jQ^ MAMMALIA. 



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 ac- 

 count of the strange proceeding that I have seen is given by Audu- 

 bon and I^achman, 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 attention, at the 

 same time looking around and snuffing 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 until a mass of foam 

 runs down on both sides of the mouth. After this it continues its 

 rambles." ^•'' 



On the Island of Anticosti, Bears are still numerous, and feed so 

 largely on fish that the inhabitants state that their flesh is, on this 

 account, as unpalatable as that of the Sheldrake. During a recent visit 

 to the west end of this island, I saw the spot, on the beach, where, 

 three days previously, three full-grown Bears had been killed. It 

 was at low water, and they were so busily engaged in capturing and 

 devouring the litde fish called Capelin (Mil/ol/cs viilosics) that were 

 detained in the shallow tide-pools on the flat lime-rock shore, that 

 the fishermen approached unobserved and dispatched them without 

 trouble. 



Bears are great cowards and never attack man except when 

 wounded, or in defence of their young. When wounded they make 

 desperate and dangerous foes, and more than one hardy hunter has 

 lost his life in encounters with them. In fighting, the large and 

 powerful claws inflict even worse wounds than those made by their 

 formidable teeth, and the bodies of their victims are often frightfully 

 lacerated. If able to "close in" with the luckless hunter they stand 

 upright and hug him tight with their fore-paws, while the hind-claws 



* (Quadrupeds of North America, Vol. Ill, 1S54, p. 1S9. 



