John "Grizzly" Adams facts for kids

Quick facts for kids John Boyden "Grizzly" Adams
"Grizzly" Adams, with his grizzly bear, Benjamin Franklin, from the 1860 Hutchings' Illustrated California Magazine
Born	John Adams October 22, 1812 Medway, Norfolk County, Massachusetts
Died	October 25, 1860(1860-10-25) (aged 48) Neponset, Boston, formerly Suffolk County, Massachusetts
Cause of death	reinjured head wound from an earlier grizzly bear attack
Nationality	American
Other names	John "Grizzly" Adams, Grizzly Adams, James Capen Adams
Occupation	cobbler, zoological collector, merchant, miner, rancher, farmer, frontiersman, fur trader, hunter, trapper, animal trainer, circus performer
Known for	his love of grizzly bears and performing with the trained bears in the circus.

John Boyden "Grizzly" Adams (also known as James Capen Adams) was a famous American mountain man. He lived from October 22, 1812, to October 25, 1860. Grizzly Adams was well-known for training grizzly bears and other wild animals. He captured these animals for menageries, zoological gardens, and circuses.

Early Life and Adventures

Grizzly Adams was born in Medway, Massachusetts, near Boston. He didn't get much formal education. At 14, he started learning to make shoes. But John loved the outdoors more than anything.

When he was 21, he left shoemaking to become an animal collector. He hunted and captured wild animals in places like Maine, Vermont, and New Hampshire. This helped him become a skilled woodsman and survival expert. He also became a great shot with a gun.

John's career as a hunter changed when he was badly hurt by a Bengal tiger he was trying to train. After a year of getting better, he went back to making shoes in Boston. In 1836, John married Cylena Drury. They had three children: Arabella, Arathusa, and Seymour.

Adventures in California (1849–1860)

In 1849, the California Gold Rush was happening. John put all his savings, over $6,000, into buying shoes to sell in St. Louis, Missouri. He hoped to make a lot of money from the "forty-niners" heading to California. Sadly, he lost everything in a big fire at the St. Louis wharf.

Soon after, John's father died. Feeling like he had nothing left to lose, John decided to go to California. He had "gold fever" and wanted adventure. He knew he could at least hunt and trap to support himself, even if he didn't find gold. He left his family in Massachusetts and joined the forty-niners. He survived two serious illnesses on his journey and reached California in late 1849.

Life in the Wilds

Adams tried many jobs: mining, hunting for miners, trading, and even ranching. Sometimes he was rich, and sometimes he was broke. In late 1852, he lost his ranch near Stockton, California. He took what he could save and went into the Sierra Nevada mountains.

With help from the local Miwok Indians, Adams built a cabin. He spent the winter alone in the Sierra. He was an expert hunter. His shoemaking skills helped him make his own buckskin clothes, moccasins, and other gear. He wore these clothes for the rest of his life.

Capturing and Training Animals

Adams traveled long distances on foot, horse, or in an ox-drawn wagon. In 1853, he went on a hunting trip about 1,200 miles (1,930 km) from California to what is now western Montana. There, he caught a young female grizzly bear. She was a year old and very wild, but he managed to tame her. He named her Lady Washington.

Lady Washington learned to follow him without a leash. She also learned to carry a pack and pull a sled. She even snuggled with John to keep him warm in the cold. Eventually, John could ride on her back!

In 1854, Adams found two tiny grizzly cubs near Yosemite Valley. He named one of them Benjamin Franklin, or Ben. A year later, in 1855, Ben saved John's life when a mother grizzly attacked Adams. Both John and Ben had scars from that fight. The head injury John got in this attack caused problems for him later in life.

John continued to hunt and collect animals. In 1854, Lady Washington had a cub with a Rocky Mountain grizzly. Adams named the cub General Fremont, after John C. Frémont.

In the winter of 1854, Grizzly Adams caught a giant California grizzly bear in a huge cage trap. He named this bear Samson. Samson weighed an amazing 1,500 pounds! He was one of the biggest grizzly bears ever caught alive.

From Wilderness to Showman

In 1855, Adams and his friends hunted in the California Coast Range mountains. They traveled south to the Tehachapi Mountains. On their way back, they met many curious people. John started putting on small shows with his bears and other animals. These shows were the beginning of his circus career. He performed in places like San Miguel, Santa Clara, San Jose, and San Francisco.

In 1856, John opened the Mountaineer Museum in San Francisco. He had moved all his animals from Howard's Ranch, where they had been cared for. His shows became very popular, thanks to newspaper articles. Soon, he moved his museum, now called the Pacific Museum, to a bigger place. By 1858, a San Francisco newspaper called him the "Barnum of the Pacific."

Sadly, in January 1858, Ben, John's favorite grizzly, died from an illness. Adams was heartbroken, but he kept showing his animals every day. He also kept adding more animals and attractions. In 1859, he lost his museum building because he had spent too much money. But he saved most of his animals and moved them to another building.

Journey to New York

Grizzly Adams' health was getting worse. He knew he didn't have much time left. He had been away from his wife in Massachusetts for over ten years. He wanted to earn enough money to leave her comfortable. He decided to move his animals to New York. He hoped to join P. T. Barnum's famous show.

On January 7, 1860, Adams and his animals left San Francisco on a ship called the Golden Fleece. They sailed around Cape Horn to New York City. The trip took three and a half months.

In New York, Grizzly Adams joined Barnum. He performed his California Menagerie in a big tent for six weeks. His health kept getting worse. A doctor told him he should get his affairs in order. Adams decided to sell his animals to Barnum. But he convinced Barnum to let him perform for another ten weeks for a $500 bonus. Adams used his strong willpower to finish the contract, even though he could barely walk onto the stage. With the money from selling his animals and the bonus, he reached his goal of providing for his wife.

Death

Adams had been badly hurt in a grizzly attack in the Sierra Nevada mountains in 1855. His scalp was injured, and he had a dent in his skull. John often wrestled with his pet grizzlies during training and shows. During one such match, his grizzly, General Fremont, hit Adams in the head. This reopened the old wound. It was hurt again several times, becoming very serious.

In the summer of 1860, while on tour in New England, a monkey he was training supposedly bit into the wound. After more than four months of performing, the injury made it impossible for Adams to continue. After finishing his contract with P. T. Barnum, he went back to Neponset, Massachusetts. He died there from an illness (possibly meningitis) just five days after arriving home. Barnum was very sad to hear of Adams' death.

Adams was buried in Bay Path Cemetery in Charlton, Massachusetts. Many believe P.T. Barnum paid for his tombstone. His parents, a sister, his wife, and his son are also buried nearby.

Working with Others

Theodore H. Hittell and Charles C. Nahl

While Grizzly Adams was showing his bears in San Francisco, he worked with Theodore H. Hittell from 1857 to 1859. Hittell listened to Adams tell his adventures almost every day. He took careful notes and asked many questions to make sure he got the story right. Adams was happy that Hittell planned to write a book about his life.

During this time, the artist Charles C. Nahl became interested in Adams' grizzlies. Nahl worked with Hittell to create drawings for the book. One of Nahl's paintings later became the model for the grizzly bear on California's State Flag. In 1860, Hittell published his book, The Adventures of James Capen Adams, Mountaineer and Grizzly Bear Hunter of California.

Circus Connections

In 1833, John Adams worked as an animal collector for a group of showmen. Many animal shows and circuses were active in New England where Adams lived. This gave him the chance to meet circus owners and performers.

When John arrived in California, there were also circuses there. Grizzly Adams often left his animals at "Howard's Ranch" near Stockton, California. This ranch was used by the Lee and Marshall Circus to keep their animals in the winter. Adams' Mountaineer Museum in San Francisco was even a "side show" for Lee's Circus for a while. He also performed with other circuses.

When Adams arrived in New York City in 1860, he found out that P.T. Barnum had bought half of his California Menagerie. On April 30, 1860, Adams and Barnum opened the California Menagerie in New York City. Even though his health was failing, Adams continued to perform with his animals until late October 1860.

Family History

John Adams was part of the famous Adams political family of New England. This family included important people who helped found the United States. His ancestor, Henry Adams, came from England in 1632. This family later included the patriot Samuel Adams and two presidents, John Adams and John Quincy Adams.

Grizzly Adams was born near Boston and had many relatives there. His younger brother, James Capen Adams, was the person whose name Grizzly Adams sometimes used as an alias.

Legacy

John "Grizzly" Adams achieved amazing things in his few years of hunting. Many consider him one of the greatest California mountain men. He was known for getting up close with wild animals. He wasn't afraid to fight them hand-to-paw when needed. He captured more grizzlies alive than almost anyone else. He also captured hundreds of other wild animals for zoos and menageries.

Even though he killed some bears for food or fur, Adams truly loved the outdoors and wildlife. He hated waste. In 1911, the Western Hall of Fame honored Adams as one of the "Heroes of California."

Zoological Gardens

His Mountaineer Menagerie was the biggest collection of live and stuffed animals on the West Coast. This collection became the Pacific Museum in San Francisco. It entertained and taught people from all over. He was called "the Barnum of the Pacific" in a newspaper. His shows also inspired others to create zoos. This led to places like Woodward's Gardens and later the famous San Francisco Zoo. On the East Coast, the Central Park Zoo in New York was started in 1860, and the Bronx Zoo opened in 1899.

California's Flag

Charles Christian Nahl used Adams' grizzlies as models for his drawings and paintings. His sketches were used in Hittell's book about Adams. Nahl's 1855 painting of a California grizzly, based on Adams' bear Samson, became the source for the California Bear Flag. In 1953, the official design of the flag became law. This law also made the grizzly bear California's state land animal.

Learning About Grizzlies

Adams wasn't a trained scientist, but he learned a lot about grizzly bears. He observed their habits and facts about their lives while hunting and trapping them. Because of this, he knew more about the California grizzly bear than anyone else. The information Adams shared with Hittell was published in the book The Adventures of James Capen Adams. His knowledge has been very helpful to naturalists and historians.

Grizzly Adams in Media

Adams was a famous American outdoorsman, animal collector, trainer, and showman. A book about him was published the year he died. He was also the main character in Charles E. Sellier's 1972 novel The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams.

Adams has been played by actors in movies and TV shows:

• John Huston in The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean (1972)
• Dan Haggerty in The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams (1974, 1977–1978, 1982)
• Gene Edwards in The Legend of Grizzly Adams (1990)
• Tom Tayback in Grizzly Adams and the Legend of Dark Mountain (1999)
• Jeff Watson in P.T. Barnum (1999)

Images for kids

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  Grizzly Adams with his grizzly bear, Benjamin Franklin.