ADVENTURES WITH THE BROWN BEAR. 315 



the winter. It is well known that sugar has the property of producing fat to a very great 

 extent, and as it possesses more of the saccharine property than any other natural substance, 

 the Bear is led by its instinct to search for and to devour this valuable food with untiring 

 assiduity. 



Again, the excess of carbon, whether it be diffused in the atmosphere or concentrated, in 

 the body, is always productive of sleep, or rather of lethargy, as is seen by the constant drow- 

 siness of human beings when overloaded with this condensed carbon, or when they are placed 

 in a room which is charged with the carbonic acid gas that has been exhaled from the lungs of 

 its inhabitants. 



A curious phenomenon now takes place in the animal' s digestive organs, which gives it 

 the capability of remaining through the entire winter in a state of lethargy, without food, and 

 yet without losing condition. As the stomach is no longer supplied with nourishment, it soon 

 becomes quite empty, and, together with the intestines, is contracted into a very small space. 

 No food can now pass through the system, for a mechanical obstruction — technically called 

 the "tap pen" — blocks up the passage, and remains in its position until the spring. The 

 "tappen" is almost entirely composed of pine-leaves, and the various substances which the 

 Bear scratches out of the ants' nests. 



From the end of October to the middle of April the Bear remains in his den, in a dull, 

 lethargic state of existence ; and it is a curious fact that if a hybernating Bear be discovered 

 and killed in its den it is quite as fat as if it had been slain before it retired to its resting- 

 place. Experienced hunters say that even at the end of its five months' sleep, the Bear is as 

 fat as at its beginning. Sometimes it is said that the Bear loses the ' ' tappen ' ' too soon, and 

 in that case it immediately loses its sleek condition, and becomes extremely thin. During the 

 winter, the Bear gains a new skin on the balls of the feet, and Mr. Lloyd suggests that the 

 curious habit of sucking the paws, to which Bears are so prone, is in order to facilitate the growth 

 of the new integument. 



The den in which the Bear passes a long period of its life is mostly found under the 

 sheltering defence of rocks or tree-roots, but is sometimes composed of moss which the Bear 

 gathers into a hillock, and into which it creeps. These moss-houses are not so easily discov- 

 ered as might be supposed, for the habitation bears a very close resemblance to an ordinary 

 hillock, and when the ground is covered with a uniform carpet of snow, might easily be passed 

 without detection. 



Bears are nearly as careful of their comfort as cats, and take the greatest pains to prepare 

 a soft and warm bed, in which they lie at ease during their long sleep. The flooring of their 

 winter- house is thickly covered with dried leaves and all kinds of similar substances, the 

 smaller branches of the pine-tree being in great request for this purpose. In the Swedish 

 language this moss-house is known by the name of "Korg." 



Heavy and unwieldy as the Bear may seem to be, it is possessed of marvellous activity, 

 and when disturbed in its den rushes out with such astonishing rapidity that it will baffle the 

 aim of any but a cool and experienced hunter. One writer, who witnessed the sudden issuing 

 of a Bear from its den and its escape from its pursuers, compares the animal to those children' s 

 toys that are popularly called "skip-jacks," and which execute somersaults by means of a 

 twisted string, a wooden lever, and a little shoemakers' wax. 



If captured when young, the Brown Bear is readily tamed, and is capable of mastering 

 many accomplishments. It is a very playful animal, and seems to have a keen sense of the 

 ludicrous, which sometimes causes it to overpass the bounds of good breeding. To its owner 

 it displays a great affection, and can be trained to follow him about like a dog. Two of these 

 animals belonging to Mr. Lloyd, and which he had tamed, were very gamesome in their dispo- 

 sition, although, as they increased in size and strength, their frolicsome disposition became 

 rather annoying. They were extremely fond of their master, and would seek him on every 

 occasion. If he fastened the door of his room against his troublesome pets, they would clamber 

 up the side of the house, and gain access by the window. 



It is said that if domesticated Bears be permitted to remain in a secluded place they will 

 pass the winter in a torpid state. 



