WOOL- AND FUR-BEARING ANIMALS 257 



it was possible for rude, uncouth savages to fight such a formidable 

 wild beast. Armed only with flint hatchets and spears, what a con- 

 trast these rude hunting implements are to the modern firearms. 

 It is obvious that these ancient Britons must have possessed remark- 

 able powers of both offence and defence to successfully overcome 

 such a powerful adversary which tenanted the forests of Britain in 

 the remote past, and at a period in the history of our land which 

 is largely obscured by the mist of ages. 



Even in the days of Queen Elizabeth the Brown Bear was used 

 for Bear-baiting, but in that remarkable reign, which produced such 

 men as Shakespeare, Bacon, Drake and Raleigh, it is obvious that 

 the animals were imported, the species having become exterminated 

 as a native some considerable time previously. 



Of the European Carnivora, the Brown Bear is the largest repre- 

 sentative, the Polar Bear, of course, being excepted. It attains a 

 height of about three and a half feet at the shoulder, and a length 

 of from five to seven feet. It has a long, shaggy dark-brown coat, 

 what has been well described by Mr. Protheroe as a "shambling 

 gait," and, what is not quite so accurate in my opinion, it is said 

 to be "an uncouth-looking brute." I have often been criticized with 

 regard to my innate love for the brute creation, and, in spite of this, 

 I cannot bring myself to describe any living thing as "hideous," 

 "distasteful" or "an uncouth-looking brute." I believe strongly 

 that man is far too prone to ill-judge some of the less appealing and 

 attractive-looking animals, and although I know full well that Sir 

 Herbert Maxwell, among others, has expressed the opinion that he 

 cannot follow me in my principle of laissez-faire with regard to birds, 

 I would, if I had my way, give a fair chance of existence to every 

 living creature. My knowledge of animals leads me to the con- 

 clusion that few are inimical to mankind, and those of my friends 

 who have travelled extensively in foreign countries where innumer- 

 able wild beasts populate the air, the earth and the fresh and salt 

 waters, have convinced me that there are not a great number of the 

 brute creation whom man, in his wisdom, need dread as mortal 

 enemies. I certainly regard no living thing as "hideous" or "an 

 uncouth-looking brute," for all forms of life have an interest for me, 

 and whilst we do not all see or think or reason alike (and I admit it 

 is a real blessing we do not), I do not think that any one interested 

 in the outdoor world should apply unnecessary epithets towards any 

 wildling, no matter how distasteful its form or habits may be. I 



