60 Hunting the Grisly 



crafty old fellow was aware of the danger all 

 the time, and sneaked off as soon as the coast 

 was clear. But in very cold weather hiber- 

 nating bears can hardly be wakened from 

 their torpid lethargy. 



The length of time a bear stays in its den 

 depends of course upon the severity of the sea- 

 son and the latitude and altitude of the coun- 

 try. In the northernmost and coldest regions 

 all the bears hole up, and spend half the year 

 in a state of lethargy; whereas in the south 

 only the shes with young and the fat he-bears 

 retire for the sleep, and these but for a few 

 weeks, and only if the season is severe. 



When the bear first leaves its den the fur is 

 in very fine order, but it speedily becomes thin 

 and poor, and does not recover its condition 

 until the fall. Sometimes the bear does not 

 betray any great hunger for a few days after 

 its appearance ; but in a short while it becomes 

 ravenous. During the early spring, when the 

 woods are still entirely barren and lifeless, 

 while the snow yet lies in deep drifts, the lean, 

 hungry brute, both maddened and weakened 

 by long fasting, is more of a flesh eater than at 

 any other time. It is at this period that it is 

 most apt to turn true beast of prey, and show 

 its prowess either at the expense of the wild 



