Old Ephraim, the Ten-Foot Grizzly Bear

In the history of the Rocky Mountains, there have been many bears that roamed the mountains and fields. Early settlers knew the temperament of these animals, and that it was not wise to sneak up on a bear and surprise him. There was one such grizzly whose story has been told at several campfires to anxious young scouts who want to know about Old Ephraim. He was commonly known as "Old Three Toes" because of a deformity on one foot. He roamed the mountains from Soda Springs, Idaho to the Logan Canyon in northern Utah from 1911 to 1923.

The evidence of the strength and power of this bear was frightening. At one point, he bit a thirteen-foot log, twelve inches in diameter, into eleven lengths as though they had been chopped. He also bit off a six-inch aspen limb in just one bite, which was nine feet and eleven inches above the ground. He even broke the back of a cow with just one blow of his gigantic paw.

For twelve years, he had been wreaking havoc in the communities. Old Three Toes did some major damage to the flocks, crippling the sheep owners financially. He was becoming a bolder and a more ruthless killer as the years passed. Because of this one grizzly, sheep owners had a tough time hiring men to tend their sheep. Many of the existing sheepherders refused to stay on the job and quit. At last, the farmers and community members decided it was time to catch Old Three Toes. They set trap after trap at all his lairs and wallows. Sometimes the bear trap was found flung many yards away. Other times it was left alone, but his distinctive tracks were all around the trap. He seemed to know what the traps were. He was the smartest and strongest grizzly anyone had ever encountered.