212 BIG GAME FIELDS 



bears in pursuit of the sweet juniper berries. I 

 do not think I have ever seen so much bear sign ; 

 it looked as if all the bear in the country had been 

 in on the great feast. It was the latter part of 

 December and they had just recently gone into 

 winter quarters, or we certainly would have been 

 able to make a record on bears if we had cared 

 to. There is another red berry that grows in 

 that section the bear are very fond of, I think the 

 name is manacea. It is a low-growing tree and 

 the bears are often given to sunning themselves 

 in these trees. 



Up through New Brunswick the beech nuts are 

 very plentiful and I found bears in that section 

 feeding extensively upon them, and so it goes 

 in different localities; both their diet and habits 

 are inclined to differ as circumstances require. 



The black bear prefers his meat well tainted, 

 and, in fact, I do not believe it can be too strong 

 for him. Unlike the grizzly he does not cover 

 over or bury a carcass, but this again is only char- 

 acteristic of him, for he does not feed, or in fact 

 do anything, as systematically or as seriously as 

 the grizzly much preferring a little mischief to 

 work, and here again we see him the happy-go- 

 lucky fellow. I cannot take space to mention all 

 the fancies of his appetite, but this gives a very 



