Grizzly Adams

When the show, “Grizzly Adams” first came out, I assumed it was fiction, but it was not. John “Grizzly” Adams was a professional hunter of grizzly bears. He became well-known after his involvement in P.T. Barnum’s Circus.

John Boyden Adams, born on October 12, 1812, in Medway, Massachusetts, was the son of Eleazer and Sybil Adams. It is thought that he might be related to the notable Adams family of Massachusetts, including President John Adams and patriot Samuel Adams. He received a decent education for that era, but by the age of 14, he was already working as an apprentice in the footwear manufacturing trade.

Adams knew that a conventional job was not for him, so at 21, he left his job and became a hunter in New England’s forests. He joined a group of showmen as a zoological collector, hunting and capturing live wild animals across Maine, Vermont, and New Hampshire. He even went so far as to work training a Bengal tiger for his employers, until he suffered severe back and spine injuries, which ended his hunting career. After about a year of recovery, he returned to work as a cobbler in Boston, Massachusetts. In 1836, John married Cylena Drury, and they eventually had three children.

During the California Gold Rush, Adams decided to try his luck with thousands of other people, arriving at the gold fields in late 1849. When gold eluded him, he needed a new line of work, so he began hunting game to sell to miners, trading, ranching, and farming. By late 1852, he lost his ranch near French Camp, California, to creditors and moved to the Sierra Nevada mountains to trap for a living. Around this time, he adopted the name James Capen Adams. With help from local Miwok Indians, Adams built a cabin and stable near present-day Pinecrest, California. Along with trapping and hunting, he crafted buckskin clothing, moccasins, harnesses, pack saddles, and snowshoes. At 40, he was described as having long gray hair, a snowy white beard, an average height but muscular and wiry build, and wearing full buckskin attire. From his Sierra camp, Adams undertook several expeditions. In 1853, he traveled to Washington Territory, capturing a year-old female grizzly cub he named Lady Washington. He trained her to follow him, carry a pack, pull a sled, and eventually allowed her to be ridden. In 1854, Adams and some hunting companions journeyed to the Rocky Mountains, reaching Fort Bridger, Wyoming, where they sold meat, hides, and live animals. With everything he undertook, it would be Lady Washington that would make him famous.