22 WILD BROTHER 



burrow in the earth, which led down beneath the 

 roots of the tree into a dark underground cave. 

 With his axe he cut a sapling and poked the end of 

 it into the darkness. The pole struck something 

 soft and yielding, and as he pushed upon it there 

 came from the hole a complaining grunt. He 

 poked again, and now he heard an ugly warning 

 growl; he had found a black bear's den and the 

 old bear was at home. 



The black bear always has a snug cozy home for 

 the cold months of the year. On the first approach 

 of winter, he sets at work to put his house in order. 

 Often his dwelling will be a cave in the rocks, and 

 sometimes, when he comes to his home for the 

 winter, he may find another bear already occupy- 

 ing his quarters. If he cannot find another cave, 

 he makes himself a new one, usually selecting a spot 

 beneath some big dead tree, where the digging will 

 be easy. The soft earth flies while with his big 

 powerful paws he burrows deep into the ground. 

 The excavation finished, he lines the bottom a foot 

 deep with hardwood leaves, and is ready to move in. 



One cold night in November this bear, the 

 mother of the cub in the lumber-camp, had crawled 

 into her retreat under the dead pine tree. Hidden 

 away in her comfortable nest, she soon dropped 

 off into her long winter's nap. The ground froze 

 hard; the cold winds blew and piled the drifting 



