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Bears are extremely fond of beechnuts, fn the fall they make 

 great havoc among the branches, where they are sometimes shot b} the 

 hunter, being then, while busily engaged in feeding, less watchful than 

 usual. They also tear up old stumps and rotten logs in search of grubs, 

 and lai'Vfe of insects, and ants. Except to escape from dogs, or when in 

 search of nuts, bears ai'e seldom seen in trees. They will run long dis- 

 tances before hounds, if not attacked by them, without climbing. When 

 overtaken by dogs they sit erect and defend themselves with great 

 dexterity until they catch sight of the huntei", when, if not too late, 

 they immediately continue their flight. 



Black bears are very tenacious of life. A bullet must be well 

 placed to knock them over in their tracks. After a bullet has actually 

 passed through the heart, this animal — as is often the case with a deer 

 — will sometimes run fifty or sixty yards before he drops. Two large 

 bull terriers and a third dog — a cross between the bull dog and blood- 

 hound, to do the scenting — would ])rove a match for the largest black 

 bear. His pugilistic tactics, although certain to prove successful against 

 the attack of one, would be of little avail against the onslaught of two 

 such dogs. I have seen this tried and know the result. 



Bears are still to be found within eight or ten miles of the city of 

 Ottawa. According to authentic reports they have been quite abundant 

 this season in the more remote and less settled districts of the Ottawa 

 Valley. About ten years ago a bear fi-equentrd the bush on the Mac- 

 Kay estate, near New Edinburgh, for a number of weeks. Another 

 was frequentlyseen, about the same time, during the autumn and until 

 the time the snow set in, in the woods around Brigham's Creek, on the 

 Quebec side of the Ottawa. I spent an afternoon following the old 

 tracks of the latter animal, but failed to find him. About thirty years 

 ago a large bear was killed on the Gatineau, which was about as light in 

 colour as the Polar bear. The hair of this animal was very coarse, 

 although the inner fur was fine. Whether this animal was a lusiis 

 naturce or a solitary wanderer from the Arctic Circle, it is difficult to 

 say. From its general appearance and anatomical structure, 1 am 

 inclined to- believe that it was the former, and belonged to the black 

 species. Its appearance was as unaccountable as the white variety of 

 the Virginian deer frequently met with in the Ottawa Valley. 



