152 WILD ANIMALS. 



youngsters left the nest and followed hev. So soon as she found 

 it out she immediately drew it gently back, and on its second 

 attempt she cuffed it soundly, which put a stop to its wandering 

 propensity. After a few days she allowed them to wander about 

 at will, provided no one was immediately in front of the den ; 

 but so soon as a visitor put in an appearance they were driven 

 back into the nest, and not allowed to emerge until the strangers 

 were out of sight. . . . They soon became expert climbers, 

 taking advantage of the slightest inequalities of the stone walls 

 and the cracks between the heavy oaken planks to reach the 

 ceiling of the den on three sides, whilst the grating in front served 

 capitally for their skylarking. Occasionally they would have a 

 regular sparring bout, standing erect, feinting, countering, and 

 making use of many of the tricks of old votaries of the P. E. 

 These frolics would generally end in a clinch, fall, and a regular 

 rough-and-tumble fight, when the mother would abruptly put a 

 stop to it by suddenly knocking both of the contestants com- 

 pletely out of time. In fact, as they grew apace, the parental 

 visitations increased so rapidly I began to fear she would put an 

 end to my bear investigations by chastising the lives out of them ; 

 but of late she has slackened in her attentions." 



Dr. Merriam says that, " In traversing unfrequented portions 

 of the wilderness one occasionally meets with a tree whose bark 

 has been scratched and torn at some little height from the ground, 

 in a manner that cannot fail to excite his attention and surprise. 

 This is the work of the bear, but the object of it is not known. 

 Hunters claim that whenever a bear passes one of these trees he 

 stops, stands on his hind-legs, and gnaws and scratches it before 

 resuming his journey. The only account of the strange pro- 

 ceeding that I have seen is given by Audubon and Bachman,' who 

 state, ' At one season the bear may be seen examining the lower 

 part of the trunk of a tree for several minutes with much atten- 

 tion, at the same time looking around and snifl&ng the air. It then 

 rises on its hind-legs, approaches the trunk, embraces it with the 

 fore-legs, and scratches the bark with its teeth and claws for 

 several minutes in continuance. Its jaws clash against each other 

 ' " Quadrupeds of North America," 1854. 



