From a young age I remember my father telling me a story
about a bear named Old Ephraim. It was
one of many bedtime stories that I remember from my childhood. The greatest thing about this story is that
it is said to be true and it takes place here in Cache Valley. After doing a little bit of research I was
able to track down the original story from the words of its' author. The man in this tale was named Frank Clark, a
sheepherder in Logan canyon. His version
of the story tells about his encounters with a grizzly bear named Old
Ephraim. As a sheepherder, he became familiar
with Old Ephraim in 1912. The bears were
a problem for the sheepherders because they would eat the sheep. Clark says that in one season, bears were
responsible for the death of 154 adult sheep.
According to the legend, Old Ephraim was a different kind of
hunter. He would kill the sheep then
take the sheep to eat at his leisure.
In August of 1923, Clark took down the bear with six shots from his gun. Old Ephraim was finally taken, all 9 feet 11
inches of him.
This
piece of Cache Valley history paints a picture about the dangers and struggle
of a rancher in the mountains that surround us.
To this day there are sheep and cattle grazing this same area up Logan
canyon. Although times have changed and
bear population is not what it once was, ranchers and herders face the danger
of wild animals. I can only imagine the
emotions that Clark faced in those final moments leading up to the death of Old
Ephraim. As one who is unfamiliar with
ranching and range farming , I would guess that bears are the most dangerous
part of the job. This story helps people
like me with little or no experience in ranching, relate to a scary situation
that ranchers had to face. This story
also has been a great campfire story told to many boy scouts around the
country. Because of its' popularity it
has brought many visitors . Right hand
fork is a popular place more many reasons including visiting the grave of this
old legend. At this grave there is a
headstone monument that boy scouts place to remember this big grizzly
bear. Words at the bottom of the monument it
read:
Lucero, Eli. A poem by Nephi J. Bott. 2011. JPEG.
Clark, Frank.
"The Killing of Old Ephraim by Frank Clark." The Killing of
Old Ephraim by Frank Clark. Web. 10 Oct. 2015.
