James Capen Adams

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James Capen "Grizzly" Adams , also John Capen Adams (born October 20, 1807 in Medway , Massachusetts , † October 25, 1860 ) was an American animal catcher, tamer and showman .

Life

Adams spent many years in the unpopulated area of ​​what is now the western United States , especially California . There he dealt with catching and training animals, which he then sold to circuses , menageries and zoos .

He became known nationwide through the reports that documented his work with animals. One of his special demonstrations was wrestling with tamed grizzly bears , to which his nickname refers. One of his tamest animals also became known, the bear Ben (named after Benjamin Franklin ), whom he looked after until his death. In one fight, he was badly injured by a bite in the head by another bear. However, he was able to continue working despite a fractured skull.

James Adams died of meningitis contracted while working with a monkey. He was buried in Charlton, Worcester County , near his birthplace in Massachusetts.

aftermath

Adams' fate has been a popular topic in popular American literature since the 1860s, especially among children's authors.

In 1973 Charles E. Sellier authored the book Life and Times of Grizzly Adams about the life of James Adams. In 1974, this work served as a template for the film of the same name and a TV series that was broadcast from 1977. However, their contents differ from the traditional life of James Adams. The book was not published in German-speaking countries. The film and series are called The Man in the Mountains .

From 1998 to 2015 the ice hockey team of the EHC Wolfsburg operated as Grizzly Adams Wolfsburg , after Adams or his film character.

literature

  • Theodore H. Hittell: The adventures of James Capen Adams, mountaineer and grizzlybear hunter, of California . Towne & Bacon, San Francisco CA 1860, (second edition by Crosby, Nichols, Lee & Co., Boston 1861).
  • Charles E. Sellier: Life and Times of Grizzly Adams . Schick Sunn Classic Books, Los Angeles CA 1977, ISBN 0-917214-02-1 .

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