Want of persistent vindictiveness may not be a general trait of the
species, but it has been shown in so many cases that it is at least a
quite common characteristic. Possibly it is a trait of all bears and
the basis of the almost universal belief that a bear will not molest a
dead man, and that by "playing 'possum" a person attacked by a bear may
evade further injury. That belief or theory has been held from the
earliest times, and it is by no means certain that it is a mere idle
tale or bit of nursery lore. Aesop uses it in one of his fables. Two
men are assailed by a bear, and one climbs a tree while the other
throws himself upon the ground and feigns death. The bear sniffs at
the man on the ground, who holds his breath, concludes that the man is
dead, and goes away. The man who climbed the tree rejoins his
companion, and having seen the bear sniffing at his head, asks him
facetiously what the bear said to him. The man who played 'possum
replies that the bear told him to beware of keeping company with those
who in time of danger leave their friends in the lurch.

This I do know, that bears often invade camps in search of food and
refrain from molesting men asleep or pretending to be asleep. Upon one
occasion a Grizzly of very bad reputation and much feared by residents
in his district, came into my camp on a pitch dark night, and as it
would have been futile to attempt to draw a bead on him and a fight
would have endangered two members of the party who were incapable of
defending themselves, I cautioned everyone to feign sleep and not to
show signs of life if the bear sniffed in their faces. The injunction
was obeyed, the bear satisfied his curiosity, helped himself to food
and went away without molesting anybody.

And that is not an isolated instance. One night a Grizzly invaded a