150 THE AMERICAN BLACK BEAR. 



she retires to some hollow tree, the entrance to which 

 is high up in the trunk or in the fork of the branches, 

 that being the spot in which she is best able to defend 

 her young ones from their enemies. The male shifts 

 all the troubles, cares, and anxieties, of providing for 

 and defending the family to the shoulders of the lady 

 bear ; he retires to some secluded spot beneath a fallen 

 tree, the crevice of a rock, or some similar situa- 

 tion where he can rest undisturbed and without being 

 worried by the cries and squabbles which take place in 

 the nursery amongst the baby bears. In the most 

 ungallant and unsociable manner, he divides his time be- 

 tween eating and sleeping, issuing from his retreat only 

 for the purpose of feeding after the sun has set. Even 

 in the non-torpid season he passes the greater part of 

 the day in his den fast asleep, and will hardly bestir 

 himself when disturbed by the hunter's dog. He only 

 gives a grunt or two of disapprobation, and, like the 

 sluggard, seems disposed for a little more sleep, a little 

 more slumber, and a little more folding of the paws for 

 rest. It is ooly a full burst of music from the entire 

 pack that will rouse him to a full sense of his danger. 



The Itlack bear is an omnivorous feeder. In Texas, 

 Louisiana, and the Southern States, he gets fat upon the 

 good things cultivated by the planters, sugar-cane and 

 yoimg maize, while by way of dessert he will greedily 

 devour wild grapes, sweet acorns, pecan-nuts, and per- 

 simmons. Wild turkeys and other birds often pull 



