96 A SPORTING PARADISE 



americanuSy I will quote from the writings of 

 Stone and Cram in their admirable work on 

 American Animals^ published during the present 

 year. 



"The black bear is a smooth-coated, well- 

 shaped fellow, savage enough when attacked and 

 compelled to fight for its life, or to protect its 

 cubs, but at other times timid and inoffensive. 

 When you walk through the woods the shy 

 rabbit allows you to approach within a few steps 

 before it takes fright and goes bounding away, but 

 the black bear is much more easily frightened. 

 Long before you have got within sight of him he 

 is running for his life with almost the speed of a 

 fox ; yet in his encounters with dogs he has proved 

 himself a dangerous antagonist, plucky and ready 

 to fight. The fact is, his terror of man is the 

 only thing that could possibly save him. If he 

 had assumed the same attitude toward man in 

 America that the brown bear has in Europe, the 

 last of his race would have been shot in the days 

 of our grandfathers." 



The black bear is almost always interested 

 in obser ving the curious ways of the hmuan kind. 

 Even in the woods he often exhibits a desire to 

 study the habits of men, creeping up under cover 



