178 EVERYDAY ADVENTURES 



He has a brownish muzzle and a white diamond- 

 shaped patch on his breast. Sometimes he is brown, 

 or red, or yellow, or even white. Not so wise as the 

 wolf, or so fierce as the panther, yet the blackbear 

 has outlived them both. "When in doubt, run!" 

 is his motto; and like Descartes, the wise blackbear 

 founds his life on the doctrine of doubt. As for the 

 unwise — they are dead. To be sure, even this sav- 

 ing rule of conduct would not keep him alive in these 

 days of repeating rifles, were it not for his natural 

 abilities. A bear can hear a hunter a quarter of a mile 

 away, and scent one for over a mile if the wind be 

 right. He may weigh three hundred pounds and be 

 over two feet wide, yet he will slip like a shadow 

 through tangled underbrush without a sound. 



Bear-cubs are born in January, after the mother 

 bear has gone into winter quarters, blind and bare 

 and pink, and so small that two of them can be held 

 at once on a man's hand. Bears mate every other 

 year, and the half-grown cubs hibernate with the 

 mother during their second winter. 



The blackbear is a good swimmer, and may some- 

 times be seen crossing lonely lakes in the northern 

 woods. At such times he is an ugly customer to 

 tackle without a gun, as he will swim straight at a 

 canoe and tip it over if possible. A friend of mine, 

 while fishing in upper Canada, on a sluggish river 

 between two lakes, saw a bear swimming well ahead 

 of the canoe. He began to paddle with all his might 

 to overtake him, but to his surprise seemed to be mov- 

 ing backwards. Looking around, he saw his guide, 



