104 MAMMALIA—BEAR. 
This animal is capable of some degree of instruction. There are few who 
have not seen him stand on his hind legs, or with these dance in rude and 
awkward measure, to tunes either sung or played on an instrument. But, 
even in thus tutoring him, it is necessary, in order to succeed, that the 
animal should be taken young, and be held in constraint ever after. The bear 
which has passed his youth, is not to be tamed, nor even held in awe, and 
shows himself, if not actively intrepid, at least fearless of danger. 
The wild bear turns not from his path, nor offers to shun the sight of 
man; and yet, it is said, by a certain whistle he may be surprised, and so 
far charmed as to step, and stand upon his hind feet. This is the time to 
shoot, or by one method or other to destroy him; for, when only wounded 
in an attack, he darts with fury at his foe, and, clasping him with his 
fore paws, is sure to stifle or strangle him, unless immediate assistance be 
given. 
The bear enjoys the senses of seeing, hearing, and feeling, in great per- 
fection; and yet, compared with the size of his body, his eye is very small ; 
his ears are also short; his skin is coarse; and his hair very thick. His 
smell is exquisite; more so, perhaps, than that of any other animal, the 
internal surface of his nose being very extensive, and excellently calculated 
to receive the impression of odors. He strikes with his paws as a man 
strikes with his fists; but in whatever particulars he may bear a rude kind 
of resemblance to the human species, he is only rendered the more de- 
formed by them; nor do they give him the smallest superiority over other 
animals. 
In no part of the world, perhaps, are bears more numerous than at Kam< 
stchatka, and no where are they so gentle. They rove about the plains in 
large droves, yet they never disturb the women and girls, who gather roots 
and herbs, or turf for fuel, in the very midst of them; nay, they will even 
eat out of their hands. Their mildness, however, does not preserve them 
from being persecuted by mankind. For this ingratitude man has, indeed, 
some excuse in the great utility of the spoils of the bear. The Kamstcha- 
dale would find it much more difficult to subsist, did not the bear supply 
him with many necessary articles. Beds, coverlets, caps, gloves, shoe- 
soles, and collars for sledge dogs, are made of the skin; the fat is savory 
and nutritious as food, and when melted is used as oil; the flesh is highly 
esteemed; the shoulder blades are converted into sickles for cutting grass 
the intestines, when prepared, are worn by the women as masks, to protect 
the face from the sun, and are also converted into excellent panes for win- 
dows; and the heads and haunches are hung on trees, around the dwellings, 
as ornaments, or as trophies. To the bear the Kamstchadale is likewise 
indebted for his scanty knowledge of physic and surgery, which he acquires 
by noticing what herbs the animal applies to his wounds, or eats when he 
is laboring under disease; and to the bear, too, he owes all his ideas of 
