22 WILD BROTHER 
burrow in the earth, which led down beneath the 
roots of the tree into a dark underground cave. 
With his axe he cut a sapling and poked the end of 
it into the darkness. The pole struck something 
soft and yielding, and as he pushed upon it there 
came from the hole a complaining grunt. He 
poked again, and now he heard an ugly warning 
growl; he had found a black bear’s den and the 
old bear was at home. 
The black bear always has a snug cozy home for 
the cold months of the year. On the first approach 
of winter, he sets at work to put his house in order. 
Often his dwelling will be a cave in the rocks, and 
sometimes, when he comes to his home for the 
winter, he may find another bear already occupy- 
ing his quarters. If he cannot find another cave, 
he makes himself a new one, usually selecting a spot 
beneath some big dead tree, where the digging will 
be easy. The soft earth flies while with his big 
powerful paws he burrows deep into the ground. 
The excavation finished, he lines the bottom a foot 
deep with hardwood leaves, and is ready to move in. 
One cold night in November this bear, the 
mother of the cub in the lumber-camp, had crawled 
into her retreat under the dead pine tree. Hidden 
away in her comfortable nest, she soon dropped 
off into her long winter’s nap. The ground froze 
hard; the cold winds blew and piled the drifting 
