114 THE DRAMA OF THE FORESTS 



the bear that lay motionless scarcely beyond the muzzle of his 

 gun. 



THE TRUTH ABOUT BEARS 



The black bear's coat is all of a glossy black, save just the 

 muzzle, which is light brown. In weight the black bear runs 

 from two hundred to five hundred pounds. Though he is 

 found throughout the Great Northern Forest, he is a com- 

 parative stay-at-home, for he seldom roams, even in summer 

 time, more than ten miles from his den, where, if undisturbed, 

 he goes into the same winter quarters, year after year. Con- 

 sequently, his paths are often clearly defined and well-beaten, 

 for he has the habit of treading repeatedly in his old tracks, 

 and occasionally he blazes his trail by clawing and biting, as 

 high as he can reach, a neighbouring tree. There, too, he fre- 

 quently leaves other signs — as a dog does at a post. Dog-hke, 

 also, other bears that happen along manifest pleasure or rage 

 according to whether the sign has been left by friend or foe. 

 The mating season is in June, though the female rarely bears 

 young except every second year. The young are born in 

 January while the mother is hibernating; and the cubs, usually 

 two in number, are at birth very small, weighing only about ten 

 ounces. The she-bear makes a good mother, for though she 

 shows great affection for her babies, she nevertheless repri- 

 mands them, and cuffs them as well, whenever they misbehave 

 or fail to comply with her wishes. The cubs are easily tamed, 

 and being natural httle romps, they soon become proficient 

 wrestlers and boxers, and in latter years, show so much agility 

 in the manly art that they strike and parry with amazing 

 power, speed, and skill. When hurt, however, the cubs whimper 

 and cry just like children, and if the httle tots are badly 

 wounded, the distress of the mother is pitiful to see, for she 

 moans and sheds tears just as any tender-hearted human 

 mother would. Bear-cubs are droU little mischiefs. Not only 



