THE BEARS III 
winter, and in great demand 
for rich Russians’ sledge-rugs. 
The finest bear-skins of all are 
bought for the caps of the 
Grenadier and Coldstream 
Guards. In the Alps the bears 
occasionally visit a cow-shed 
in winter and kill a cow; but 
as a rule the only damage done 
by those in Europe is to the 
sheep on the hills in the 
far north of Norway. Tame 
brown bears are amusing 
creatures, but should never be 
trusted. They are always 
liable to turn savage, and the 
bite is almost as severe as that — 
of a tiger. Men have had SYRIAN BEAR 
their heads completely crushed This is the bear generally alluded to in the Old Testament 
in by the bite of one of these 
animals. In Russia bears are shot in the following manner. When the snow falls, the bears 
retire into the densest thickets, and there make a half-hut, half-burrow in the most tangled 
part to hibernate in. The bear is tracked, and then a ring made round the cover by beaters 
and peasants. The shooters follow the track and rouse the bear, which often charges them, 
and is forthwith shot. If it escapes, it is driven in by the beaters outside. High fees are 
paid to peasants who send information that a bear is harboured in this way. Sportsmen in 
Petrograd will go 300 or 400 miles to shoot one on receipt of a telegram. 
: A Siberian peasant who wished to do a little hunt- 
ing on his own account had a lively adventure. The 
bear had the best of it, knocked him down, and so 
frightfully mangled his arm that he fainted. Bruin 
then buried him in orthodox bear fashion; and the 
man, when he came to, which he fortunately did 
before the bear came back, got up, and made his way 
to the village. There he was for a long time ill, and 
all through his sickness and delirium talked of noth- 
ing but shooting the bear. When he got well, he 
disappeared into the forest with his gun, and after 
a short absence returned with the bear’s skin! 
Tue Syrian Bear. 
This bear, which figures in the story of Elisha, 
is a variety of the brown bear. It is found from 
the Caucasus to the mountains of Palestine, and is 
a smaller animal than the true brown bear, weigh- 
ing about 300 Ibs. The fur in summer is of a mixed 
s rusty colour, with a whitish collar on the chest. It 
Photo by WD. Dande] [Regent's Park steals the grapes on Mount Horeb, and feeds upon 
LARGE RUSSIAN BROWN BEAR fine fruits, apples, chestnuts, corn, and the like. It 
The pict: hows to what a size and strength the . : 
se alaianadd wiry eres ‘ is then ready to face the long winter sleep. 
