hyah!
Aaagh!
Ah-ohh!
Slow down!
Wait for me!
There he was,
as close as you and me.
Mean little red eyes
and a big mouth full of teeth.
That long, right?
If I hadn't played dead...
I'd be inside a live bearskin
right now.
Wow, that's something.
I'm mighty lucky to be alive.
All right, Shorty. We've all
heard it four times now.
You boys better
get back to work.
Curly, take Shorty
over to my office...
and give him a couple of shots
of bravemaker...
and then you get back
on that fencing.
Some guys do anything
for a free drink.
Willie, Angus,
you unload that barbed wire.
Ho.
What was that all about?
Shorty and the boys
supposed to be setting fence.
Well, they were
setting fence...
but they ran into
a little trouble.
- What kind of trouble?
- Grizzly trouble.
What happened?
Well, your grizzly friend...
who was hightailing it
for the mountains...
doubled back and jumped Shorty.
Shorty get hurt?
No, but only 'cause he had
sense enough to play dead.
So, the K. C. Ranch
has bear traps.
You borrow them
and spread them...
all over that bench country.
I'd rather do it
with a rifle, sir.
We've got a ranch to run.
We don't have time to waste,
nor men to risk...
trying to track down
one grizzly.
Now, are you gonna be
a cattleman, Moki...
or blood brother to a bear?
I'll get the traps.
NARRATOR.' For Wahb, trouble
was still twenty miles...
and several days away.
And for
the immediate future...
Mother Nature
had a more pleasant plan.
To get things started,
she arranged for Wahb...
to go fishing and also
to make an easy catch.
So far so good...
but he hadn't caught
his limit yet.
Well, there were plenty
of fish in this stream...
and, as it turned out...
there was another bear
in the forest, too.
This young female grizzly...
had wandered up
from down south.
Back home,
they didn't have anything...
like this big
handsome hunk of bear.
It was plain to see
he was a good provider...
and the female figured
it might lead...
to an introduction
if she moseyed down there...
and sampled that fish.
One look,
and his heart was so full...
he forgot his empty stomach.
With grizzly bears,
courtship and mating...
usuall y last about two weeks.
Then the male and the female
go their separate ways.
For the first few days...
all was sweetness and light
for the happy couple...
but they would
soon discover...
that already
their road to romance...
was beset with trouble.
Although Moki found
no pleasure in his task...
still he used
all his Indian skill...
in setting the bear traps.
The deadly steel would be
hidden in many cunning ways...
in many different places.
Three days passed...
and Wahb was still
so wound up with love...
the female
was beginning to wonder...
if it'd ever run down.
Right now, she was
in the mood for food...
and when she caught
a promising scent...
she set out to follow it up.
Wahb had finall y realized
she was missing...
and he'd come back
to get her...
just in time.
NARRATOR.' Wahb was actuall y
protecting his mate...
although she didn't
really believe it.
He remembered
the scent of steel...
and now he would
expose the danger.
It was safe now
to claim his prize...
and Wahb made it plain
it woul d be ladies last.
Another day,
another free meal.
Wahb had the hang of it now...
and he didn't hesitate
to move right in.
Of course, the female's
plight was pitiful...
but Wahb wasn't about
to change the rules.
And so it went,
throughout the forest.
He would soon disarm
all of Moki's best laid plans.
The last and cleverest trap
was Moki's water set.
The stream carried away
all scent of man and steel.
It was
the missing ingredients...
that made Wahb
even more suspicious.
The female was still hoping...
and wishing Wahb
would hurry...
but he was taking his time
to puzzle this thing out.
As usual, Wahb expected
to claim the prize...
without argument,
but not this time.
She was going to have
a little talk with him...
about community property.
Well, that did it.
Maybe there was a shortage
of males back home...
but she was heading south
anyway.
Down there, they knew
how to treat a lady.
Wahb didn't know
what he'd done wrong...
but whatever it was,
he was anxious to apologize.
And so the female
would pay a debt...
and save Wahb's life.
Now she would lead him...
far from the guns and traps
of the Greybull country.
Four years passed, and
Colonel Pearson's empire...
grew in size and scope.
Now he took a harvest
of timber from the forests...
and sank mines
deep into his mountains.
But first and above all...
his was still
an empire of cattle.
Whiteface grazed
by the thousands...
in every corner
of the Pearson range.
At ranch headquarters...
The number of buildings
and corrals...
kept pace with
the growing enterprise.
Today, a remuda of horses
was being gathered...
for the summer roundup.
Before this operation began,
however...
the foreman of the ranch
was spending a few days...
in the high country...
taking a typical
Indian vacation.
It was a vacation
Moki would never forget.
NARRATOR.' It couldn't happen,
but it had.
The mystic moment
had passed...
but one fact remained...
never before had there been
such a grizzly...
except, of course...
in his grandfather's
wondrous legends.
Go in peace, O, my brother.
NARRATOR.'
There were many long miles...
between the far reaches
of the high country...
and the borders
of Colonel Pearson's empire.
And so,
it was two or three weeks...
before Wahb wandered
into this territory.
Now he had reached
the fullness of his growth.
He weighed 1,25o pounds...
a grizzly king...
accustomed to going
where he wanted to go...
whether the way
was barred or not.
Now Wahb was on
a one-way trail to trouble.
Just a mile or so from here...
the big summer roundup
was well underway.
For the past week...
from every corner
of the grazing lands...
the whiteface cattle
had been herded...
toward the holding grounds.
Here they were counted
and culled and selected...
some for marketing...
some to be held
for future breeding stock.
In the nearby foothills...
at the mouth
of a small canyon...
was a typical roundup camp...
presided over by a typical
cowboy cook named Slim.
Right now, Slim
was doing his usual job...
in his usual way...
and some distance
farther up the canyon...
Shorty Russell was doing
wrangler duty in his usual way.
Beyond Shorty
was the remuda of spare horses.
Beyond that was a corral...
full of extra-select
whiteface cattle...
and beyond that was Wahb.
For a few moments,
the bull was very brave.
Whoa, hey! Hey, now! Come on!
Hey! Hey! Whoa, there!
Whoa! Whoa!
Whoa! Ho!
Whoa! Whoa!
Oh! Oh! Oh! Ohh!
Oh, no!
SHORTY.' Grizzly!
It's a great big grizzly!
Head for those trees!
Can grizzlies climb trees?
You better hope not!
Ow! Get off my hand!
Ow!
SLIM.' Let go of my foot
and stop pushin'!
That's high as you can go?
SLIM.'
Yeah! Start shootin'!
That's my guitar!
NARRATOR.'
The little stampede...
boiled out of the foothills,
hit the main herd...
and the whole roundup
headed for parts unknown.
Get up there in front!
Hyah!
Whoa! Whoa!
Hyah!
Whoa! Whoa, now! Whoa!
Ho, ho, ho, ho,
move, move, move, move!
Ho! Hyah! Hyah! Ho!
Ho! Ho!
COWBOY.'
Move'em towards the draw!
Move! Move!
To the flat there!
Here he comes.
Look at the size of him!
Shoot him!
SHORTY.'
I'm out of bullets.
NARRATOR.' Wahb
had finally shaken off...
the last
of his aggressive anger.
Now all he felt was
that old compulsion to push.
That's my chuck wagon!
NARRATOR.' It took
two days of hard work...
before
the roundup operation...
got back
to the branding stage again.
By now, Colonel Pearson
was determined...
to eliminate
the cause of his trouble...
but first he would stop by to
get a full report from Moki.
Well?
Between fifteen and twenty head
lost for sure...
and we're still shy
maybe fifty more.
The boys should round 'em up
before nightfall.
Yeah, see that they do,
then finish up this roundup.
I'll see you back at the ranch
after I finish a job.
Hmm?
I'm going to get that grizzly.
- Alone, Colonel?
- Yeah, alone.
It isn't exactly
a one-man job, sir.
I could go with you.
You just take care
of my ranch...
and I'll take care
of your grizzly.
d Doo doo doo doo doo d
d Yodel oh de le hee d
d To a cowboy,
the campfire is home d
d When twilight spreads
over the prairie d
d And the sunset
has faded from sight d
d When the cares of the day d
d Have drifted away d
d And the doggies
bed down for the night d
d Ooh de lee de lo d
d When the last shadow falls d
d Ooh de lo de lee d
d And the first coyote calls d
d Doo doo de doo de oh d
d Yodel oh de le hee hee d
d To a cowboy,
the campfire is home d
d Doo doo de oop de oh d
d Yodel le... d
- Shorty.
- Yeah?
Ramrod this gear
back to the ranch...
first thing in the morning.
You goin' someplace?
- Mm-hmm.
- Tonight?
That's right.
- When you comin' back?
- Couldn't say.
COWBOY.'
d Doo doo de oop de oh d
d Yodel le de le hee hee d
d Yodel le hee hee d
- Was that Moki?
- Yep.
- Is he goin' somewhere?
- Yep.
- When's he comin' back?
- Couldn't say.
NARRATOR.' It was mid-morning
the next day...
and the colonel was still
combing the little canyons...
and creeks above the bench
lands without much success.
Now he picked up
a first sign... a broken twig.
Of course, it coul d have been
caused by any animal...
but a little farther on...
the sight
of the four-toed print...
told him he was at last
on the right track.
For a time, it was fairly
easy to follow the sign...
and the colonel
was slowly closing the gap...
on the trail of the grizzly.
At the same time...
a master of tracking
was rapidly closing the gap...
on the colonel's trail.
About a mile away...
Wahb was moving into
another type of terrain...
a little mountain meadow,
lush and green...
and somehow vaguely familiar.
This heap of forest rubble...
was all that remained
of the honey tree.
There were only
a few grubs here now...
but anything
and everything...
was still claimed
by the same king grizzly...
so this would be
a test of might...
for the right to rule.
NARRATOR.'
All at once, it was over.
For the one-time king,
defeat and retreat.
Somewhere far from here...
the other bear
would live as a subject.
And Wahb the new king
would select a marking tree...
and make the sign that said
all this wil derness...
was now his territory.
The rage and fury of battle...
was still burning
in the giant bear...
when the first invader
appeared in his new domain.
With nothing else
to guide him...
the colonel
could only guess...
and scout in the direction
the bear seemed to have gone.
But Wahb hadn't gone.
With the incredible cunning
of an angry, hunted grizzly...
he had doubled back and hidden
at the base of the ridge...
and now he was exactly
where he wanted to be...
behind
his unsuspecting quarry.
Wahb was patient
but relentless.
He would follow and wait.
Moki was moving up fast
on the colonel's trail.
Now he spotted
the first sign of danger.
The bear track
on top of the hoof-print...
told him the whole story.
NARRATOR.' The three shots
were intended as a warning...
but the colonel took them
to be a distress signal.
All the forces
were in motion now...
and the stage was set
for the final confrontation.
Come on, here.
Uhh!
Uhh!
Down here in the gully!
- Am I glad to see you!
- Are you all right?
Yeah. I twisted my ankle.
That grizzly backtracked me.
Yeah, I know.
COLONEL.'
Never mind about me.
Get the rifle. He's still
around here somewhere.
Moki!
You'll never stop him
with that.
Maybe I won't have to.
Moki.
Moki!
Come on.
Let's get out of here.
Get the rifle.
COLONEL.' There.
He'll come out right there.
Give me the gun.
- Colonel...
- I know, Moki.
You said the magic words,
and the bear went away...
because he's your brother.
COLONEL.'
We each have our totem, Moki.
That grizzly's yours,
but the cattle are mine.
I'm sorry,
but there's no other way.
Colonel, he's showing us a way!
He won't come back
to the Greybull.
Do you know that?
Where he makes a mark, he stays.
MOKI.' Colonel!
Does he mean that much to you?
Well, come on. Let's go home.
NARRATOR.'
And so, once again...
The Indian and his brother
the bear had met in peace...
just as the great spirit
had commanded they should.
And now, at last,
Moh-Sum-See-Wahb...
would take
his rightful place...
as king of the grizzlies...
and he would reign supreme...
in this high mountain
wil derness...
for all the years of his life.
Ernest Thompson Seton wrote...
"Over the years,
I heard many tales...
"of the mighty
Moh-Sum-See-Wahb.
"The grizzl y
that nature fashioned...
"into a master of cunning
and a monument of power.
"These stories were told to me
by an assortment of men...
"the cattlemen
who hated Wahb...
"and the Indians who called
the great bear 'Brother'...
"and honored him
as their totem.
"I once saw Wahb myself,
across a river's canyon...
"when he still ruled
his mountain kingdom.
"And now, at last...
"I have determined
to set down his story...
"as best my humble pen
knows how. "
We shall begin
in a time long gone...
on the pine-timbered shores
of a little mountain lake.
NARRA TOR.'
In the way of her kind...
the old grizzl y
feared no living thing...
Yet today, she made certain...
that the open country beyond
the woods was clear of danger.
The two cubs had been born
during winter hibernation.
NARRA TOR.'
She was a very old grizzly.
This brother and sister
would be her last pair of cubs.
The little male had been born
short of one toe on one foot...
and by this track,
he would, in time...
become known
as "Moh-Sum-See-Wahb"...
an Indian term that means
"four-toed grizzly. "
But that was far
in the future.
Right now, Wahb was just
one of two curious cubs.
The sight of this little marmot
was an exciting discovery.
The cubs didn't know
whether the badger...
was a fellow they ought
to be friendly with...
or fearful of...
but Mom had no time for mixin'
with the local critters.
She was moving her family clear
out of this neighborhood...
to another part of the country.
It was only about one hill
and two valleys later...
that that old she-bear began
to feel the need for rest.
About the same time,
the cubs found an ideal spot...
for a game
of king of the mountain.
Actually, it started out
to be queen of the mountain...
but Wahb figured that
was a matter for debate.
NARRATOR.'
Sister finally made her point.
Then, as soon as she
gained the upper hand...
Wahb lost his footing and slid
right into the cafeteria.
Well, Sister had won,
but it was a hollow victory.
She'd rather go down there...
and share
the sweet taste of defeat.
During their first summer,
mother's liquid food...
would be only
part of the cubs'diet.
That made weaning important
in their training.
So, today it would
be a short nip...
followed by a short nap...
and after that, it was time
for an introduction...
to the wonderful world
of solid food.
Now, just about
anything and everything...
fills the bill of fare
for a grizzly...
and no amount of effort
is too much...
for a small reward,
even if it means...
turning over
a 2oo-pound rock...
to turn up two ounces
of grubs and beetles.
NARRATOR.' While the cubs
were diggin the beetles...
Mom figured
to take somethin'...
she'd been dreaming
about all winter...
a good, long, luxurious bath.
Once she got her nose wet,
the old gal was quite a cut-up.
Wow!
NARRATOR.'
Whatever Mom was doin'...
the cubs wanted no part of it.
They'd take their water sports
on the beach.
The fact is, bear cubs
are natural-born swimmers.
Meantime, Mom
had stopped foolin'around...
and settled down
to do some serious fishin'.
Now, fish ranks high
on a grizzly's menu...
but the youngsters
have to learn to like it.
Trouble was, this trout
wasn't about to cooperate.
NARRATOR.' Well, no use worrying
about the one that got away.
The cubs woul d just go back
and move in on Mom's meal.
Maybe in time
they'd acquire the taste...
but for Sister, fish was ish.
She wanted a mouthwash.
Wahb never even got that far.
About now,
travelin'fever hit Mom again.
The old bear wasn't
just wandering aimlessly.
She had a destination in mind...
a distant,
dimly-remembered place...
where the land was friendly
and the living easy.
It woul d be a long trek,
and there would be time...
for some recreation
along the way...
including winter sports
on the high levels.
Even Mom decided
to have a go at the snow.
NARRATOR.' Wahb was born
with a kind of compulsion...
for pushing things over.
This time, he got carried away.
NARRATOR.' That trip
had left Wahb a little wobbly.
The bears'journey led
across the highest peaks...
and down past
melting snow patches...
on the opposite side
of the mountains.
As the days
and the miles passed by...
the cubs grew
in strength and size...
and nothing does
a better job of growing...
than a bear cub...
especially a little grizzly.
Wahb and his sister had weighed
about ten ounces each...
at the time
of their mid-winter birth...
but as spring gave way
to summer, they had reached...
a well-rounded
forty pounds apiece...
and by now,
the she-bear was heading...
toward the last leg
of her long journey.
She couldn't know, of course,
that the passing years...
had brought changes to the
land she had known as a cub.
Even here...
on the remote headwaters
of the Greybull River...
the high country was no longer
an uncharted wilderness.
NARRATOR.' His name was Moki.
He was a Cree Indian.
In his childhood,
this land had been his home.
Long ago, he had taken
the white man's ways...
and served
in the white man's army...
but now he had come back
to the scenes of his youth...
and a flood
of long-forgotten memories.
Among these same crags,
he had watched Wahmdi...
the eagle,
lifted into the sky...
by the strong medicine
of the sun.
Here, too, he had chipped
the hunting points...
for his first small arrows,
down there by the river's edge.
And far up
in the high country...
was that secret place
called Takakawa...
a waterfall
where his grandfather...
had washed away
his childhood...
and placed upon his hand
the sign of the Great Bear.
NARRATOR.' Was it an omen
or just a coincidence?
Moki was glad
that the bears seemed to be...
at home here
in the high country.
If they followed the river
down into the bench lands...
there could be trouble.
Moki was a cattleman now.
He was the foreman
of the ranch...
whose wide borders
he had just completed mapping.
Hyah! Hyah hyah hyah!
Whoo! Hyah!
NARRATOR.'
In these early stages...
the spread was only
a couple of buildings...
surrounded by great stretches
of raw land.
But the beginnings of
an empire were already here...
including the first herds
of whiteface...
that would soon
replace the longhorn...
as king of the western cattle.
COWBOYS.' Hey, hey, hey!
Ha ha! Whoo!
NARRATOR.' The old bear's
first concern was for her cubs.
For them, a safe hiding place
and a warning to stay put.
For herself, a scouting trip
to check up on all that noise.
The cubs were a couple
of weeks larger now...
and Wahb figured that
was about the right size...
to go exploring,
no matter what Sister said.
Now, fate was preparing
the stage for the first act...
in the strange drama
of the four-toed grizzly...
the Indian
who would be his friend...
and the cattleman
who would be his enemy.
Colonel Pearson was
a retired Army officer.
Once Moki had served as
the colonel's aide and scout...
now as his friend and foreman.
Hi-yo! Hyah!
COWBOY.' Hyah! Hyah! Hyah!
Hi-yo!
Let's fan out!
Charlie, Tom, take that side!
Right!
- Pecos!
- Yeah!
Comb the draw!
Got ya. Come on.
Do you want
to stay with me, sir?
Yeah, right.
NARRATOR.'
She sensed danger to her cubs.
It woul d be better to take
her family far away from here.
Mom hadn't gone more than
a few feet when she realized...
of her following.
She couldn't see him
or hear him...
so she set out to find him.
Actually, Wahb had traveled
about a quarter of a mile...
and right now
was working his way...
toward something of a problem.
It took a hollow log
to bring it into focus.
NARRATOR.'
Wahb figured to extend...
the paw of friendship...
but the calf just couldn't see
a bear cub as a companion.
NARRATOR.' The little heifer
was hollerin'for help...
and she got it.
There, in the thicket!
Come on!
Look like we got 'em all.
COLONEL.'
Hmm. My first grizzly.
Too bad she cost me
a prime bull.
Yeah. Too bad.
Too bad about the bull
or the bear?
Too bad about the cubs.
Little grizzlies
grow big, Moki.
You've got a new totem now,
remember.
Cattle.
Yes, sir.
You'll want to save the hide,
I guess.
NARRATOR.' Against
the colonel's rifle...
Wahb had only the good luck
of a near miss.
NARRATOR.'
Wahb didn't waste any time.
More than anything else,
he wanted to get wrung out...
and right back
into the family fold...
wherever that was.
NARRATOR.' All through the early
morning hours the next day...
the roundup was still
in progress along the river...
but now the last few
head of cattle...
had been hazed out
of the willow breaks...
and headed for the ranch.
NARRATOR.' Throughout
the rest of the morning...
Moki continued
to comb the bench lands...
in case any hideout cattle
had been overlooked.
At this little waterhole,
he got off on another track.
NARRATOR.' The way Moki saw it,
he had two choices...
he coul d let the cub get down
and go about his business...
or he could shoot him.
But then, Moki figured
there was a third way...
and he decided to take it.
NARRATOR.'
It was a peculiar thing...
for a cattleman
to do for a grizzly...
even a little one...
but it wasn't so strange
for an Indian...
who happened to be a member
of the Bear Clan.
MOKI.' Come on, boy.
Let's not make this a problem.
Back up!
MOKI.' Back up!
Unh!
Easy!
Come on. Come on.
Unh!
Easy!
Come here! Come here, boy.
Whoa! Whoa!
Easy, boy! Come on!
Come back here!
Whoa, boy!
Easy now. Easy now.
Give me back my coat!
There you go.
All right, now.
Boy, you're...
makin' this tough.
Easy now. Easy.
There you go.
This won't hurt, boy.
This won't hurt you.
See? Come on.
Aw, be quiet.
NARRATOR.'
When Moki threw a rope...
instead of a bullet
at the grizzly cub...
he had an idea
that some day...
he might have
to face the consequences...
but right now he wasn't
thinking about the future.
In fact, he was making
a long journey into the past.
It was a journey...
his grandfather
woul d have approved.
For now, he'd decided there
was onl y one fitting place...
to turn the cub loose.
That had to be the exact spot
where Moki the Indian boy...
had passed through the ritual
of the Bear Clan...
to become a man.
Moki could still remember...
the voice of his grandfather
telling the legend...
of how the Clan of the Grizzl y
came to be.
NARRATOR.'
"In the sunrise of time...
"Kichemunito,
the great spirit...
"made the sky and the earth
and the waters.
"Then he made the grizzly
and the Cree. "
"There was war
between the two tribes...
"and the grizzly fell as
brown leaves in the forest. "
"The grizzly
was mighty in battle...
"but he coul d not stand against
the weapons of the Cree. "
"Kichemunito saw and was angry.
"He would not let
the Great Bear...
"vanish from the earth. "
"With a sweep of his hand...
"he piled up
the high lone mountains...
"and gave them to the grizzly
to be his hunting ground.
"He took from the Cree
the bravest warriors...
"and bound them together
in a clan. "
"In the waters
of the Takakawa...
"he washed the blood
from their hand...
"and placed a mark upon them.
"Then Kichemunito spoke. "
NARRATOR.' "Hear me,
warriors of the Cree.
"Now I have made you
brother to the bear.
"Go from this place.
"Meet your brother in peace.
"From this time...
"for as long as the waters
of the Takakawa fall. "
Take it easy now.
We're here.
This is it.
Now you stay up here,
where you belong!
Come back to my country,
and we're both in big trouble.
Go in peace, my little brother.
And you can thank
my grandfather.
NARRATOR.' It was in
this high, wide wilderness...
that being on his own
and all alone...
became a way of life for Wahb.
The first several days...
he had carried on the search
for his mother...
but nature has wisely
given young animals...
a short memory
about such things...
and so, as the days passed...
the problem
of finding his family...
graduall y gave way to
a full-time search for food.
Not that food was scarce.
It was the height
of the summer berry season.
The problem was Wahb's
incredible growth rate...
three to five pounds a day.
Fortunately, most of
the local berry eaters...
like the raccoon...
were more than willing to let
any grizzly, any size...
be first in line
at nature's pantry.
NARRATOR.'
Just one glimpse of Wahb...
was enough to give the fox
a case of the jitters.
And even a tough,
little pine marten...
yiel ded the right of way.
But there were all kinds
of critters around here...
and right now,
Wahb was about to meet...
the queen cat
of this timber tangle.
The mother cougar
had only one cub...
untouchable, unapproachable.
Well, Wahb didn't care
much for kittens, anyway.
He'd make a wide detour.
The cougar would
give him some help.
NARRATOR.' She had to admit,
that big lout...
had the best left hook
she'd ever seen.
NARRATOR.' Well, it was plain
that this royal kitten...
was due for a change
in summer residence.
If the rowdy element
was moving in...
the cougar was moving out.
The mother cat could have
saved herself the trouble...
because a certain
wayfaring bear cub...
had wasted no time
in hitting the trail again.
After such an easy victory...
Wahb's growing confidence
kept pace with his weight.
Then, just when Wahb
hit 150 pounds...
his confidence
got set back to zero.
NARRATOR.' Eating
was not a spectator sport...
the way Wahb saw it.
NARRATOR.' Turned out
that Blackie's sweet tooth...
was already pacified.
It was a temporary filling,
though.
Wahb took only enough time...
to make sure it was all clear
in the clearing.
NARRATOR.' Now, Blackie could've
gone right up after Wahb...
but he decided
the point had been made.
Besides, it just worked up
a whole new appetite.
But now,
joining the festivities...
the real boss bear
of these parts.
This young grizzly,
just entering his prime...
was at the peak of his power,
and, by right of might...
anything and everything
was his for the taking.
NARRATOR.' There was only one
way out, and Blackie took it.
NARRATOR.'
A squalling young'un...
was the one thing
the new king couldn't stand...
and that was bad.
But adult grizzlies
can't climb trees...
and that was good...
so he couldn't go up
and get him.
But he could do something
that was just as good...
and that was bad.
NARRATOR.' This hole
was only the groundwork.
Next thing
was to stuff that brat in...
and cover him up,
soon as he shook him down.
NARRATOR.' That swingin'trip
finally came to an end...
only because
the ground crew got tired.
As a final gesture...
the grizzly would leave
a permanent warning...
for all who trespassed
in his domain.
In the manner of bears...
he made the mark
that said he was the king...
and this was his country.
NARRATOR.' It was mid-morning
the next day...
before Wahb got up
the courage to get down.
NARRATOR.' Uh-oh. He didn't
like the look of that bush.
No telling what was behind it.
NARRATOR.' It was autumn now,
and the changing seasons...
brought a change
to Wahb's way of life.
As the fall colors
spread over the mountains...
more and more,
Wahb was drawn upward...
toward the higher country.
When Wahb found
the first snowfall...
he weighed
nearly four hundred pounds.
For some time now, he'd had
the definite feeling...
of being late
for something.
He didn't know what it was,
but one thing for certain...
he sure felt awful sleepy
these days.
In Wahb's slide for home...
he had by instinct
returned to the same den...
in which he was born.
All at once...
Wahb knew he'd found the cure
for what ailed him.
He just needed
a good long winter's nap.
Now, there already happened
to be one resident here...
a pack rat
that had staked himself...
a little quarter section.
Not far away
was a pair of wolverines...
that had been
apartment hunting.
This young couple had
decided on a certain place...
they'd staked out
last summer.
NARRATOR.'
The wolverines decided...
they'd got a lot more bear
than they'd bargained for.
He coul d just have
the whole den.
NARRATOR.' Considering
the circumstances...
the pack rat figured...
he wouldn't even
take time to pack.
There just wasn't
room enough...
for him and that bear, too.
And so, at last,
Wahb began his long sleep.
It would last
all through the storms...
of the high country winter.
The seasons changed,
and now the four-toed bear...
left his mark upon the land.
It was a pattern that
repeated again and again...
as the seasons completed
their cycles and became years.
The fourth winter came and
passed, and another spring.
This time, it was
a new awakening for Wahb.
He weighed nearly
eight hundred pounds now...
a young giant just moving
into early adulthood.
Today, the male grizzly's
instinct to wander...
told him it was time to leave
the familiar valley.
Then, on this day
in early summer, he moved...
into the Headwater Valley
of the Greybull River.
It was early
the next morning...
that Wahb began what would be
a day of learning.
Actually, he was looking
for food, not education.
This was a typical
Indian wolf-trap set...
a chunk of bait above,
a circle of traps below.
The wolves were
on their toes, though...
too smart to take the bait.
To Wahb, it sounded like
something interesting.
The wolves were more than
willing to move back...
and let this newcomer
move in on their problem.
Wahb was about to learn
that in the wilderness...
a free meal generally
has a catch to it.
To a bear, a wolf trap
is just a nuisance...
but Wahb woul d never forget
the scent of steel...
or the fact that traps
mean trouble.
COLONEL.'
Curly, eighteen seconds.
Powder face up.
Be right back.
NARRATOR.' On the long ride
home from his trapping trip...
it seems Moki's horse
had picked up a problem.
What's goin' on over there?
Oh, a little friendly war
between the Indians and us.
Threw a shoe.
There's the last
of that wolf pack.
Hmm, I'm glad we got rid of
that bunch of cattle killers.
MOKI.' Yes, sir.
But I want to have the boys
fence off...
some of that timberland,
just the same.
Oh?
Pretty wild back in there.
I saw a grizzly.
A grizzly, huh? Too bad
you couldn't get a shot at him.
Could have. But I wanted
to make sure of the wolves.
Sir?
Anyway, he was hightailing it
for the mountains.
Good. Let's hope
he keeps right on going.
If he doesn't...
I'm gonna be real disappointed
in my grandfather.
Your grandfather?
Remember that cub
we knocked in the river...
a couple of years back?
Yeah, I remember.
He had four toes
on his right hind foot.
The grizzly I saw today
left a four-toed track.
Now, how could you know
how many toes that cub had?
- We lost him in the river.
- Yes, sir...
but I found him
the next day...
and I got to thinking
about my grandfather...
and totems...
and legends...
and the first thing I knew
I had that cub hogtied...
and was heading
for high country.
Turned him loose up there.
Moki, sometimes I wonder
if you're not...
more medicine man
than cattleman.
Times I wonder myself, sir.
NARRATOR.'
A couple of days later...
Moki's fence-setting project
was well underway...
in charge of a cowhand
named Shorty Russell.
Shorty had a lot
of sterling qualities...
but hard work
wasn't one of them.
The ranch wagon wasn't due
to pick him up just yet...
and the way Shorty saw it...
wasn't any use
wasting good snoozing time.
By now, Wahb was already
deep in ranch country...
and this just happened to be
his day for pushing over trees.
So far, Wahb had downed
three pines and one aspen...
but he wasn't getting anywhere
with this bunch of birches.
Well, now, this little
single-file forest...
seemed just made to order.
Wahb had never seen
trees like these before...
but the shorter they came,
the quicker they fell.
Now, there's no denying
that all grizzlies...
are unpredictable
and potentially dangerous.
Wahb was no exception...
but today he was in
a particularly good mood...
a lot more curious
than cantankerous.
Too bad there was nobody
around to tell Shorty that.
You g-get away.
Oh... no, no.
Aah! Help!
Wahb was a little puzzled
by all these ups and downs.
Still,
Shorty's performance...
coul dn't have been
more sincere.
Maybe this critter'd stay put
if he buried it.
Looks like Shorty
got tired again.
Come on.
COWBOY.' Hey, Shorty!
Shorty! Where are you?
Here! Here!
Grizzly! Grizzly!
There's a grizzly.
There's a grizzly.
It is a grizzly.
COWBOY.'
Let's get out of here.
Hyah!
Hyah! Hyah!
Stop! Wait! Let me on!
COWBOY.'
Come on, hurry up.
SHORTY.' Wait! Stop!
Hey.
Ooh.
Ah, thanks a lot, boys. Heh.
COWBOY.' Hyah!
Aaagh!
Ah-ohh!
Slow down!
Wait for me!
There he was,
as close as you and me.
Mean little red eyes
and a big mouth full of teeth.
That long, right?
If I hadn't played dead...
I'd be inside a live bearskin
right now.
Wow, that's something.
I'm mighty lucky to be alive.
All right, Shorty. We've all
heard it four times now.
You boys better
get back to work.
Curly, take Shorty
over to my office...
and give him a couple of shots
of bravemaker...
and then you get back
on that fencing.
Some guys do anything
for a free drink.
Willie, Angus,
you unload that barbed wire.
Ho.
What was that all about?
Shorty and the boys
supposed to be setting fence.
Well, they were
setting fence...
but they ran into
a little trouble.
- What kind of trouble?
- Grizzly trouble.
What happened?
Well, your grizzly friend...
who was hightailing it
for the mountains...
doubled back and jumped Shorty.
Shorty get hurt?
No, but only 'cause he had
sense enough to play dead.
So, the K. C. Ranch
has bear traps.
You borrow them
and spread them...
all over that bench country.
I'd rather do it
with a rifle, sir.
We've got a ranch to run.
We don't have time to waste,
nor men to risk...
trying to track down
one grizzly.
Now, are you gonna be
a cattleman, Moki...
or blood brother to a bear?
I'll get the traps.
NARRATOR.' For Wahb, trouble
was still twenty miles...
and several days away.
And for
the immediate future...
Mother Nature
had a more pleasant plan.
To get things started,
she arranged for Wahb...
to go fishing and also
to make an easy catch.
So far so good...
but he hadn't caught
his limit yet.
Well, there were plenty
of fish in this stream...
and, as it turned out...
there was another bear
in the forest, too.
This young female grizzly...
had wandered up
from down south.
Back home,
they didn't have anything...
like this big
handsome hunk of bear.
It was plain to see
he was a good provider...
and the female figured
it might lead...
to an introduction
if she moseyed down there...
and sampled that fish.
One look,
and his heart was so full...
he forgot his empty stomach.
With grizzly bears,
courtship and mating...
usuall y last about two weeks.
Then the male and the female
go their separate ways.
For the first few days...
all was sweetness and light
for the happy couple...
but they would
soon discover...
that already
their road to romance...
was beset with trouble.
Although Moki found
no pleasure in his task...
still he used
all his Indian skill...
in setting the bear traps.
The deadly steel would be
hidden in many cunning ways...
in many different places.
Three days passed...
and Wahb was still
so wound up with love...
the female
was beginning to wonder...
if it'd ever run down.
Right now, she was
in the mood for food...
and when she caught
a promising scent...
she set out to follow it up.
Wahb had finall y realized
she was missing...
and he'd come back
to get her...
just in time.
NARRATOR.' Wahb was actuall y
protecting his mate...
although she didn't
really believe it.
He remembered
the scent of steel...
and now he would
expose the danger.
It was safe now
to claim his prize...
and Wahb made it plain
it woul d be ladies last.
Another day,
another free meal.
Wahb had the hang of it now...
and he didn't hesitate
to move right in.
Of course, the female's
plight was pitiful...
but Wahb wasn't about
to change the rules.
And so it went,
throughout the forest.
He would soon disarm
all of Moki's best laid plans.
The last and cleverest trap
was Moki's water set.
The stream carried away
all scent of man and steel.
It was
the missing ingredients...
that made Wahb
even more suspicious.
The female was still hoping...
and wishing Wahb
would hurry...
but he was taking his time
to puzzle this thing out.
As usual, Wahb expected
to claim the prize...
without argument,
but not this time.
She was going to have
a little talk with him...
about community property.
Well, that did it.
Maybe there was a shortage
of males back home...
but she was heading south
anyway.
Down there, they knew
how to treat a lady.
Wahb didn't know
what he'd done wrong...
but whatever it was,
he was anxious to apologize.
And so the female
would pay a debt...
and save Wahb's life.
Now she would lead him...
far from the guns and traps
of the Greybull country.
Four years passed, and
Colonel Pearson's empire...
grew in size and scope.
Now he took a harvest
of timber from the forests...
and sank mines
deep into his mountains.
But first and above all...
his was still
an empire of cattle.
Whiteface grazed
by the thousands...
in every corner
of the Pearson range.
At ranch headquarters...
The number of buildings
and corrals...
kept pace with
the growing enterprise.
Today, a remuda of horses
was being gathered...
for the summer roundup.
Before this operation began,
however...
the foreman of the ranch
was spending a few days...
in the high country...
taking a typical
Indian vacation.
It was a vacation
Moki would never forget.
NARRATOR.' It couldn't happen,
but it had.
The mystic moment
had passed...
but one fact remained...
never before had there been
such a grizzly...
except, of course...
in his grandfather's
wondrous legends.
Go in peace, O, my brother.
NARRATOR.'
There were many long miles...
between the far reaches
of the high country...
and the borders
of Colonel Pearson's empire.
And so,
it was two or three weeks...
before Wahb wandered
into this territory.
Now he had reached
the fullness of his growth.
He weighed 1,25o pounds...
a grizzly king...
accustomed to going
where he wanted to go...
whether the way
was barred or not.
Now Wahb was on
a one-way trail to trouble.
Just a mile or so from here...
the big summer roundup
was well underway.
For the past week...
from every corner
of the grazing lands...
the whiteface cattle
had been herded...
toward the holding grounds.
Here they were counted
and culled and selected...
some for marketing...
some to be held
for future breeding stock.
In the nearby foothills...
at the mouth
of a small canyon...
was a typical roundup camp...
presided over by a typical
cowboy cook named Slim.
Right now, Slim
was doing his usual job...
in his usual way...
and some distance
farther up the canyon...
Shorty Russell was doing
wrangler duty in his usual way.
Beyond Shorty
was the remuda of spare horses.
Beyond that was a corral...
full of extra-select
whiteface cattle...
and beyond that was Wahb.
For a few moments,
the bull was very brave.
Whoa, hey! Hey, now! Come on!
Hey! Hey! Whoa, there!
Whoa! Whoa!
Whoa! Ho!
Whoa! Whoa!
Oh! Oh! Oh! Ohh!
Oh, no!
SHORTY.' Grizzly!
It's a great big grizzly!
Head for those trees!
Can grizzlies climb trees?
You better hope not!
Ow! Get off my hand!
Ow!
SLIM.' Let go of my foot
and stop pushin'!
That's high as you can go?
SLIM.'
Yeah! Start shootin'!
That's my guitar!
NARRATOR.'
The little stampede...
boiled out of the foothills,
hit the main herd...
and the whole roundup
headed for parts unknown.
Get up there in front!
Hyah!
Whoa! Whoa!
Hyah!
Whoa! Whoa, now! Whoa!
Ho, ho, ho, ho,
move, move, move, move!
Ho! Hyah! Hyah! Ho!
Ho! Ho!
COWBOY.'
Move'em towards the draw!
Move! Move!
To the flat there!
Here he comes.
Look at the size of him!
Shoot him!
SHORTY.'
I'm out of bullets.
NARRATOR.' Wahb
had finally shaken off...
the last
of his aggressive anger.
Now all he felt was
that old compulsion to push.
That's my chuck wagon!
NARRATOR.' It took
two days of hard work...
before
the roundup operation...
got back
to the branding stage again.
By now, Colonel Pearson
was determined...
to eliminate
the cause of his trouble...
but first he would stop by to
get a full report from Moki.
Well?
Between fifteen and twenty head
lost for sure...
and we're still shy
maybe fifty more.
The boys should round 'em up
before nightfall.
Yeah, see that they do,
then finish up this roundup.
I'll see you back at the ranch
after I finish a job.
Hmm?
I'm going to get that grizzly.
- Alone, Colonel?
- Yeah, alone.
It isn't exactly
a one-man job, sir.
I could go with you.
You just take care
of my ranch...
and I'll take care
of your grizzly.
d Doo doo doo doo doo d
d Yodel oh de le hee d
d To a cowboy,
the campfire is home d
d When twilight spreads
over the prairie d
d And the sunset
has faded from sight d
d When the cares of the day d
d Have drifted away d
d And the doggies
bed down for the night d
d Ooh de lee de lo d
d When the last shadow falls d
d Ooh de lo de lee d
d And the first coyote calls d
d Doo doo de doo de oh d
d Yodel oh de le hee hee d
d To a cowboy,
the campfire is home d
d Doo doo de oop de oh d
d Yodel le... d
- Shorty.
- Yeah?
Ramrod this gear
back to the ranch...
first thing in the morning.
You goin' someplace?
- Mm-hmm.
- Tonight?
That's right.
- When you comin' back?
- Couldn't say.
COWBOY.'
d Doo doo de oop de oh d
d Yodel le de le hee hee d
d Yodel le hee hee d
- Was that Moki?
- Yep.
- Is he goin' somewhere?
- Yep.
- When's he comin' back?
- Couldn't say.
NARRATOR.' It was mid-morning
the next day...
and the colonel was still
combing the little canyons...
and creeks above the bench
lands without much success.
Now he picked up
a first sign... a broken twig.
Of course, it coul d have been
caused by any animal...
but a little farther on...
the sight
of the four-toed print...
told him he was at last
on the right track.
For a time, it was fairly
easy to follow the sign...
and the colonel
was slowly closing the gap...
on the trail of the grizzly.
At the same time...
a master of tracking
was rapidly closing the gap...
on the colonel's trail.
About a mile away...
Wahb was moving into
another type of terrain...
a little mountain meadow,
lush and green...
and somehow vaguely familiar.
This heap of forest rubble...
was all that remained
of the honey tree.
There were only
a few grubs here now...
but anything
and everything...
was still claimed
by the same king grizzly...
so this would be
a test of might...
for the right to rule.
NARRATOR.'
All at once, it was over.
For the one-time king,
defeat and retreat.
Somewhere far from here...
the other bear
would live as a subject.
And Wahb the new king
would select a marking tree...
and make the sign that said
all this wil derness...
was now his territory.
The rage and fury of battle...
was still burning
in the giant bear...
when the first invader
appeared in his new domain.
With nothing else
to guide him...
the colonel
could only guess...
and scout in the direction
the bear seemed to have gone.
But Wahb hadn't gone.
With the incredible cunning
of an angry, hunted grizzly...
he had doubled back and hidden
at the base of the ridge...
and now he was exactly
where he wanted to be...
behind
his unsuspecting quarry.
Wahb was patient
but relentless.
He would follow and wait.
Moki was moving up fast
on the colonel's trail.
Now he spotted
the first sign of danger.
The bear track
on top of the hoof-print...
told him the whole story.
NARRATOR.' The three shots
were intended as a warning...
but the colonel took them
to be a distress signal.
All the forces
were in motion now...
and the stage was set
for the final confrontation.
Come on, here.
Uhh!
Uhh!
Down here in the gully!
- Am I glad to see you!
- Are you all right?
Yeah. I twisted my ankle.
That grizzly backtracked me.
Yeah, I know.
COLONEL.'
Never mind about me.
Get the rifle. He's still
around here somewhere.
Moki!
You'll never stop him
with that.
Maybe I won't have to.
Moki.
Moki!
Come on.
Let's get out of here.
Get the rifle.
COLONEL.' There.
He'll come out right there.
Give me the gun.
- Colonel...
- I know, Moki.
You said the magic words,
and the bear went away...
because he's your brother.
COLONEL.'
We each have our totem, Moki.
That grizzly's yours,
but the cattle are mine.
I'm sorry,
but there's no other way.
Colonel, he's showing us a way!
He won't come back
to the Greybull.
Do you know that?
Where he makes a mark, he stays.
MOKI.' Colonel!
Does he mean that much to you?
Well, come on. Let's go home.
NARRATOR.'
And so, once again...
The Indian and his brother
the bear had met in peace...
just as the great spirit
had commanded they should.
And now, at last,
Moh-Sum-See-Wahb...
would take
his rightful place...
as king of the grizzlies...
and he would reign supreme...
in this high mountain
wil derness...
for all the years of his life.