76 THE MOOSE 



and the sight of the cribbed, confined space hurt 

 him hke a blow. To Hve here I Penned up with 

 a bear cub who had never known what freedom 

 meant I 



His arrival made quite a stir, and through the 

 interstices of the fence the moose watched the life 

 of the place, bare and frugal and sombre, with few 

 graces on the surface and none beneath. At first 

 everyone contributed to his food-supply, hanging 

 the offerings on the topmost bars of the prison 

 walls. 



The little black bear fought stubbornly for his 

 place in the world, claiming, with the pathetic force 

 of back-handed cuffs and protesting snaps, equal 

 shares with the new-comer, who claimed none, in 

 the portion of boiled dried salmon served out by 

 Sadie, who had long since tired of her bear pet. 

 Indeed, with his powers of climbing he was free to 

 return to the wild an' he listed ; but he had eaten of 

 the bread of dependence and drunken of the wine 

 of ease too long ! A land of plenty held him 

 securely as a den in the Zoo. Next winter he 

 would probably furnish a muff for the hands now 

 feeding him. 



He had come from a rocky snow-covered cave, 



