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him, \vl;en the bear turned and charged him with open inouth. The- 

 proverbial " fierce and angry growl " was not heard, but the attack was 

 so sudden and unexpected that Hannegan was obliged to back up, when 

 his heels, coming in contact with some obstruction, he fell on his back, 

 and bruin instantly descended upon him, " tooth and nail." The infu- 

 riated animal caught one of his hands, which he had raised to defend his 

 face, in his teeth and passed his great tusks through it in several places,. 

 and lacerated various parts of his body dreadfully with his clawg. 

 Although almost in the death struggle, the savage animal would cer- 

 tainly have killed his antagonist had not Stanley oj>portunely arrived 

 on the scene, and quickly disi>atched him with an axe. This was a very 

 large bear ; and I can vouch foi the fact that it was three months before 

 the wounded man was sufficiently recovered from his injuries to go 

 bear-hunting. 



According to Godman's " Natural Histoi-y," black bears have been 

 observed in the vicinity of Hudson's Bay, in the month of June, before 

 the berries are ripe, feeding entirely upon water insects, which ai-e 

 driven into lakes and bays in })rodigious quantities by gales. The 

 animal swims along with his mouth open and gathers the insects on the 

 surface. This species of food imparts a very disagreea^'le taste to the 

 fiesh of the bear, which, in my opinion, is not very agreeable under 

 ordinary conditions, with the exception, perhaps, of the hams, when 

 nicely cured and smoked. The hams of two large bears which I shot 

 on the south side of Rideau street, near Nicholas street, were treated 

 in this manner and proved excellent. 



The black bear fights with teeth and claws, and by hugging, to. 

 which latter peculiarity many a good dog owes his death. When in an 

 erect position the bear is a j)erfept master of the manly art of self-defence.- 

 Tt would puzzle a pugilist of either the light or heavyweights to get in 

 a blow when he is in this position. The most vulnerable part of a bear 

 is his nose, which is provided wuth many sensitive nerves intimately 

 and directly connected w^ith the brain. When a bear is standing on all 

 fours iheie Avould be no difficulty in striking him with a club. But 

 when he is sitting eiect it would be an entirely different matter. An 

 expert swordsmnn might be able to reach him with a rapid thrust; the 

 scientific Tipperary man, with a blackthorn, never. 



