THE BLACK BEAR 287 



search for food, and leaves many other signs beside 

 his tracks which the woodsman sees at a ghmce, and 

 which the sportsman would, no doubt, pass unnoticed, 

 unless, of course, he had learned the art of bear hunt- 

 ing. Without dogs there is but little chance of seeing 

 a bear in most of the woods to-day, or of following it 

 if seen slipping away. The cover is often heavy, and 

 the little black rascal can travel fast, sliding down into 

 deep ravines and climbing mountain sides in a way 

 most surprising, for the animal seems to be clumsy and 

 to have a shuffling gait. 



Many amusing stories are told of the bears and the 

 bees. The bears are excessively fond of honey and 

 receive many stings from the bees when robbing the 

 hives or bee-trees in the woods. I read a maafazine 

 story (I have forgotten where) of a farmer who was 

 much damaged by a bear's visits to his premises, and 

 who fixed up a bait consisting of whiskey and honey. 

 The bear becoming very drunk was found roaming 

 about the neighborhood in the morning, and easily de- 

 spatched. Since writing these lines I find the follow- 

 ing story told of a gentleman who killed a bear in 

 New Hampshire : " He saw a bear up a tree, and all 

 around him the air was gray and alive with bees. 

 Bruin had effected an entrance to their stores and was 

 helping himself. He had both legs and one arm around 

 the tree, and with the other hand was dipping out the 

 dripping comb and stuffing it into his mouth. But he 

 seemed covered with bees, which in their way were 

 taking vengeance on his ears, over his eyes, on his face 

 and nose, and occasionally a louder but muinbling note 

 of distress and a momentary thrusting out of the 



