THE BLACK BEAR 47 



breaking up of the hard frost. They select a tem- 

 porary shelter, either in the trunk of some hollow 

 tree, or beneath an overhanging rock ; this they fur- 

 nish with dry leaves, and soon sink into a lethargic 

 slumber, from which nothing awakes them till the 

 return of spring. It seems as if their movements 

 were controlled by some unerring guide as if the 

 bounds of their habitations were so determined that 

 they could not pass the allotted barriers ; they never 

 descend further south than the latitude of the Flo- 

 ridas, nor westward than the Pacific Ocean. Yet 

 still the boundary is an ample one ; it embraces an 

 extent of country which combines the sternness of 

 of winter and the beauty of perpetual spring. 

 Throughout this extensive portion, black bears may 

 therefore be said to be indigenous, though, like the 

 native tribes, once lords of the new world, they dis- 

 appear from the newly-peopled districts. But the 

 growling brotherhood do not retreat when the first 

 blows of the settler's axe fall heavy on the trunks of 

 the noble trees ; they linger in the recesses of the 

 remaining forests, of such especially as yield the 

 mast on which they principally feed ; nor is it till 

 the last group has fallen, that they finally disappear. 

 Even then, if there be mountains in the distance, or 

 a range of broken rocks covered with underwood, 

 they repair thither as occasional visitors, and the 

 settler, who pleases himself with thinking that the 

 ancient tenants of the soil have fled away to the 

 lone wilderness, may chance to see a company of 

 them in some bright moonlight night feeding among 

 his wheat or maize. Happy would it be for him, 

 if, when the meal was finished, they quietly with- 



