182 EVERYDAY ADVENTURES 
chewed. I recognized it as a bear-tree. In the spring 
and well through the summer certain trees are 
selected by all the he-bears of a territory as a sign- 
post whereon they carve messages for friend and foe. 
No male bear of any real bearhood would think of 
passing such a tree without cutting his initials wide, 
deep, and high, for all the world to see. 
The first flurries of snow mean bed-time for 
Bruin. He is not afraid of the cold, for he wears a 
coat of fur four inches thick over a waistcoat of fat 
of the same thickness. He has found, however, that 
rent is cheaper than board. Unless there comes some 
great acorn year, when the oak trees are covered with 
nuts, he goes to bed when the snow flies. One of the 
rarest adventures in wood-craft is the finding of a 
bear-hole where Bruin sleeps rolled up in a big, 
black ball until spring. It is always selected and con- 
cealed with the utmost care, for the blackbear takes 
no chances of being attacked in his sleep. The last 
bear-hole of which I have heard was not far from 
home. Two friends of mine were shooting in the 
Pocono Mountains with a dog, about the middle of 
November, 1914. Suddenly the dog started up a 
blackbear on a wooded slope. After running a short 
distance, the bear turned and popped into a hole 
under an overhanging bank. Almost immediately 
he started to come out again, growling savagely. 
I am sorry to say that my friends shot him. Then 
they explored the hole which he was preparing for 
his winter-quarters. It was beautifully constructed. 
The entrance was under an overhanging bank, 
