Michael Godwin- Super Blog 2: CA Grizzly Bear Extinction

                                                                            Sources: 


https://calisphere.org/item/e414fc8fa0cf493f1349a18b757ab9c0/

This source is an illustration of people lassoing and capturing a California grizzly bear created in 1858. This is a very useful and interesting illustration to my project because it shows a very powerful scene which depicts the ways in which Anglo Californians viewed grizzly bears during the 19th century, and it also shows how brutal hunters were to California grizzlies which led to their massive decrease in population during the second half of the 19th century. I read about this type of grizzly bear capturing in my previous research and this is a clear image of some of the grizzly lassoing that Spanish and Anglo settlers would take part in which would lead to the grizzly-bull fights that were popular during California in the 19th century. 


https://calisphere.org/item/287663926b792e116a43c966baec14ac/

This source is a picture of the official seal of the state of California from 1935. This photograph of the state seal is relevant to my project because it shows what images and symbols were considered important and representative of the state, and also the seal clearly includes a California grizzly bear in the front serving as some form of symbol of strength and human dominance and resilience. This seal is important to analyze because by considering what is included on it, we can see how Anglo Californians viewed themselves and the grizzly bear which can be useful for analyzing human contributions to the California grizzly bear's extinction. 


https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=SFC19110703.2.59&srpos=20&e=-------en--20--1--txt-txIN-california+grizzly+bear-------1

This source is a column from the San Francisco Call newspaper in 1911 which briefly discusses the current state of "big game" in California at the time, and how there is a lack of large wild animals to hunt, especially the grizzly bear, which at that point was nearing extinction. This primary source provides insight on the state of the wild animal populations and overall biodiversity of California during the early 20th century, and it also shows how the massive amounts of "big game" hunting that occurred during the second half of the 19th century had resulted in a major loss of biodiversity while also causing an animal like the grizzly bear, which was once very abundant throughout California, to become a rarity. 


https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=SN18950216.2.2&srpos=5&e=-------en--20--1--txt-txIN-california+grizzly+bear+hunting-------1

This source is a column from the Sausalito News in 1895 which gives a long and descriptive account from a famous hunter named John Houston who was known for hunting over 200 bears, including black, cinnamon, and grizzly bears. He is described as a tough and scarred man who had gained attention for his brave encounters with these bears and how he was able to overcome them and live through so many hunts. Houston gives his accounts of his hunting ventures describing grizzly bears as "monsters" and massive beasts. Throughout this column, there seems to be a sense of pride that comes off from the author of the piece as well as John Houston as if they were trying to drive the grizzly to extinction. A quote that I found interesting about how Californians viewed grizzly bears is, "It must be instant death to the advancing grizzly, or a probable death a few seconds later to the hunter. But it is just such excitement, such hazardous and wild sport that keeps me hunting for months every year, when I could have comfort and plenty by living in a town or city".  


https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=SFC19111125.2.75&srpos=5&e=-------en--20--1--txt-txIN-california+grizzly+bear+extinction-------1

This last source is also a column from the San Francisco Call in 1911, but this column provides some very useful information on what people throughout the country viewed grizzly bears and what they believed should be done about them. In this column, there is a discussion of the fate of the California grizzly bear and how there was talk in 1911 by people in New York as well as Major J. B. Hughe, who was in charge of guarding the Sequoia and Grant national parks, to actually make an effort to drive voluntarily drive the California grizzly to extinction. The column discusses how people considered the grizzly bear to be a nuisance and a dangerous beast that stood in the way of human development and capitalistic growth when it states, "Public opinion on the other side of the continent calls for the extinction of the California bear. He is not only greedy, with a hospitable appetite for groceries, but he is besides an ugly customer to meet on a mountain trail". This shows that people were not against driving grizzly bears to extinction and that some people even went as far as suggesting that the US Military helped do the job. 

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