Ordway Records the First Encounter with Grizzly Bears

The expedition’s first encounters with grizzly bears were genuinely terrifying experiences for men accustomed to the smaller black bears of the East. Ordway’s straightforward account captures the men’s astonishment.

“It is the largest of the bear kind. Its talons were 4 inches and 3 eighths of an inch long. The men were much surprised at the Size of this animall.”

Lewis would later write extensively about the grizzly, noting that it took multiple rifle balls to bring one down. The expedition’s encounters with grizzlies were among the most dramatic wildlife events of the journey, and Lewis’s detailed descriptions contributed to the first scientific documentation of the species.