482 ■ AUDUBON 



may have been told, or at least may now be told, that the 

 Black Bear now and then houses itself in the hollow trunks 

 of the larger trees for weeks together, when it is said to 

 suck its paws. You are probably not aware of a habit in 

 which it indulges, and which, being curious, must be inter- 

 esting to you. 



At one season, the Black Bear may be seen examining 

 the lower part of the trunk of a tree for several minutes 

 with much attention, at the same time looking around, and 

 snuffing the air, to assure itself that no enemy is near. It 

 then raises itself on its hind-legs, approaches the trunk, 

 embraces it with its fore-legs, and scratches the bark with 

 its teeth and claws for several minutes in continuance. Its 

 jaws clash against each other, until a mass of foam runs 

 down on both sides of the mouth. After this it con- 

 tinues its rambles. 



In various portions of our country, many of our woods- 

 men and hunters who have seen the Bear performing the 

 singular operation just described, imagine that it does so 

 for the purpose of leaving behind it an indication of its 

 size and power. They measure the height at which the 

 scratches are made, and in this manner can, in fact, form 

 an estimate of the magnitude of the individual. My own 

 opinion, however, is different. It seems to me that the 

 Bear scratches the trees, not for the purpose of shewing 

 its size or its strength, but merely for that of sharpening 

 its teeth and claws, to enable it better to encounter a rival 

 of its own species during the amatory season. The Wild 

 Boar of Europe clashes its tusks and scrapes the earth with 

 its feet, and the Deer rubs its antlers against the lower 

 part of the stems of young trees or bushes, for the same 

 purpose. 



Being one night sleeping in the house of a friend, I 

 was wakened by a negro servant bearing a light, who gave 

 me a note, which he said his master had just received. 

 I ran my eye over the paper, and found it to be a com- 



