76 A SPORTING PARADISE 



beds were visible a half-grown brood of wild 

 ducks ; but what riveted my attention and caused 

 my hand to tremble was the sight of a she bear 

 with her two cubs, within a stone's throw of 

 where we stood, about to cross the creek. One 

 cub appeared much larger than the other, and 

 walked independently behind his mother, whilst 

 the younger perched himself comfortably on all 

 fours upon the old bear's back. 



" The shores of Trout Lake were infested with 

 bears, and I don't think I have ever seen so 

 many in one place as I did there. On one 

 occasion three bears swam across the Ottawa 

 river in broad daylight, and rushed through the 

 streets of Pembroke. One was killed in the 

 burial-ground, another fell dead in the street, 

 pierced by twenty bullets, while the third escaped 

 toward the township of Alice and got clear away. 

 I was at Pembroke at the time, and can recall 

 the screams of women and children, the rifle and 

 pistol reports, the shouts and confusion. Several 

 persons were nearly killed by bullets as the 

 bewildered bears fled. 



" The young of the black bear are exceedingly 

 small at their birth, sometimes not much larger than 

 kittens. They are almost invariably brought forth 



