THE BLACK BEAR 289 



ever, and I believe the cub finally went to a zoological 

 garden. 



Although the black bears are still fairly plentiful in 

 parts of Maine and New Brunswick, in the Adiron- 

 dacks, the AUeghanies, and other wooded and moun- 

 tain regions, it is quite unusual for a sportsman to kill 

 one by stalking; in fact, as already stated, these bears 

 are seldom seen. In the Adirondacks it is proposed to 

 protect the black bear as a game animal, instead of 

 offering a bounty for his scalp. This movement is in 

 the right direction.* There is a certain amount of 

 healthy sport to be had in hunting the black bear, and 

 as a game-animal he is worth more than the damage 

 he does, at least in the places where bears are no longer 

 abundant. 



A bear is shot now and then in the forests of Michi- 

 gan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and other Western States, 

 but here, as elsewhere, far more are taken with traps. 

 Few sportsmen make a practice of hunting the black 

 bear in the Northern States. Bear-shooting, however, 

 in the South has long been a favorite sport. Many 

 packs of bear-dogs are owned in the Southern States. 

 These usually contain dogs of various sizes and kinds ; 

 rough-haired terriers, hounds, and "curs of low de- 

 gree" are often found in one pack. As stated in the 

 chapter on the grizzly bears, the hounds are not expected 

 to attack and kill the bear, but to find and follow him, 

 nipping at his heels and bringing him to bay, or tree- 

 ing him until the hunters arrive and despatch him. 

 The hunters usually arc mounted and the riding is often 



* So many protests from those injured by hears have been received that 

 Forest and Stream says they sh<;ulcl not be protected. 



