ANALYTIC STUDY OF FAUNAL CHANGES. - 149 
In contrast to the preceeding species, it furnished no products 
of much value to man. But it caused the early settlers to 
fear for their lives and it also destroyed their domestic ani- 
mals. Consequently it was eagerly hunted. Like the bison, 
it had been immune fom danger because of its size and 
strength, and therefore was not prolific. The encroachment 
of civilization increased the death rate by a large percentage 
and resulted in the rapid disappearance of the species. 
Bears became rare about 1840 but not extinct before 1878. 
They are to be classed as game animals, for not only was 
their flesh highly prized, but the killing of a bear was always 
considered quite a feat of sportsmanship. They were thought 
to be dangerous to human life, although there are few in- 
stances on record of an unprovoked attack upon a human be- 
ing. They did some damage, however, by carrying off pigs 
and occasionally other domestic animals. For these reasons 
a bear hunt always followed the appearance of one of the 
animals in any community, and they owed their long survival 
to the fact that after the country became thickly settled, they 
retreated to the swamps where they remained in hiding most 
he Canada lynx and the smaller bay lynx are so .hope- 
lessly confused in the zoological literature of the State that it 
is not possible to distinguish their records. Both were com- 
monly called “catamount” or “wild cat." The first of these 
species has undoubtedly been extinct for a number of years. 
The second has not been common for half a century but was 
killed within the State as recently as 1906 (Hahn ’09a), and 
yet exist in the less accessible swamps. The cause of 
