Thirteen Courthouse Steps

Old Ephraim, the last of Utah’s great grizzlies, was killed in Logan Canyon by a sheep rancher in August, 1923. The ten-foot, 1,100-pound bear was skinned and buried where he fell, and a pile of stones erected over the remains. A few months later Boy Scout Troop 43 dug up the bones and sent the skull to the Smithsonian for identification. In 1966 a monolith was erected on the spot, but by then most of Old Ephraim’s remains had been stolen by souvenir-seeking hikers. The skull remained in Washington, DC until 1978, when it was returned to Utah “on loan.” I’m told you can see the skull in the Special Collections Reading Room in Utah State University’s Merrill Library. Or you might visit the statue of Old Ephraim on Washington Street in Montpelier, Idaho. Better yet, order the Old Ephraim at Bear Lake Pizza in Garden City.