BRUNO MUST DEPART 123 



tors. As far as I had been able to learn, his dis- 

 position was no better than that of any ordinary 

 black bear. It is a well-established fact among 

 people who have tamed or handled animals that 

 the North American black bear is sometimes a 

 treacherous fellow and not to be trusted. Another 

 fact worthy of some thought was that the so-called 

 dangerous wild animals, when taken as cubs and 

 brought up as pets, never have the fear of human 

 beings that animals in their natural habitat 

 develop. Consequently, when a sudden rage seizes 

 them, they are more likely to do serious damage. 



At this time, the spring of 1905, Bruno tipped 

 the scales at one hundred and forty pounds. He 

 was as strong as an ox and, had he cared to do so, 

 could have torn a man to pieces in a very short 

 time. Mrs. Underwood thought that I was taking 

 a good many risks and laying myself liable to 

 serious criticism if I kept the bear much longer, 

 and I was somewhat reluctantly beginning to con- 

 sider the matter of another home for him, when an 

 event happened which caused me to decide defi- 

 nitely that he must go. 



Wishing to take a photograph of Bruno that 

 would show his size at that age (two years and 

 four months) relative to that of a man, I asked a 

 friend of mine if he would be willing to stand be- 

 side the bear for that purpose. 



