102 The Black Bear 



And he would actually lie down and roll on the find, 

 and, if allowed, would then pick it up in his mouth 

 and carry it home for a nest egg. 



But in spite of his preference for carrion, the Black 

 Bear soon learns to take advantage of easily procurable 

 live meat. They are remarkably adaptable animals, 

 take kindly to civilization, and accommodate them- 

 selves readily to the conditions and opportunities that 

 follow in its wake. They very soon realize it if they are 

 free from interference, and will, with the slightest en- 

 couragement, begin to impose upon you. They will 

 live under your barn with the best will in the world. 

 And they'll learn to steal sheep. In some localities they 

 get to be a serious nuisance in this way. But their 

 favorite civilized dish is young pig. In some regions 

 the ranchmen in the spring turn their hogs out into 

 swamps to feed on the roots of the skunk cabbage ; but 

 if Black Bears happen to be plentiful in the neighbor- 

 hood they are very likely to get not only the skunk 

 cabbage but the pigs as well. There appears to be 

 something about a shoat that appeals directly to the 

 Black Bear instinct. They learn to be sheep thieves; 

 but they appear to be born pig thieves. The summer 

 that I caught Ben, as we were returning to Spokane 

 across the Palouse farming country, we stopped at a 

 ranch over night and left Ben tied under a small shed 

 while we unpacked and stabled our horses. It hap- 

 pened that there was an old sow with a litter of young 



