SUPPOSED DANGER OF BEAR-HUNTING. 147 



stands and prepares cheerfully to meet it. At all 

 events, Gordon Gumming, and dozens of others, passed 

 through every kind of danger without loss of life or 

 limb; and Waterton, the naturalist, after all his 

 ^ Wanderings ' beyond the bounds of civilisation, died 

 a peaceful death in his own home, at an age far ex- 

 ceeding that which commonly falls to the lot of man. 



The common black bear of America is disposed to 

 lead a very quiet and peaceable existence if allowed to 

 do so ; acting upon the schoolboy's principle, ^ Leave 

 me alone, and I will leave you alone.' When the female 

 has cubs, she will defend them, as a matter of course ; 

 and when brought to bay by hunters and dogs, a fight 

 sometimes takes place ; but both men and hounds are 

 generally too wary to allow the bear to inflict any 

 serious injury. Very savage dogs are not (strange as 

 it may appear) the proper animals with which to hunt 

 the black bear. A dog who would at once rush upon 

 the foe, a bull dog for instance, who, in all probability, 

 would seize the bear by the throat or head, and hang to 

 him, would most certainly come to grief; he would bo 

 killed ' before he knew what hurt him,' as they say in 

 the West. Active wary dogs, animals that seem to 

 know how to ' fight and run away,' and, watching their 

 opportunity to give the bear a severe bite when his 

 attention is distracted, then bound away out of his 

 reach, these are the dogs for bear-hunting. But the 

 sport is seldom attended with danger, and instances 



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