ANTICOSTL 



always looked upon Ursus Americanus as a most shy and 

 timid animal, and from what I have seen of him in 

 Anticosti I have no reason to change my opinion. 



" The thick hedge of spruce, which I have spoken of 

 before as lining the coast, though almost impervious to 

 men, is not so to the bears. They have paths all through 

 it. On one occasion, as I was paddling along the coast I 

 saw a large bear emerge from one ' of these paths, and 

 descend a steep little cliff stern foremost ; he then, having 

 picked up a dead fish on the beach, retired with it by the 

 way he came. I immediately landed, and posting myself 

 right under the cliff, and some 20 yards or so to leeward 

 of his tracks, awaited his return, my men shoving off in the 

 canoe the better to watch the little game. I never stirred 

 for twenty minutes, expecting to see him come down again 

 where he went up ; but, as I heard subsequently from my 

 men, who almost split their sides with laughing, 'Mooym' 

 (as the Micmacs call him) came to the rock 20 feet or so 

 straight above my head, and putting his head over, 

 watched me intently for nearly a minute. Eventually he 

 winded me, and made off. My men tried to attract my 

 attention by telegraphing, but all to no purpose. They 

 imitated the cry of loons and of seals so well, that neither 

 ' Mooym ' nor I took any notice of these not unusual 

 sounds. 



" It is only in the spring of the year that bears frequent 

 the sea-coast. In the summer and fall they go back to the 

 interior of the island, and live on berries. In fact, they 

 only come to the beach when hard pushed by hunger. 

 They know well enough that they are safer in the woods. 

 They are so easily scared away from one particular place, 



