THE AMERICAN BLACK BEAR. 



167 



good-tempered and gentle as a lamb, while the other frequently exhibited signs of a sulky and 

 treacherous character. Tempted by an offer for the purchase of the former of these animals I con- 

 sented, after much hesitation, to his Jbeing separated from his brother. 



" It was long before I forgave myself this act. On the following day, on my proceeding, as usual 

 to inspect the collection, one of the keepers ran up to me, in the greatest haste, exclaiming, ' Sir, I 

 am glad you are come, for your Bear has gone mad ! ' He then told me that during the night the 

 beast had destroyed his den, and was found in the morning roaming wild about the garden. Luckily, 

 the keeper managed to seize him just as he was escaping into the country, and, with the help of several 

 others, succeeded in shutting him up again. The Bear, however, refused his food, and raved in so fearful 

 a manner that, unless he could be quieted, it was clear he would do mischief. 



" On my arrival at his den, I found the poor brute in a most furious state, tearing the wooden 

 floor with his claws, and gnawing the barricaded front with his teeth. I had no sooner opened the 

 door than he sprang furiously at me, and struck me repeated blows with his powerful paws. As, how- 

 ever, I had r?ared him from a cub, we had too often measured our strength together for me to fear him 

 now ; and I soon made him retreat into the corner of his prison, where he remained howling in the 

 most heartrending manner. It was a most sickening sight to behold the poor creature, with his eyes 

 bloodshot and protruding from the sockets, his mouth and chest white with foam, and his body crusted 

 with dirt. I am not ashamed to confess that at one time I felt my own eyes moistened. Neither 

 blows nor kind words were of any effect : they only served to irritate and infuriate him ; and I saw 

 clearly that the only remedy would be either to shoot him or to restore him to his brother's com- 

 panionship. I chose the latter alternative ; and the purchaser of the other Bear, my kind friend, Sir 

 Henry Hunloke, on being informed of the circumstance, consented to take this one also." 



A more curious case is related by Brehm, who tells us of a little boy who crept one night for 

 warmth and shelter into the cage of an extremely savage Bear. The latter, instead of devouring the 

 child, took him under its protection, kept him warm with the heat of its body, and allowed him to 

 return every night to its cage. The poor boy soon died of small-pox, and the Bear from henceforth 

 refused all food, and soon followed its little protege to the grave. 



In former times, the Bear was in great requisition in England for the noble sport of Bear-baiting. 

 Bear gardens existed in many parts of the metropolis, in which the unlucky animals were baited to 

 death with Dogs, for the delectation of our most religious and gracious sovereign, good Queen Bess, 

 and " his sowship," her successor. The office of keeper of the Bear Ward was considered quite an 

 honourable post, and was usually held by one of " Her Majesty's Servants," the players by such 

 men, for instance, as Betterton and Alleyn the founder of Dulwich College. It has always been the 

 custom, too, to train Bears to walk on their hind legs and dance. This they do much more easily than 

 a Dog or a Cat, on account of their broad soles. 



The Brown Bear, like most animals, differs more or less in minor characters according to the 

 country in which it is found. The Bear of the Pyrenees and of Austria, for instance, is described as 

 having, in the young condition, yellowish-white fur and black feet. Sir J. Richardson describes a 

 well-marked variety as occurring in North America ; this, which is quite distinct from the Grizzly and 

 Black Bears, he calls the Barren-ground Bear. 



THE AMERICAN BLACK BEAR.* 



This animal is distinguished from the common Brown Bear, not only by its black fur, but by its 

 slenderer snout, more convex forehead, and smaller size : it rarely exceeds five feet in length. Its 

 habits are more strictly vegetarian than those of the brown kind. " Its favourite food appears to be 

 berries of various kinds, but when these are not to be procured, it preys upon roots, insects, fish, eggs, 

 and such birds or quadrupeds as it can surprise. It does not eat animal food from choice : for when 

 it has abundance of its favourite vegetable diet, it will pass the carcass of a Deer without touching it." 



It usually hibernates at any rate, when able to obtain a sufficiently plentiful meal, or rather 

 series of meals, before the commencement of winter. Sometimes, however, when food is scarce, Bears 

 will roam about the whole winter, never being able to obtain a sufficiently good feed to wan-ant their 



* Ursus americanus. 



