54 HUNTING THE GRISLY. 



of its work. Hence it is not often that the 

 dens are found. 



Once in its den the bear passes the cold 

 months in lethargic sleep ; yet, in all but the 

 coldest weather, and sometimes even then, its 

 slumber is but light, and if disturbed it will 

 promptly leave its den, prepared for fight or 

 flight as the occasion may require. Many 

 times when a hunter has stumbled on the 

 winter resting-place of a bear and has left it, 

 as he thought, without his presence being dis- 

 covered, he has returned only to find that the 

 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 hibernat- 

 ing 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 

 season and the latitude and altitude of the 

 country. 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 she's 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 con- 

 dition 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 



