146 THE AMEEICAN BLACK BEAE. 



sports, and the hunters have no reason to complain of 

 scarcity of game. A hundred years ago the peculiar 

 and special haunt of the black bear was in the dense 

 cane-brakes that fringed the banks of the Ohio and 

 Mississippi rivers. 



In these districts the settlers formerly suffered great 

 losses from the depredations of the 'varmint;' corn- 

 patches, gardens, and even hog-pens, being robbed by 

 these unscrupulous freebooters. The settlers, however, 

 combined and organised bear-hunts on a large scale, 

 carrying the war into the enemies' country, and con- 

 stantly beating up such portions of the forests as were 

 known or believed to afford refuge to the animal. By 

 this method their numbers were reduced, and in these 

 districts few are now to be found. 



English sportsmen, who have, in all probability, never 

 drawn trigger on any animal larger than a rabbit or 

 hare, may be led to suppose that bear-hunting is a very 

 dangerous pastime, and that those who indulge in it 

 necessarily expose themselves to a great deal of risk 

 from panthers, wolves, and other animals besides the 

 bears themselves. But the fact is, few hunters die in 

 the forest or on the prairie. A man who willingly and 

 from pure love of sport faces the perils of the wilder- 

 ness has generally sufficient courage, experience, and 

 presence of mind, to carry him safely through all 

 dangers and difficulties. A danger is seldom attended 

 with fatal consequences to a man who thoroughly under- 



