THE BLACK BEAR OF PENNSYLVANIA 41 



Give the bears a chance to go their way, hunt them 

 in a proper season if it gives you sport so to do, but 

 be a man, be a sportsman, >a, gentleman and don't let 

 the destroyer and the despoiler sit on your neck. Penn- 

 sylvania and its glories are for us all. 



The learned Missionary John Heckewelder, in' his 

 dissertation on "Indian Nations", reveals the kindly, 

 half whimsical attitude which the Indians felt towards 

 the wild denizens of the forests, and towards bears in 

 particular ; would they could be emulated by some of 

 our Potter County mountaineers who would exterm- 

 inate Ursus Americanus. He says : 



"A Lenni-Lenape hunter once shot a large bear and 

 broke its backbone. The animal fell and set up a 

 most plaintive cry something like that of the panther 

 when he is hungry. The hunter, instead of giving him 

 another shot, stood up close to him, arid addressed him 

 these words: 'Hark ye! bear, you are a coward, and 

 no warrior as you pretend to be. Were you a war- 

 hior, you would show it by your firmness and not cry 

 and whimper like an old woman. You know, bear, 

 that our tribes are at war with each other, and that 

 yours was the aggressor. You have found the Indians 

 too powerful for you, and you have gone sneaking 

 about in the woods. Had you conquered me, I would 

 have borne it with courage, and died like a brave war- 

 rior, but you, bear, sit and cry and disgrace your tribe 

 by your cowardly conduct.' ' : Heckewelder asked the 

 nirnrod how he thought the poor animal could under- 

 stand what he said to it. "Oh !" said he in answer, 



