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strnctme of tlie animal. I believe, however, that the same peculiarity 

 distinguishes the young cubs of the grizzly and all the other species of 

 this genus. 



Bears feed principally on vegetable food, such as grapes, roots, ber- 

 ries, beech nuts, oats and Indian corn. In plundering the oat and corn 

 fields of the fjxrmer they often meet their death by means of traps, 

 spring guns, and watching from scaffolds by night. In remote places, 

 where they haee not been disturbed, on fine evenings, bears always 

 visit fields of corn or oats before sundown, and thus become an easy prey 

 to the watcher, -who is seated perhaps twenty feet from the ground, and, 

 as a consequence, safe from being scented by the animals. 



Black bears are inordinately addicted to honey, and, like Gulliver 

 among the Lilliputians, they strike on a troublesome ti-ail when they 

 attack a bee's nest. In the late fall they devour tho berries of the 

 liowan tree, the heavy red clusters of which afford them a rich repast. 

 In a place on the slope of one of the mountains north of Chelsea, where 

 I was out deer-hunting last October, a little grove of beautiful Rowan 

 trees which was much trampled down and tattered by bears in getting 

 at the fruit, together with numerous tracks, indicated the very recent 

 presence of these animals in the place. The black bear, when his 

 natural food is scarce, as is the case when the berry or nut crop is defi- 

 cient, takes boldly to the farm yard, and carries off pigs and sheep, and 

 even kills young cattle when pressed by hunger. Under such circum- 

 stances hunger makes him exceedingly fearless. I have known more 

 than one incident in which bears have been killed, in the act of woiTy- 

 ing pigs, Ity a few blows of an axe. 



Although a somewhat clumsy animal, the activity of the bear is 

 wonderful. For a mile or two he runs with astonishing speed. When 

 closely pursued by dogs he will take to a tree, up which he can climb 

 rapidly ; from which, howev-er, he descends more slo.vly, head upwards, 

 as soon as it appears safe to do so. A bear will seldom take to a tree 

 wjien pursued unless to escape from dogs which take hold, or from a 

 large pack that terrifies him. So far as I have observed, bears ai'e very 

 shy and timorous ia the presence of man, making off rapidly from the 

 sight or scent of a human being the instant they become assured of 

 either. They are, however, more frightened l)y the scenf" — that intang- 



