VO.1405. 3fAM3fALS OF NORTmVEST TERRITORIES— MACFARLANE. 721 



to Prince Jerome Napoleon, of France. The former was secured in 

 1803 and the latter in 18H4. I hav^e not noticed any reference to the 

 presence of this or the other species of bear on the lands to the north 

 of the American coast visited by the ditt'erent arctic expeditions. 



BLACK BEAR. 



VmuH (iinerii'dmift Pallas. 



The black bear is not at all common within the arctic portion of the 

 Anderson River, but in the forest country to the south on both sides 

 of the valley it is fairly abundant. It subsists chiefly on roots, edible 

 grasses, berries, and green leaves, and on stranded tish and dead ani- 

 mals when procurable. The Indians occasionalh" kill a male or female 

 l)ear which has neglected to hibernate, or for some unknown reason 

 has left its winter shelter, and such examples are generall}" in a more 

 or less impoverished condition, while many of the "winterers'' are 

 still quite fat as late as INIarch and April when shot or speared in their 

 holes or caves. In the far north, one and two, but rarely three, 3 oung 

 are produced at a ])irth; but the Indians of New Caledonia district, 

 British Columbia, have assured me that two, three, and four at a time 

 are events there of rather frequent occurrence, and that even as man}" 

 as five have been occasionally observed. This difference in prolitic- 

 ness may be owing to the fact that while roots and berries may be 

 equally abundant in both sections of country, salmon are very abund- 

 ant in their season and easily accessible in the western spawning rivers 

 and streams, and there form the chief item of diet of the bears. The 

 young usually liiljcrnate two seasons with their mother, after which 

 they are rather harslily repulsed l)y her and thereby made to under- 

 stand that they nmst set up house and provide for themselves. This 

 course would indicate that they breed only every third 3'ear, while 

 some Athabascan Indians thought they did so each alternate spring. 

 In this connection 1 would mention that the Carrier Indians of Stuart 

 Lake, British Columbia, have told me that it was an event of the 

 utmost rarity (one such occurred in the spring of 18HU) to kill a hiber- 

 nating bear with unborn young. Even when attacked in their winter 

 shelters, the\' will almost invariabl}" manage to abort the young, if not 

 already in existence, inunediately on becoming aware of the near 

 presence of men with deadly intentions. During the rutting season, 

 the males of all bears are always more ferocious than on other ordi- 

 nary occasions. They frequently tight together until one submits, 

 nor will they hesitate to attack any man they may meet at such 

 times. When bears quit their winter-quarters, they usually resort, 

 morning and evening, to the nearest small stream and feed on the 

 small tish. They also eat roots, etc., as already mentioned. When 

 wounded, the}- are said to utter a cry and moan in pain much as most 



