Species | Grizzly bear |
---|---|
Sex | Male |
Died | August 22, 1923 |
Nation from | United States |
Named after | Folkloric name for the grizzly bear |
Old Ephraim (also known as Old Three Toes by shepherds due to a deformity on one foot [1] ) was a very large grizzly bear that roamed the Cache National Forest in Idaho and Utah from circa 1911 until his death on August 22, 1923.
The name "Old Ephraim" (or "Ol' Ephraim") had been a term popularized in the 19th-century American West to refer to the grizzly bear, [2] and was used in frontier folklore to refer to specific animals. It appears as the name of a bear in a story by P. T. Barnum. [3]
The grizzly bear from the Cache National Forest known as "Old Ephraim" was first identified by its distinctive tracks. The bear lived within a large wilderness from as far north as Soda Springs, Idaho to as far south as Weber County, Utah, before settling in Logan Canyon, about 20 miles east of Logan, Utah.
Frank Clark (born 1879 in Cherry Creek, Idaho) [4] was a part owner of the Ward Clark Sheep Company since his arrival there in July 1911. During his first summer in the Cache National Forest, Clark counted 154 adult domestic sheep that had been killed by bears in the area. [5]
In 1914, Frank Clark set out to stop Old Ephraim. He set many traps in Old Ephraim's favorite wallows, but the traps were always removed, un-sprung, or flung away. [1] Although Clark seldom saw the bear, dead sheep around the herd indicated its presence. [5] Despite Clark's efforts, Old Ephraim killed more and more sheep without being stopped. He is said to have once killed 50 sheep at a time.
Though Clark had attempted to kill the bear since 1914, he did not succeed until 1923. On the night of August 21, Clark was awakened by the tremendous roars of Old Ephraim, which had been caught in a trap Clark had set earlier in a wallow just below his camp. Clark grabbed his .25-35 rifle (very small and underpowered for such a massive grizzly)[ citation needed ] and he and his dog set out down the ravine towards the wallow. Clark met the enraged massive grizzly with the huge bear trap on one of its front paws dragging the very large, heavy log which Clark had connected to the trap by a large chain. [6] [7] [ full citation needed ] Clark shot five rounds from his .25-35 carbine rifle but the bear did not go down, so Clark fled further up the ravine back towards his camp. Clark's dog harassed Old Ephraim which Clark credited to perhaps saving his life. As the bear was so near his camp, wounded and enraged, Clark spent the remainder of the night with his dog on the side of the ridge above his camp. He listened as the great bear vocalized through the night and eventually fell silent. With the first morning light Clark investigated and found the great bear laying dead near his camp. [6] [7] [ full citation needed ] Clark described killing Old Ephraim as "the hardest of them [the bears] all". He later expressed remorse for having to do it.
Old Ephraim was skinned and buried, but was later dug up by Boy Scout Troop 43, which sent the bear's skull to the Smithsonian. According to Clark, a pile of stones was erected by Boy Scouts over the bear's remains. [1] [5] Most of the remains were eventually taken by tourists as souvenirs. [5] [8]
Later, an 11-foot-tall (3.4 m) stone monument designed, lettered, and erected by Max, Arthur, and Howard Jorgensen was placed at the grave site. This memorial was officially dedicated on September 23, 1966. [9] [10] Affixed to the monument are two plaques, one with a poem that reads: [11]
Old Ephraim, Old Ephraim, Your deeds were so wrong yet we build you this marker and sing you this song. To the king of the forest so mighty and tall, we salute you, old Ephraim the king of them all
— Nephi J. Bott
At the time of his death, Old Ephraim stood 10 feet (3.0 m) tall and weighed 1,100 pounds (500 kg). His skull was sent to The Smithsonian, where it was identified as a grizzly bear. It was eventually returned from the Smithsonian and put on display in the Special Collections section of the Utah State University library in Logan, Utah. [1] [9] [12]
The Old Ephraim Trail is a popular "fat tire" bike trail in the Logan area. It is a 20-mile loop with almost 3,000 feet of vertical gain, and is intended for intermediate or advanced riders. [13] [14]
The loop starts with several miles of moderate climbing up Cowley Canyon and proceeds uphill to the upper trailhead of Ricks Canyon. The loop circles north through aspen groves and meadows. After passing Old Ephraim's grave it descends to the Right Fork of Logan River, after which there is one more sizable climb. At the top of this climb, you can see the Mt. Naomi Wilderness and the terraced cliffs of Logan Canyon. The loop ends on the single-track Willow Creek Trail. [13]
The Bear 100 Mile Endurance Run, starting in the Logan area and ending in Fish Haven, Idaho, is a 100-mile ultramarathon through the Wasatch and Bear River Ranges.[ citation needed ]
A lifesize bronze statue of Old Ephraim stands along U.S. Route 89 (Washington Street) as it enters Montpelier, Idaho from the west. The original sculpture, installed in 2002, was replaced in 2014 by a new sculpture depicting Old Ephraim fighting against a bear trap.
Cache County is a county located in the Wasatch Front region of Utah. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 133,154, with an estimated 140,173 in 2022. Its county seat and largest city is Logan. Cache County is one of two counties included in the Logan metropolitan area, alongside Franklin County, Idaho.
Logan is a city in Cache County, Utah, United States. The 2020 census recorded the population was 52,778. Logan is the county seat of Cache County and the principal city of the Logan metropolitan area, which includes Cache County and Franklin County, Idaho. The Logan metropolitan area contained 147,908 people as of the 2020 census. Logan is the location of the main campus of Utah State University.
Providence is a city in Cache County, Utah, United States. The population was 7,075 at the 2010 census. It is included in the Logan, Utah-Idaho Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Utah State University is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Logan, Utah. Founded in 1888 under the Morrill Land-Grant Acts as Utah's federal land-grant institution, Utah State is one of two flagship universities for the state of Utah; it is classified among "Carnegie R1: Doctoral Universities – Very High Research Activity". Utah State's main campus in Logan is the oldest and the largest public residential campus operating in Utah with over 84% of students living away from home.
The Wasatch Range or Wasatch Mountains is a mountain range in the western United States that runs about 160 miles (260 km) from the Utah-Idaho border south to central Utah. It is the western edge of the greater Rocky Mountains, and the eastern edge of the Great Basin region. The northern extension of the Wasatch Range, the Bear River Mountains, extends just into Idaho, constituting all of the Wasatch Range in that state.
The Bear River Massacre, or the Engagement on the Bear River, or the Battle of Bear River, or Massacre at Boa Ogoi, took place in present-day Franklin County, Idaho, on January 29, 1863. After years of skirmishes and food raids on farms and ranches, the United States Army attacked a Shoshone encampment gathered at the confluence of the Bear River and Battle Creek in what was then southeastern Washington Territory, near the present-day city of Preston. Colonel Patrick Edward Connor led a detachment of California Volunteers as part of the Bear River Expedition against Shoshone tribal chief Bear Hunter. Hundreds of Shoshone men, women, and children were killed near their lodges; the number of Shoshone victims reported by local settlers was higher than that reported by soldiers.
U.S. Route 91 or U.S. Highway 91 is a 172.7-mile-long (277.9 km) north–south United States highway running from Brigham City, Utah, to Idaho Falls, Idaho, in the U.S. states of Idaho and Utah. Despite the "1" as the last digit in the number, US 91 is no longer a cross-country artery, as it has mostly been replaced by Interstate 15. The highway currently serves to connect the communities of the Cache Valley to I-15 and beyond. Prior to the mid-1970s, US 91 was an international commerce route from Long Beach, California, to the Canada–US border north of Sweetgrass, Montana. US 91 was routed on the main streets of most of the communities it served, including Las Vegas Boulevard in Las Vegas and State Street in Salt Lake City. From Los Angeles to Salt Lake, the route was built along the corridor of the Arrowhead Trail. A portion of the highway's former route in California is currently State Route 91.
Cache Valley(Shoshoni: Seuhubeogoi, “Willow Valley”) is a valley of northern Utah and southeast Idaho, United States, that includes the Logan metropolitan area. The valley was used by 19th century mountain men and was the site of the 1863 Bear River Massacre. The name, Cache Valley is often used synonymously to describe the Logan Metropolitan Area, one of the fastest growing metro areas in the US per capita — both in terms of economic GDP and population.
Logan Canyon is a canyon in the western United States in northeastern Utah, which cuts its way through the Bear River Mountains, a branch of the Wasatch Range. It is popular for both summer and winter activities, especially rock-climbing, hiking, camping, fishing, snowmobiling, and skiing, at the Beaver Mountain ski resort. The canyon rises to an elevation of approximately 7,800 feet (2,400 m) above sea level, after a vertical climb of about 2,900 feet (880 m). Just beyond the summit is a steep road leading into Bear Lake Valley and scenic overlooks that provide views of deep blue Bear Lake. The western terminus is at Logan in Cache County and the eastern terminus is at Garden City in Rich County.
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Cache National Forest is a 533,840-acre area of National Forest System land in Idaho and Utah which was established on July 1, 1908, by the U.S. Forest Service. The majority of its area is in Utah, and was initially created when the Bear River National Forest was disbanded. On July 1, 1915, all of Pocatello National Forest was added. In 1973 the Idaho portion was transferred to the administration of Caribou National Forest, while the Utah portion was combined administratively with Wasatch National Forest, creating the Wasatch-Cache National Forest. In descending order of forestland area, the Cache National Forest portion is located in Cache, Bear Lake, Franklin, Weber, Rich, Box Elder, Caribou, and Morgan counties. The forest has a current area of 701,453 acres (2,838.68 km2), which comprises 43.56% of the combined Wasatch-Cache's total acreage. The forest is administered from Salt Lake City, Utah as part of the Wasatch-Cache National Forest, but there are local ranger district offices in Logan and Ogden. From circa 1911 until August 1923, the area was roamed by Old Ephraim.
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