THE LEGEND OF OLD EPHRAIM
The story of Old Ephraim is not only the tale of the last grizzly in Utah but it is also the legend of the persevering and notorious twelve year old grizzly bear that once roamed and ruled the Cache National Forest in Idaho and Utah. Just 100 years ago this fabled, 1,100 pound grizzly who stood 9 feet, 11 inches with a distinctive three-toed track, met his final demise but not before a nine-year long manhunt ended in possibly the most magnificent and fantastical campfire story ever.
Old Ephriam was also known as "Old Three Toes" by sheepherders up and down the Idaho-Utah boarder. Some say he was born missing two toes while others claim he stepped in a trap and the two were taken. Old Ephraim was mythical for his extreme intelligence and cunning nature, never staying too long at his sheep buffet before moving on, and only being sighted in daylight two or three times over the years. Tales also tell that he would find game hunting traps and fling them down mountains or into bushes, never meeting his match until sheepherder Frank Clark. It has also been said that Old Ephraim ate upwards of 10 sheep at a time but ate them in entirety, bones, hooves, fur and all. It is also claimed that one hungry night, he feasted on a total of 50 sheep. In 1923, the cost of a sheep hovered around $6.00, making this single-night organic gourmet meal the equivalent to around $5,270 today.
“He could see without being seen, hear without being heard, and kill without being killed.”
—from “The Story of Old Ephraim” by Orson Ryan
The night Old Ephraim misstepped right into one Frank Clark's traps, with Frank and his dog sleeping not to far away, the trap only served to anger him. After seeing the creature unclose, witnessing his unmatched grandeur, he regretted the final yet necessary shot. According to the personal account of Frank Clark in "True Bear Story",
“And now for the greatest thrill of my life, Ephraim raised up on his hind legs with his back to me and a 14 foot log chain wound around his arm as carefully as a man would have done it and a 23 pound bear trap on his foot and standing 9 feet 11 inches high. He could have gone that way and have gotten away but he turned around and I saw the most magnificent sight that any man could ever see. I was paralyzed with fear and couldn’t raise my gun and he was coming, still on his hind legs, holding that cussed trap above his head. He had a four-foot bank to surmount before he could reach me. I was rooted to the earth and let him come within six feet of me before I stuck the gun out and pulled the trigger. He fell back but came again and received five of the remaining six bullets. He had now reached the trail, still on his hind legs. I only had one cartridge left in the gun and still that bear wouldn’t go down so I started for Logan, 20 miles downhill. I went about 20 yards and turned, Eph was coming, still standing up, but my dog was snapping at his heels so he turned on the dog. I, then, turned back and as I got close he turned again on me, waddling along on his hind legs. I could see that he was badly hurt as at each breath the blood would spout out from his nostrils so I gave him the last bullet in the brain. I think I felt sorry I had to do it.”
There is a dedication to Old Ephraim on the site he was buried along with a poem ending "King of the forest, King of them all".
https://usustatesman.com/old-ephraim-exhibit-back-for-the-100-year-legend/