Blackbear 1077 



But one day a cripple who came to the hotel got very drunk and 

 disappeared. Next morning they heard a voice in the Bear's 

 den, "Lay over — who are ye shovin'"; and there was the 

 missing cripple sleeping with this ferocious Bear. They had 

 much difficulty to get him out, partly because he didn't want 

 to come, and partly because the Bear fought them for possession 

 of his guest. 



A tame Bear was kept at Park River House on the Red 

 River (Minn.) by Alexander Henry in 1804. The old chron- 

 icler says:'° 



"He is so tame as to require no care or confinement, but 

 associates with the dogs, and even follows them and the men 

 into the plains and woods." 



The same old scribbling pioneer gives us another glimpse 

 of Blackbear character in the following:" 



"While we were arranging camp I saw a Bear on the east 

 side of the river, a little above us, coming down to drink. I 

 crossed over and followed him; he soon stopped within a few 

 paces and ran up a large oak. I shot him between the shoul- 

 ders and he fell to the ground like a log, but in a moment was 

 scampering away as fast as he could. I traced him by the 

 blood, and soon found him sitting under a brush-heap grum- 

 bling and licking his wounds. A second shot dispatched him. 

 By the hideous scream he uttered when he fell from the tree I 

 imagined he was coming at me, and was waiting for him with 

 my second barrel cocked when he ran off. I went for my two 

 men, and it was hard work for us three to draw him to the 

 canoe; he was very fat. I found that my first ball had gone 

 through his heart. I was surprised that he should have been 

 so active after a wound of that kind." 



Of course, it is well known that a Blackbear is a good climb 

 climber, but I shall never forget the surprise I got when first I 

 saw a wild one climb a tree. I had pictured to myself some- 

 thing like the slow moving up of a man or a sloth, or at best the 

 action of an expert sailor going up the shrouds. But what I 



^'Journal, 1897, p. 253. ^'Idem., p. 87. 



ERS 



