IIRSUS AMERICANUS. 



97 



George, ran down one of tliL-m, and it was killed with an axe h)' a 

 drummer from C^iOtham. This was JList above Anthon)-'s Nose. 



As a rule our Bears " den u[i " in winter, hut their hibernation is 

 not profound, and it is prudent not to take man)- liberties with them 

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

 place is determined b}' the tood supply and the severity of the sea- 

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

 early, they generally den near the commencement of winter. If, on 

 the contrary, there has been a good yield of mast, and the winter 

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

 commonl)' followed by oi)en winters), the males prowl about nearly, 

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

 period of bringing forth their young. Indeed, it can be set down as 

 a rule, that so long as a male Bear can find enough to eat he will not 

 den, be the weather never so severe ; tor 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 W'ilderness 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 exca\'ation under the uiJturned roots of a fallen tree, or imder 

 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 scarcity 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 



