TRACKS AND TRACKING 



the mountains of the West there is a berry bush 

 called kinni-kinic barberry or bearberry I am 

 not sure which is the correct term that is thickly 

 covered with fruit about the size of buffalo ber- 

 ries, and which is a favorite food for bears before 

 they can obtain mast ; or, if the latter fails, Bruin 

 seems to regard the seeds of the pinon as a deli- 

 cacy; but as it would apparently take up too 

 much of his time to fill himself from those that 

 fall to the ground, he resorts to easier methods 

 to obtain them he becomes a thief and incurs 

 the enmity of squirrels and jays. 



On ridges he robs the caches of the jays, and 

 in canons he depletes the stores of the squirrels, 

 and, by no means approving of such actions, they 

 heartily hate him and " cuss " at him whenever 

 he approaches, and in this way often betray his 

 presence to the hunter who has learned to inter- 

 pret the language of the wood-folk. It is always 

 well to approach with the utmost care places 

 where there is a continual chatter of squirrels and 

 cries of blue jays are heard; and if the " cussed " 

 one proves to be some other marauder well, it 

 may be a bear next time. When still-hunting 



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