Grave of Seth Kinman: Killed 800+ Bears

Loleta, California

Seth Kinman (1815-1888) was the image of a Mountain Man: clad in buckskin and furry hat, over six feet tall and bulky, his head and face encased in far too much hair and beard. Imagine the character Hagrid from the Harry Potter films, and you'll have a good idea what Seth Kinman looked like.

Kinman survived his Mountain Man days to become an early Wild West personality, going on tour to tell tall tales while a stunt flunky in a bear suit frightened the audiences. Kinman killed over 800 grizzly bears, and an uncounted number of Native Californians as well, and made decorative chairs (and a fiddle) out of body parts from the animals that he shot. Several of them were presented as gifts to U.S. Presidents. Abe Lincoln was said to be a Seth Kinman fan (Of his chair art, not his excessive killing).

Despite his rugged lifestyle, Kinman lived to be 72, and died only after one of his legs had to be cut off, by some accounts after he had accidentally shot it. He was buried in his buckskins, but, sadly, the colorful Kinman has a simple grave: a ground-level plaque with just his name and birth-death years. No mention of bears at all.