78 



URSID.E. .MAMMALIA. 



tensive with the circuit of the globe. As the name 

 indicates, the general colour of the fur is brown ; but 

 it is subject to a great variation of tint, partly depend- 

 ing upon age and partly also on locality circum- 

 stances which have given origin to several well-marked 

 varieties. In the young state the texture of the hair 

 is woolly ; but it becomes firm and even in the 

 adult condition. The whitish bands seen on the neck 

 and sides of the head in the Siberian variety of this 

 bear, are, it would seem, merely the permanent indi- 

 cations of the pale collar which is commonly more or 

 less marked in young specimens of the European form. 

 Like all the true ursine types of structure, the common 

 brown bear possesses a stout bulky frame and power- 

 ful thick limbs (fig. 22). The forehead is slightly con- 



vex, while the ears are short. Its habits are solitary. 

 The flesh is very good eating, especially when the 

 animal is young. The fur is valued everywhere, and 

 more particularly by the Laplanders and the Kam- 

 tchatkans, to whom, Mr. Ogilby remarks, "it gives the 

 necessaries and even the comforts of life. The skin, 

 we are told, forms their beds and their coverlets, 

 bonnets for their heads, gloves for their hands, and 

 collars for their dogs, while an over-all made of it, 

 and drawn over the soles of their shoes, prevents them 

 from slipping on the ice. The flesh and fat are their 

 dainties. Of the intestines they make masks or 

 covers for their faces to protect them from the glare of 

 the sun in the spring, and use them as a substitute for 

 glass by extending them over their windows. Even 



Fig. 22. 



The Brown Bear (Ursus arctos;. 



the shoulder-blades are said to be put in requisition 

 for cutting grass." As a source of sport, it was in 

 early times the custom for English sovereigns and 

 nobility to assemble together to witness the baiting of 

 this unfortunate animal. We rejoice to know that 

 those barbarous customs have long since passed away, 

 and those who wish to indulge in a fairer and more 

 legitimate amusement must betake themselves to the 

 mountains and well-wooded districts of Europe and 

 Asia, where they will find ample opportunities for de- 

 veloping their skill and courage, and, at the same time, 

 confer a positive boon upon the inhabitants of many 

 an outlying, lonesome, hill-begirt village. Although 

 the behaviour of these animals is far less alarming 

 than that of lions, tigers, and their congeners, yet 

 their pursuit is by no means unattended with danger, 

 and it requires great courage to attack them. Among 

 the many interesting stories which have from time to 

 time appeared respecting encounters with this animal, 

 ve are not acquainted with any more daring or des- 



perate than those which have been recorded by Mr. 

 Atkinson in his attractive work entitled " Oriental and 

 Western Siberia." While in the neighbourhood of 

 the celebrated Tsaravo-Nicholiovsky gold mine, two 

 men, one of them being a skilled hunter, succeeded in 

 springing a bear. " The hunter fired, and the ball 

 struck, but not in a vital part. In an instant the 

 wounded animal charged. The other man, who was 

 less experienced, reserved his shot until within twenty 

 paces. The rifle missed. At once the brute raised 

 himself on his hind legs, and tearing the earth beneath 

 him, rushed'on his first assailant, striking him down 

 with a blow that stripped his scalp, and turned it over 

 his face. Then seizing his arm, he began to gnaw 

 and crush it to the bone, gradually ascending to the 

 shoulder. The man called to his companion to load 

 and fire ; but the fellow, when he saw his friend so 

 fearfully mangled, ran away and left him to his fate. 

 Late in the evening he reached the gold mine and 

 reported what had happened ; but it was too late to 



