ITRSUS AMKRJCAM'S. g^ 



Geor^^e, ran down one of tlicm, and it was killed with an 'axe by a 

 drummer from Gotham. This was just above Anthony's Nose. 



As a rule our Bears " den ujj " in winter, but their hibernation is 

 not })rofound. and it is })rudent not to take man\- liberties with them 

 when in this condition. The exact period when the event takes 

 place is deterniined b)' the food suppl\- and the severity of the sea- 

 son. It the beech-nut crop has been a failure and deep snows come 

 earl)-, they generall)- den near the commencement of winter. If, on 

 the contrary, there has been a i^ood yield of mast, and the winter 

 is a mild one (and it is a fact that, with us, ^j^ood beech-nut years are 

 commonly followed b\- open winters), the males prowl about nearly, 

 or quite, all winter, and the females onK' den a short time before the 

 period of brin^-ing forth their )ouno-. Indeed, it can be set down as 

 a rule, that so lon^^ as a male Bear can find enouo;-h to eat he will not 

 den, be the weather never so severe ; for it is evident that he does 

 not den to escape either the low temperature or the deep snows, 

 but to thus bridge over a period when, if active, he would be unable 

 to procure sufficient food. And the female, under similar circum- 

 stances, remains out till the maternal impulse prompts her to seek a 

 shelter for her prospective offspring ; and in this Wilderness they 

 have been found travelling as late as the middle of January. 



The den is not commonly much of an affair. It is generally a 

 partial excavation under the upturned roots of a fallen tree, or under 

 a pile of logs, with perhaps a few bushes and leaves scraped together 

 by way of a bed, while to the first snow-storm is left the task of 

 completing the roof and filling the remaining chinks. Not infre- 

 quently the den is a great hole or cave dug into the side of a knoll, 

 and generally under some standing tree, whose roots serve as side 

 posts to the entrance. The amount of labor bestowed upon it de- 

 pends upon the length of time the Bear expects to hibernate. If the 

 prospects point toward a severe winter and there is a scarcit\- of 

 food, they den early and take pains to make a comfortable nest : but 

 when they stay out late and then den in a hurr)-, they do not take 



