Grizzly bear kills man near Yellowstone....

[Bugbear]

Ok, I think I found where I saw the bear grease on shoe: at Fugawee http://www.fugawee.com/menscolonial.htm
* And for some reason that link does not seem to work. It is in their "Mens Colonial Shoes" section.

In Colonial days, leather was brought to thickness by "currying" or scraping over a wooden beam. Unlined shoes would be made with the smooth side inside
to take the place of a lining. The rough outside leather was dressed with a mixture of soot, lard, bear grease and beeswax. The first commercial shoe
polish was advertised in Boston in 1771.

I don't see a citation for their information, so it might not be accurate. I am sure that is what I saw that lead me to bring it up. It might be a myth, and I'm not an expert in any of this.