72 



Bear- Hunting in the South. 



BEAR HIEROGLYPHICS. 



reach, which means, in b'ar lingo, ' I'm boss of the woods — beware 

 how you trespass on my domains.' The next b'ar that comes along 

 takes the same position and tries to outreach the first. Now, this old 

 fellow has written in b'ar hi'roglyphics a foot higher, ' Mind your 

 eye, young un, you're a very small potato ; I'm the hoss that claims 

 preemption rights to these pastures.' Another reason for knowing 

 it's a he b'ar is that the she's have young about the third week in 

 January, and it's about that time. We hunt them in February by 

 examining the cypress-trees, where they have left their marks climb- 

 ing to their dens. The young ones, when first born, are not larger 

 than a rat." 



" I have read that the bear was a hibernating animal ; how about 

 that ? " asked Rogers. 



"The b'ar becomes very fat in winter," said Asa, "and his 

 insides are so covered with fat that he has no room for food ; in a 

 cold climate he would lie up, but here he is tempted by the mild 

 winters to keep traveling around." 



While old Asa was giving our city friend this bit of natural 

 history, the dogs were busy at work on the trail ; the track was 



