58 Aîî Hîjorical Journal of 



muft be a Man (and the Hunters fay fo themfelves) to fight ivitb 

 mid coîiquer Bears in this Manner, — Another Thing for which they 

 receive no lefs Praife, and upon which they as much pride them- 

 felves, is to leave nothing of the great Feaft which is given them 

 iat their Return from the Ghace by the chief Hunter. The firft 

 Service that is prefented, is theîargefl Bear they have taken ^ and 

 they ferve it up whole, with all its Entrails : It is not even 

 fkinned ; they only finge the Skin as one does that of a Hog for 

 Bacon. This Feaft i^ performed to a certain Spirit, whofe An- 

 ger they think they fliould incur if they did not eat all r 

 They muft not even leave any of the Broth in which the Meat 

 was boiled, which is fcarce any Thing but Fat melted and re- 

 duced to Oil : Nothing can be worfe ; and it generally kills 

 fome of them, and makes many of them very fick. 



The Bears are not mifchievous in this Country, but when 



^ n . 7 they are hunprvj or when they are wounded : 



So7ne F articula- -, tj 1 ^i. • r> j v 



. . , ^ however, reople are on their Guard when 

 Titles of the Bear. they approach them. They feldom attack ; 

 thev even generally run away as foon as they fee any Perfon, 

 and there needs only a Dog to make them fcour quite away. The 

 Bear ruts in July: He then grows fo lean, Sc his Flefh is foinfipid 

 and ill tafted, that even the Savages who often eat thofe Things, 

 the Sight of which would turn our Stomachs, can hardly touch 

 it. Who would believe that this PalTion fhould wafte an Animal 

 of this Kind and Shape more in one Month, than a total Abfti- 

 Hence from Food for fix Months ? It is lefs furprizing that he 

 ihould then be fo fierce and ill-natured, that it is not fafe to 

 Hieet him in his Way. This is the Effed of his Jealoufy. 



This Seafon being over, the Bear grows fat again, and no- 

 thing contributes more to it than the Fruits which he iinds in the 

 Woods, of which he is very fond. Above all, he is fond of 

 Grapes ; and as all the Forells are full of Vines, Vv^hich grow to 

 the Tops of the higheft Trees, lie makes no Difficulty to climb 

 Bp them : Bat if a Hunter finds him there, his Daintinefs cofts 

 him his Life. V/hen he has thus v/ell fed upon Fruits, his 

 Flefh has a vei-y good Talle, and keeps it till Spring : It has, 

 neverthelefs, always a great Fault ; it is too oily ; and if it is 

 not ufed with Mode^ration, it caufes the Bloody Flux. On the 

 other Hand, a Bear's Whelp is as good as a La:mb. 



I forgot. Madam,' to tell you that the Savages always carry a 

 1 I great Number of Dogs with them when they 



^ Oj the hogs the ^^^^^ . . Domeftk Creatures 



b^a^ages uje for ^^^^^ ^^^^^ ^^j^^ ^^^^ ^^-^^^ ^^^^^ 



hunting. ^^jy Hunting : They all feem to be 



of the famé Specks : Their Ears ftand upright ; their Nofe \% 

 long, like that of a Wolf \ but they are very faithful . and af^ 



o tach«d 



