Rolf and I were hanging out in the cabin of the Questar …resting from our labors after a long day in the boat yard….The subject of grizzly bears came up, as it often does in Alaska. They are named Ursus Horribilis for a very good reason. They are plenty dangerous under the wrong circumstances. Of course, I had to tell my story about a skipper I knew who survived a grizzly mauling and was later killed by the most dangerous animal in Alaska. I met Grizzly Bill when I was fishing out of S. Naknek at The Flintstones. He lived in the bush up on Lake Iliamna. He fished the Bay in the summer and was a hunting guide and trapper the rest of the year. A grizzly had gotten the jump on him and chewed him up pretty bad. Bill said that at one point the bear had a grip of his head and shook him like he was ringing a bell. He could feel the grizz’s teeth scrape on his skull. Eventually the bear got bored, dropped him and wandered off. When they put Bill’s face back together it came out a little lopsided and the sutures looked like they were made with a speedy stitcher. Bill was a good natured guy and told the story with a laugh…as though the bear had played a big joke on him..No hard feelings…..That was in 1978. When I came back to the fish camp in 1982…Bill didn’t show. I asked around…where was Bill?…It turns out Bill was something of a romantic and had won the heart of a lady up Iliamna way. Unfortunately the lady was already spoken for. Her jealous husband tracked Bill down and stabbed him to death in a bar up Iliamna way. That, gentle reader, is my story of the most dangerous animal in Alaska……