276 A PRIMITIVE RETREAT. 



though there are still but few states which do not pos- 

 sess some tract of wild country which affords shelter in 

 forest or mountain fastness to animals of this species. 

 In some states it is probably as plentiful as ever. The 

 cane-brakes and forests of Louisiana, Texas, Florida, 

 Mississippi, and Alabama are well stocked with bears, 

 which afford exciting sport all the year round to the 

 hunters of those regions. 



" In the cold climate of the north the black bear 

 retires to the shelter of a hollow tree or log, or if this 

 be not conveniently met with, to a cave, where it lies 

 torpid during the winter months. Sometimes its 

 retreat is of a very primitive character merely the 

 shelter obtained by squeezing its body under the lee of 

 some fallen tree. The snow speedily covers it up, and 

 the bear will thus repose in somnolent inaction until 

 the returning warmth thaws its covering, when it 

 emerges from its retreat. At this time it is in a state 

 of great emaciation. The Indians say that a bear which 

 retires to its den at the beginning of winter in a poor 

 condition will not survive until spring. They further 

 assert that the immense mass of fat which surrounds 

 the body of the bear at the time of its retirement, after 

 having revelled among fruits, nuts, roots, etc., during the 

 summer and autumn, forms its means of subsistence 

 during its torpidity by becoming absorbed into the 

 animal's system. Both these statements seem probable 

 enough. 



"The pursuit of the black bear is a very favourite 



