Bon 



the slope of Long's Peak I have known grizzlies to 

 den up beneath the snow-crushed, matted tree- 

 growths at the timber-line, at an altitude of about 

 eleven thousand feet. 



Twice I have known bears to hibernate in 

 enormous nests that were made of the long fibres 

 of cedar bark. It must have taken days to con- 

 struct one of these nests, as more than forty cedar 

 trees had been more or less disrobed to supply ma- 

 terial for it. It resembled the nests of trash that 

 razor-back hogs in the South construct, though 

 much larger. The bear, after piling it up, worked 

 his way in near the bottom, somewhat after the 

 fashion of a boy crawling into a haycock. Over this 

 hibernating-nest the snow spread its blanket and 

 probably afforded all the protection needed. 



Sometimes the entrance to a den is partly closed 

 by the occupant. Once in, he reaches out and claws 

 the lower part full of earth, or rakes in trash and 

 leaves. In most instances nothing is done to close 

 the entrance. The snows drift back into the den, 

 pile upward, and at last close the entrance most 

 effectually. 



All the dens that I recall were upon northerly or 

 easterly the cooler slopes. The snow as it fell 

 85 



