Exhibit item:
ANTHONY & BAKER
"The Grizzly and His Captors," 185?
Engraving on paper

Expert vaqueros and their trained horses often overmatched the bears. This letter begins, "To Willy & Mary - I send this picture showing how the Spaniards catch the bears in Cal., you must be good children and I will send you some gold in all my letters, to show you the way it grows here ..."

Quotation:
DANE COOLIDGE
Old California Cowboys, 1939

"In those early days the grizzly bears were very plentiful, and when they wanted to kill a horse they would lie on their backs in a grassy place and throw their huge legs in the air, to attract the inquisitive herds.

Then, when they came close, the bear would jump to his feet and, before they could escape, he would strike one down with his paw.

It was from watching these bears that Don Eduardo first learned to lure some fine horse up close, until, with his slender reata, he would cast his lazo, spring astride and ride away."