92 The Black Bear 



coaxed back gradually to the performance of their ac- 

 customed functions. Shipwrecked sailors, rescued at 

 the point of starvation, have to be forced by their 

 friends to go slowly until their stomachs again get the 

 habit of digestion; and while bears have no friends to 

 do them a like service, they have practised long fasting 

 for so many generations that they have developed in- 

 stincts that serve the purpose. 



When they first come out of the winter^s den they 

 wander around for a day or so showing little or no incli- 

 nation for food. Then they make their way down to 

 where the snow is gone and the early vegetation has be- 

 gun to sprout, and eat sparingly of the tender grass 

 shoots. But their appetites are not long in returning. 

 By the end of a week the old saying, '^hungry as a 

 bear, " is more than justified and they start in in ear- 

 nest to make up for lost time. At this season they are 

 especially fond of the parsnip-like roots of the skunk 

 cabbage, and I have seen marshy bottom lands so dug 

 over by bears in search of this dainty that they had 

 almost the appearance of having been ploughed. 



Here again the experience of the Lodges with their 

 captive bears exactly confirms my own observations 

 in the open. Mr. William R. Lodge writes me that, 

 '^When they first come out they are not hungry, and 

 the first day or two only partake of a bite or two of 

 parsnip or similar food that we always provide and 

 that seems to be their most satisfactory diet after they 



