72 CAMP-FIRES OF A NATURALIST. 



but the bear-skin, which had been deposited near the 

 tent, was full of fleas, and when the skin got cold the 

 insects had made an excursion in search of warmth 

 and food, which they found under the blankets in the 

 tent. 



That evening there was a grand feast in the camp 

 with bear-meat, brisket of deer, and good appetites. 

 Then came a general bear talk. Bear-meat was 

 tough and stringy and jumped under the teeth like a 

 piece of india-rubber. Some was roasted and some 

 was boiled, but it was all tough and had a peculiar 

 flavor. 



" Is all bear-meat as tough as this?" asked Brown. 



"No. I've eaten the meat of black bear that was 

 very nice and tender, " answered the professor. " It 

 tasted like pork. I presume a young grizzly would 

 not be bad eating." 



" How big do bears get?" asked Clare. 



" Well, that's hard to tell. According to some re- 

 ports they occasionally exceed two thousand pounds, 

 but I don't think there are many so large. From the 

 best information I am able to obtain I don't believe 

 they get larger than twelve hundred pounds. I was 

 told by an old hunter that he saw a bear in Califor- 

 nia that weighed between eleven and twelve hundred 

 pounds and it was a monster. It was kept in captiv- 

 ity and had been fed every day until it was very fat." 



" How large do black bears get?" 



" Ordinarily between two hundred and three hun- 

 dred and fifty pounds. I heard of one taken in 

 Idaho which weighed four hundred and twenty-five 

 pounds. " 



