THE COMMON BEAR. 93 



General description. 



CHAP. III. 



There through the piny forest half absorpt, 

 Hough tenant of those shades, the shapeless bear, 

 With dangling ice all horrid, stalks forlorn : 

 Slow-pac'd, and sourer as the storms increase, 

 He makes his bed beneath th' inclement drift; 

 And, with stern patience, scorning weak complaint, 

 Hardens his heart against assailing want. 



THOMSON, 



THE COMMON BEAR, 



THIS is a savage and solitary animal, inhabit- 

 ing the most inaccessible excavations of the 

 mountains, or fixing its residence in the darkest 

 and most impervious parts of the forest. Its ears 

 are short and rounded ; its eyes small, and fur- 

 nished with a winking membrane; its snout is 

 prominent, and its sense of smelling remarkably 

 acute. In all animals of this species the legs 

 and thighs are strong and muscular; the feet re- 

 markably long; and the claws so long and sharp 

 that they can ascend trees with tolerable facility. 

 The voice of the bear is a deep and surly growl, 

 which is frequently exerted without any provo* 

 Cation, 



