188 FAMILIAR LIFE IN FIELD AKD FOREST. 





Mountains, named Sandwich Dome. It was the latter 

 part of September, and I was one of a small party 

 making the ascent of the mountain. "We had come 

 suddenly upon the verge of a ravine, and there, less 

 than a hundred yards ahead of us, directly on the 

 -v:;C;-,>,- path, was the huge 

 black form of bruin 

 beating a precipi- 

 tate retreat and 

 never favoring us 

 with so much as a 

 • " parting glance. There 

 was a moment's rustling 

 and swaying of leaves, a 

 sharp crackling of twigs, 

 then nothing — his sylvan majesty had fled, and the 

 woods were as silent and deserted as if they had seen 

 no live thing since the birds sang in June. There 

 is a solemn silence in the forest, anyway, just before 

 the leaves begin to fall, but after that bear disap- 

 peared the stillness seemed dramatic, if not actually 

 oppressive. 



Not many years ago a black bear was seen by a 

 sportsman while he was fishing in the east branch of 

 the Pemigewasset Eiver in the White Mountain re- 

 gion. The great creature was standing on his hind 

 legs reaching for the i-ipe frait of a black cherry ; he 



On the run through the snow. 



