316 ADVENTURES WITH THE BROWN BEAR. 



The affectionate nature of the Brown Bear is not only exercised towards human friends, 

 but towards each other. Two of these animals which were born in captivity were exceed- 

 ingly attached to each other. One of the two was sold and removed from its companion, 

 which immediately became uneasy at the protracted absence of its playfellow. So deeply was 

 its affectionate heart wounded by the separation, that it became nearly mad, and at last con- 

 trived to make its escape from its place of confinement, evidently with the intention of search- 

 ing after its lost friend. It was captured and replaced in its cage, but its health became so 

 seriously affected that its owners were obliged to repurchase its companion and restore it to its 

 disconsolate relation. 



Savage as is the Bear when attacked, it is naturally of a kind and playful disposition, 

 seldom inflicting injury except when urged by fear or hunger. Mr. Atkinson, in his valuable 

 work on Siberia, relates a curious and interesting anecdote of the gentleness which naturally 

 actuates the Brown Bear : 



Two children, of four and six years of age, had wandered away from their home, and were 

 after a little time missed by their parents, who set out in search of their offspring. To their 

 horror and astonishment they found their children engaged in play with a large Bear, which 

 responded to their infantine advances in a most affectionate manner. One of the children was 

 feeding its shaggy playfellow with fruit, while the other had mounted on its back and was 

 seated on its strange steed strong in the fearlessness of childish ignorance. 



The parents gave a terrified scream on seeing the danger to which their children were 

 exposed, and the Bear, on seeing their approach, quietly turned away from the children and 

 went into the forest. 



The same writer records a curious adventure with a Bear, which partakes largely of the 

 ludicrous. 



A woman had lost her donkey, and after a long and fatiguing search she at last came 

 on the missing animal. Being very much irritated with the truant for his misconduct, she 

 fell to scolding and beating him with the handle of a broom which she happened to be carry- 

 ing. Her vituperation and castigation were, however, suddenly checked by the discovery 

 that the animal which she was beating so unceremoniously was not her donkey, but a great 

 Brown Bear. The astonishment of the two seems to have been mutual, for the Bear was 

 evidently as much confused by the unwarranted assault as was the woman by the sight of her 

 antagonist ; so that after looking at each other for a few moments, the Bear turned tail and 

 ran away as fast as his legs would carry him. 



It is but seldom that the Bear will make an unprovoked attack on a human being, and 

 when he does so, it is generally because he is rendered desperate by the pangs of hunger. In 

 such a case, the Bear is greatly to be dreaded by the benighted traveller, especially if he hap- 

 pen to be journeying alone and has no companion who may share his watch. 



That wild beasts of all kinds are scared away by fire is a well-known fact, but the hungry 

 Bear is of so cunning a nature that it even sets at defiance the flaming circle which would at 

 other times afford a secure protection to the sleeping traveller. It is true that the Bear does 

 not venture to cross the fiery barrier, but it contrives to avoid the difficulty in a most ingenious 

 manner. Going to the nearest stream, it immerses itself into the water so as to saturate its 

 fur with moisture, and then, returning to the spot where the intended prey lies asleep, the 

 animal rolls over the flaming embers, quenching the glowing brands, and then makes its attack 

 upon the sleeper. This curious fact is well known among the natives of Siberia, so that they 

 have good grounds for the respect in which they hold the Bear's intellectual powers. 



The Bear is possessed of several valuable accomplishments, being a wonderful climber of 

 trees and rocks, an excellent swimmer, and a good digger. 



During the time when it is engaged in feeding, the Bear is constantly in the habit of 

 climbing up all kinds of elevated spots, for the purpose of obtaining food, either vegetable or 

 animal. Leaves of various trees are a favorite article of diet with the animal, as are also the 

 nests of the wild bees and ants. Trusting to its powers of swimming, the Bear does not hesi- 

 tate to cross considerable rivers in search of food or in order to escape from its enemies, and it 

 is in the habit of taking frequent baths during the hotter months of the year, for the sake of 



