CAVE LODGERS. 205 



raids on the cattle, to obtain wliich he will sometimes 

 break in the side of a barn. 



The skin realises from four to twelve dollars, according 

 to size and condition. 



The fall is the best time for bear hunting — " the berry- 

 ing time," as it is designated by the settlers, when he is 

 engaged in laying in a stock of corpulency, the material 

 whereof shall stick to his ribs during the long fast of the 

 coming winter. So intent is he now on his luscious feast 

 on blue and whortle berries, that he does not keep as good 

 a look-out for foes as at other times, and may be easily 

 detected in the early morning by the observant hunter, 

 who knows his habits and meal times, and hunts round 

 the leeward edges of barrens. 



Later still, in a good season for beechmast, he may be 

 hunted in hard- wood hills. A little light snow will not 

 send him home to bed, whilst it materially aids the 

 hunter in tracking the animal. Sometimes the bear will 

 go aloft for the mast, and even construct a rough platform 

 amongst the upper branches, where he can rest without 

 holding on. I have seen many such apparent structures, 

 and could in no other way account for their appearance, 

 and to this I may add the testimony of the Indian. 



The bear takes a deal of killing, and will run an in- 

 credible distance with several mortal wounds. A singular 

 trait, approaching almost to reflective power, is his habit 

 of stopping in his flight, to pick up wet moss in a swamp 

 wherewith to plug up the wound. 



I but once surprised a bear in the wood in the act of 

 feeding, unconscious of my approach. My Indian saw 

 a portion of his black hair moving just above the side of 

 a large fallen tree, and in a moment we both lay prostrate. 



