288 FRANK forester's FIELD SPORTS. 



with examining the mouth of the cave he is about to enter. 

 Upon the signs there exhibited, he decides whether the Beai- is 

 alone ; tor if there are two the cave is never entered. The 

 size of the Bear is also thus known, and the time since he was 

 last in search of food. The way this knowledge is ob ained, 

 from indications so slight, or unseen to an ordinary eye, is one 

 of the greatest mysteries of the woods. Placing ourselves at 

 the mouth of the cave containing a Grizzly Bear, to our un- 

 tutored senses there would be not'iing to distinguish it fr m o:ie 

 that was empty ; but if some Diana of the forest would touch 

 our eyes, and give us tlie instinct of sight possessed by the 

 hunter, we should argue this wise : ' From all the marks about 

 the mouth of this cave, the occujiant has not been out i"or a 

 gr>'at length of time, for the grass and earth l:^ve not lately 

 been disturbed. The Bear is in the cave, for the last tracks 

 made are with the toe marks towards the cave. There is but 

 one Bear, because the tracks are regular and of the same size. 

 He is a large Bear ; the length of the step and the size of the 

 paw indicate this ; and he is a fat one, because his hind feet do 

 not step in the impressions made hij the fore ones, as is always the 

 case with a lean Bear.' 



" Such are tlie signs and arguments that present themselves 

 to the hunter ; and mysterious as they seem when not under- 

 stood, when explained they strike tlie imagination at once, as 

 being founded on the unerring simplicity and truthfulness of 

 nature itself. It may be asked, how is it that the Grizzly Bear 

 is so formidable to numbers when met in the forest, and when 

 in a cave can be assailed successfully by a single man ? In 

 answer to this, we must recollect that the Bear is only attacked 

 in his cave when he is in total darkness, and suffering from sur- 

 prise and the torpidity of the season. These three things are in 

 this method of hunting taken advantage of; and but for these 

 advantages no quickness of eye, or steadiness of nerve, or forest 

 experience, would protect for an instant the intruder to the cave 

 of the Grizzly Bear. The hunter having satisfied himself about 

 the cave, prepai'es a candle, which he makes out of the wax 



