122 CURIOUS CREATURES. 



Norway they use to saw the tree almost asunder, so 

 that when .the beast climbeth it, she falleth downe upon 

 piked stakes laid underneath to kill her ; and some make 

 a hollow place in a tree, wherein they put a great pot 

 of water, having annointed it with hony, at the bottome 

 wherof are fastened certaine hookes bending downeward, 

 leaving an easie passage for the beare to thrust in her 

 head to get the honie, but impossible to pull it foorth 

 againe alone, because the hookes take holde on her 

 skinne ; this pot they binde fast to a tree, whereby the 

 Beare is taken alive and blinde folded, and though her 

 strength breake the corde or chaine wherewith the pot is 

 fastened, yet can shee not escape or hurt any bodie in 

 the taking, by reason her head is fastened in the pot. 



" To conclude, other make ditches or pits under Apple 

 trees, laying upon their mouth rotten stickes, which they 

 cover with earth, and strawe uppon it herbes, and when 

 the beare commeth to the Apple tree, she falleth into the 

 pit and is taken. 



" The herbe Wolfcbaim or Liberdine is poison to Foxes, 

 Wolves, Dogs, and Beares, and to all beasts that are 

 littered blind, as the Alpine Rhcetians affirme. There is 

 one kinde of this called Cyclamwe, which the Valdensians 

 call Tora, and with the juice thereof they poison their 

 darts, whereof I have credibly received this story ; That 

 a certain Valdensian, seeing a wilde beare, having a dart 

 poysond heerewith, did cast it at the beare, being farre 

 from him, and lightly wounded her, it being no sooner 

 done, but the beare ran to and fro in a wonderful per- 

 plexitie through the woods, unto a verie sharpe cliffe of 

 a rocke, where the man saw her draw her last breath, 

 as soon as the poison entered to her hart, as he after- 

 ward found by opening of her bodie. The like is 



