74 A SPORTING PARADISE 



Some hunters whom I have met have affirmed 

 that Muskoka produces two kinds of bear, viz., 

 the long-legged and the short-legged, but this 

 is not the case, there is only one, the Ursus 

 americanus. Black bears differ very much. I 

 have examined some after death and found them 

 round, plump, and short-limbed ; others gaunt, 

 leggy, and scraggy. This depends on age and 

 condition. They retire to their dens in November 

 and come out in April. The females generally 

 produce two cubs, sometimes three, but I have 

 never seen them accompanied by more than two, 

 and more frequently one. 



The following is an extract from my notes : 

 "The first time I had an opportunity of seeing 

 a she bear with her cubs was in 1888. I had 

 only just arrived in Canada when I received an 

 invitation to join a hunting-party camped at 

 Trout Lake, some miles from Pembroke, down 

 the Ottawa River. Leaving the small steamer 

 after a somewhat exciting trip, I was met at a 

 log wharf by a young Englishman dressed in a 

 rough shirt, deerskin leggings, etc., and wearing 

 a wide-brimmed slouch hat. The road was 

 merely a blaze-path, and during our walk I was 

 more than once asked to remain alone while he 



