t^t (&ri33fg 



Once in for the winter, the bear is likely to stay 

 in the den for weeks. Most of the time probably is 

 spent sleeping, and, so far as known, without either 

 food or water. A bear may be routed out of his win- 

 ter quarters without difficulty. Generally his sleep 

 is not heavy enough greatly to deaden his senses. 

 Hunters, trappers, floods, and snow-slides have 

 driven grizzlies from their dens during every stage 

 of hibernation, and in each case a moment after 

 the bear came forth his senses were as alert as 

 ever; he was able either to run away or to fight in 

 his normal manner. 



Prospectors in Jefferson Valley, Montana, told 

 me of staking claims and starting to drive a tunnel 

 early one December. A day or two after they be- 

 gan blasting they saw a bear break out of a snowy 

 den and scamper away on the mountain-side. They 

 tracked him to the place where he had holed up 

 again. It was their belief that the noise or the jar 

 of their shots had awakened and re-awakened the 

 bear, until, disgusted, he left the region for a 

 quieter sleeping-place. 



A sniffling and grunting attracted my attention 

 one midwinter day as I was snowshoeing along the 

 side of a ravine. Presently, a short distance ahead 



88 



