THE BEAR. 



AMONG the Plantigrades, or quadrupeds that 

 walk upon tbe sole of the foot, the Bear is 

 one of tlie most powerful of all those living at the 

 present time. When unmolested, he is an inof- 

 fensive animal, and busies liimself chiefly with 

 prowling about the forest, seeking such berries 

 and fruits as he particularly likes. Although 

 possessed of great strength and tenacity of life, 

 he shuns all conflict, and, when approached by 

 man, prefers rather to fly, if escape be possi- 

 ble, than to stand his ground and defend him- 

 self. 



During the summer he becomes very fat, so 

 that he is able to live througli the winter without 

 food. As the first snows warn him of tlie ap- 

 proach of the inclement season, he looks OLit for 

 a suitable lair, either in the hollow of some large 

 decayed tree, or in a cave hidden among the 

 rocks. In one of these he takes up his abode, 

 and prepares to sleep away the cheerless months. 

 If it is a tree in which he has decided to hiber- 

 nate, he climbs up to the mouth of the cavity, 

 and then backs down into it until the bottom is 

 reached, where he rolls himself up into a furry 

 ball, and, if not disturbed, does not emerge again 

 until spring. 



The great Brown Bear is found in the cold re- 

 gion of the North, in the Alps and Pyrenees. It 

 is not unknown in North America. A back- 

 woodsman says that it is very fond of honey. 



He speaks of it as "the knowingest varmint for 

 finding out a bee-tree, in the world." He'll gnaw 

 at the trunk, till he makes a hole big enough 

 to get in his paws, and then he drags out Bees, 

 honey, and all together. 



If we look closely at the teeth of the Bear, we 

 should say that it was intended chiefly to live 

 upon fruits and vegetables, but, in point of fact, 

 it will devour almost anything that comes in its 

 way. In the Zoological Gardens it will munch a 

 bun with evident gusto. I am not quite sure 

 that it does not enjoy a sausage-roll. It will 

 crack a Crab with the cleverness of a Fishmon- 

 ger. It eats Ants. It does not devour flesh un- 

 less pressed by hunger. 



The Laplanders used to call it the Dog of 

 God. In Norway there is an old proverb to the 

 effect that the Bear has tbe strength of ten men, 

 and the wisdom of twelve. To the Kamcatch- 

 dales the Bear seems to have given the necessa- 

 ries, not to say the comforts, of life. The skin, 

 we are told, is used for quilts and beds, hats and 

 bonnets for their beads, collars for tbeir Dogs, 

 gloves for their hands, and an overall over their 

 boots, which keeps them from slipping on the 

 ice. They eat tbe flesh and fat as a dainty. 



As a general rule the Bear is a slow-moving 



animal, and shuffles awkwardly along, advancing 



both legs on the same side at a time, and is never 



known to trot, He can, on emergencies, make 



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