THE BLACK BEAR. 75 



CHAPTER III. 



THE BLACK HEAR. 



The Black Bear. Different Varieties. Their Haunts, Habits, and Gen- 

 eral Characteristics. Affection of Mothers for their Cubs. Gravid 

 Females never seen. Migrations of the Bear. Character of its Flesh. 

 Its Game Qualities. Abundance of the Animal in the West. The 

 best Dogs for chasing it. How to Hunt it. Its Acuteness of Nose 

 and Expertness in Swimming. Captured by Steamers frequently in 

 Puget Sound. Why it is not Hunted much. A Hunt with Indians. 

 The Scenes and Incidents of a Ibttatch. Capture of several Bears. 

 Tripped up while Stalking a Male. Explosion of Gun. A Rude 

 Raft, a Wild Ride, and a Collision with a Barricade. A bad Ducking. 

 I kill a Bear, and receive a bad Wound in the Arm. A Canoe Trip, 

 and a Hard Bump. Reach Camp, and have my Wound dressed. Re- 

 turn of the Hunters. An Indian Festival. How Indians cook Young 

 Bears. I am mistaken for a Bear by Hunters, and shot at. Anecdotes 

 of Men attacked by Bears. A Bear -hunt which results in being 

 Treed, The Release, and Death of the Besieger. How a Doctor cap- 

 tured a Bear. Water versus Courage. A Public Singer and an Imagi- 

 nary Bear. The Remuneration given for keeping his Adventure silent. 



THE black bear (Ursus americanus) is found all over 

 the United States, but it is more abundant in the wooded 

 regions beyond the Rocky Mountains than in any other 

 part of the world; so he who would revel in bear-hunts 

 to his heart's content should seek that country, and spend 

 a season amidst its extensive forests and towering moun- 

 tain ranges. There are supposed to be two or three spe- 

 cies of this animal in the West, but, so far as I could It-am, 

 they are all one, the only difference between them being 

 confined to variety of hue; and this is undoubtedly the 

 result of climate and habitat. 



I have seen on more than one occasion dams accompa- 

 nied by cubs which displayed distinct colors; some be- 

 ing black, others brown, or a dark cinnamon, and even a 



