36 The Black Bear 



at a small town on a branch of the Northern Pacific 

 Railway one hundred and twenty-five miles from 

 Spokane; and here we decided to ship not only our 

 new store of furs, but our camp outfit as well. From 

 here on our way lay through open farm lands, and we 

 could find bed and board with the ranchers as we 

 travelled. 



Ben was still the same jolly fellow, but now grown 

 so large that by standing on his hind feet he could catch 

 his claws in the hair cinch of the saddle and relieve us 

 of the trouble of lifting him to the back of his mount. 

 He and Jim remained the best of friends. Spencer con- 

 tinued to teach the cub new tricks. Ben could now jug- 

 gle not only the ball, but any other object that was not 

 too heavy for his strength, and he spent many hours 

 at the pastime. While we were packing the baggage 

 Ben attracted the attention of the entire population. 

 The children, being told that he was gentle, brought 

 him ripe plums and candies and he was constantly 

 stuffed as full as he could hold, and not unnaturally 

 took a great fancy to the kids. They were always 

 ready to play with him, moreover, and his entire time 

 at this place was divided between eating and wrestling 

 with the youngsters. And when we left Ben received 

 an ovation from the whole community. 



Ben and Buckskin caused no end of sensations in 

 passing through the country. We often came across 

 loose horses feeding along the highway, and these 



