164 WATCHED BY WILD ANIMALS 
a bob-cat came snarling out. The bear struck 
at it. It backed off sputtering then ran away. 
In tearing out a root the bear slipped and rolled 
down the bank. He went off through the woods. 
Late one February I came upon a well-worn 
bear trail between the sunny side of a cliff and 
an open den. In this trail there were tracks 
fresh and tracks two or more weeks old. Else- 
where I have seen many evidences that bears 
toward spring come out briefly to sun them- 
selves and to have an airing. But never a sign 
of their eating or drinking anything. 
Near my cabin I marked four ground-hog 
holes after the fat fellows went in. On Septem- 
ber tenth I stuffed a bundle of grass in the en- 
trance of each den. Sometime during the 
winter one of them had disturbed the grass and 
thrust out his head. Whether this was on 
Ground-hog Day or not, I cannot say. The 
other ground-hogs remained below until be- 
tween April seventh and twelfth, about seven 
months. And these seven months were months 
of fast, and possibly without water. 
The raccoon, who ever seems a bright, origi- 
nal fellow, appears to have a hibernating sys- 
tem of his own. Many a raccoon takes a series 
of short hibernating sleeps each winter, and be- 
tween these sleeps he is about hunting food, 
eating and living as usual. But I believe these 
