182 EVERYDAY ADVENTURES 



chewed. I recognized it as a bear-tree. In the spring 

 and well through the summer certain trees are 

 selected by all the he-bears of a territory as a sign- 

 post whereon they carve messages for friend and foe. 

 No male bear of any real bearhood would think of 

 passing such a tree without cutting his initials wide, 

 deep, and high, for all the world to see. 



The first flurries of snow mean bed-time for 

 Bruin. He is not afraid of the cold, for he wears a 

 coat of fur four inches thick over a waistcoat of fat 

 of the same thickness. He has found, however, that 

 rent is cheaper than board. Unless there comes some 

 great acorn year, when the oak trees are covered with 

 nuts, he goes to bed when the snow flies. One of the 

 rarest adventures in wood-craft is the finding of a 

 bear-hole where Bruin sleeps rolled up in a big, 

 black ball until spring. It is always selected and con- 

 cealed with the utmost care, for the blackbear takes 

 no chances of being attacked in his sleep. The last 

 bear -hole of which I have heard was not far from 

 home. Two friends of mine were shooting in the 

 Pocono Mountains with a dog, about the middle of 

 November, 1914. Suddenly the dog started up a 

 blackbear on a wooded slope. After running a short 

 distance, the bear turned and popped into a hole 

 under an overhanging bank. Almost immediately 

 he started to come out again, growling savagely. 

 I am sorry to say that my friends shot him. Then 

 they explored the hole which he was preparing for 

 his winter-quarters. It was beautifully constructed. 

 The entrance was under an overhanging bank, 



