4 6 4 
FOREST AND STKEAM, 
started, it would be on a high tide. To one who^ had 
read of the yellow surge of the muddy, flooded Missis- 
sipi, the prospect was not unpleasant on a movable day. 
Toward night I sought a house I had seen during the 
day, up a hollow in the ridges. I was welcomed. Glad 
I was to get out of sight of the yellow froth which caps 
the waves of the flooded Tennessee. I wanted still days. 
The man's name was Jones, a miller and basket 
maker by trade and occupation. He said the only 
trouble there was that "the house drawed better than the 
fireplace." My Adirondack basket was a novelty to him, 
and he examined it with a view to making one for him- 
self. Some day perhaps a tourist from the Adirondacks 
will wonder how Alabama mountaineers came to get 
pack baskets like those of his home land. Jones played 
his fiddle, and I my French harp for hours that night. 
In the morning at break of day, I made my way down 
to the boat — it had been drawn out of the water the 
night before, now it was afloat again, for the river had 
raised three or four feet since I left the bank. I em- 
barked, and started away on the widest, yellowest, most 
dignified stream I ever saw. Every time I glanced down 
the stream I saw five or ten miles, and it was no less in 
distance because I could see the whole way. To see an 
island begin to break from the main land at noon and 
reach it sometime in the middle of the "evening" was 
something to give one an idea of the dimensions, espe- 
cially as all the meantime, the bank had been gliding- 
past at from five to seven miles an hour. 
I was hurried now — I thought to go further than I 
really did before ending the journey, so when I left Jones 
I resolved that I would not leave the river until night, 
come what might in the way of lures. But I didn't know 
'coons up a tree. I was coming down about three rods 
from the nearest of the trees that jutted out of the water, 
when I glimpsed the sheen of sunlight along wind-blown 
fur high up a sycamore tree on a limb. I looked sharply 
at that and was in time to see a gray lump of a 'coon 
gliding into a hole left when a limb rotted away. I went 
'coon hunting at once. The tree was standing in six feet 
of water, but I could build a fire in the hollow on a raft. 
I smoked the hollow for an hour, but the 'coon refused 
to come out. Had there been land to stand on I would 
have felled the tree, but tree felling from a boat is not to 
my taste. So I made more resolves and went on again. 
Not even flocks of ducks lured me, but at two-twenty 
o'clock a flock of geese did take me ashore, and then 
finding myself stepping on arrow heads and spear points, 
I left goose hunting to gather them. 
Toward night I came to a house boat moored among 
the trees. There I stopped for the night. It was a 
migrating family, boitnd for Missouri, but not going fast 
for fear of tearing up in high water and running aground 
in low. Food supplies were getting short because the 
crops thereabout had failed for three years back, and 
corn, the staple of diet, none had to sell. The wife was 
not contented, the children were morose, the husband 
sullen, but they were glad to have a stranger come to 
break the monotony of a dozen days hitched to an over- 
flowed bottom land, waiting for a day without wind, and 
water that didn't suckle and drag through the tree trunks 
like a thing of life. In the morning I left them there. 
The delight that I had felt in the rising of the water, 
and the rush of the wind, was not felt by all along that 
stream — I saw two house boats that had been capsized, 
and heard of deaths that result from such accidents. 
Soon I was to learn something about those matters my- 
self — but for the time being — for so my mood changed — 
the wide river was a place of limitless pleasure and 
seemingly, probably really, a friend which, when appre- 
ciated, would prevent the least touch of lonesomeness. 
That it hailed and sleeted and rained and the wind blew 
me off the water for an hour or so were matters of small 
consequence to me on March 2. The charm of the river 
had me fast. The blue heron that flew overhead, the 
black ducks that protested when I came close to them 
unseen, the great wind-swept clumps of live green cane 
brake, the purple of the wooded ridges, the rock clefts 
and gray ledges above all that vast expanse of surface — 
these all seemed to say that now I could dwell with them, 
live their lives of restlessness, wildness and isolation. I 
took the back channel rather than pass too close to Gun- 
tersville, where the Tennessee starts north again, and a 
few miles below I ran into the left bank, under a com- 
forting ledge of rocks, and among the trees tied up the 
boat, spread the long wide canvas over hoops of cane, 
and made ready to sleep there. All fixed, I sat down on 
a log, and for a while watched the drift go by— sticks and 
logs and fence rails, chuckling a little bit to think what 
a master thief my pardner, the river, was. Overhead 
circled the buzzards, some of them coming down to take 
a look at me, as if wondering what I had to do with 
their business, which just then was beginning to be look- 
ing and being as attractive as possible,, for it was mating 
time. . 
The sunset was beautiful, the night came slowly m 
waves of shadow. At last I crawled under, and after 
reading a few lines of poetry, blew out the lantern light, 
and with such peace as I had never dreamed of, crept 
away into sleep. 
Raymond S, Spears. 
Wild Animals of the North. 
The Black Bear. 
From Richardson's ''Fauna Boreali- Americana; or the Zoology of 
the Northern Parts of British America." 
"This bear, when resident in the fur countries, almost 
invariably hibernates, and about one thousand skins are 
annually procured by the Hudson's Bay Company, from 
black bears destroyed in their winter retreats. It gen- 
erally selects a spot for its den under a fallen tree, and 
having scratched away a portion of the soil, retires to 
it at the commencement of a snow storm, when the snow 
soon furnishes it with a close warm covering. Its breath 
makes a small opening in the den, and the quantity of 
hoar frost which occasionally gathers round the aperture 
serves to betray its retreat to the hunter. In more south- 
ern districts where the timber is of a large size, bears 
often shelter themselves in hollow trees. The Indians 
remark that a bear never retires to its den for the winter 
until it has acquird a thick coat of fat, and it is remark- 
able that when it comes abroad in the spring it is equally 
fat, though in a few days thereafter it becomes very lean, 
The period of the retreat of the bears is generally about 
the time when the snow begins to lie on the ground, and 
they do not come abroad again until the greater part of 
the snow is gone. At both these periods they can 
procure many kinds of berries in considerable abundance. 
In latitude sixty-five degrees, their winter repose lasts 
from the beginning of October to the first or second 
week in May; but on the northern shores of Lake Huron, 
the period is from two to three months shorter. In very 
severe winters, great numbers of bears have been 
observed to enter the United States from the northward. 
On these occasions, they were very lean, and almost all 
males; the few females which accompanied them were not 
with young. The remark of the natives above-mentioned, 
that the fat bears alone hibernate, explains the cause of 
these migrations. The black bears in the northern dis- 
tricts couple in September, when they are in good con- 
dition frorn feeding on the berries then in maturity. The 
females retire at once to their dens, and conceal them- 
selves so carefully that even the lyncean eye of an Indian 
hunter very rarely detects them; but the males, exhausted 
by the pursuit of the female, require ten or twelve days to 
recover their lost fat. An unusually early winter will, it 
is evident, operate most severely on the males, by pre- 
venting them from fattening a second time; hence their 
migration at such times to more southerly districts. It 
is not, however, true that the black bears generally 
abandon the northern districts on the approach of winter, 
as has been asserted, the quantity of bear skins procured 
during that season in all parts of the fur countries being 
a sufficient proof to . the contrary. The females bring 
forth about the beginning of January, and it is probable 
that the period of their gestation is about fifteen or sixteen 
weeks, but I believe it has not been precisely ascertained. 
The number of cubs varies from one to five, probably with 
the age of the mother, and they begin to bear long before 
they attain their full size. 
"The black bear inhabits every wooded district of the 
American continent, from the Atlantic to the Pacific, 
and from Carolina to the shores of the Arctic Sea. They 
are, however, more numerous inland than near the sea 
coast. Langsdorff observes, that 'the valuable black 
bear, the skins of which form part of the (Russian) Com- 
pany's stock, are not the produce of the Aleutian Isl- 
ands, but of the continent of America, about Cook's 
River, Prince William's Sound, and other places.' " 
The respect in which the bear was held by the Indians 
of the north, is well set forth in the journal of Mr. 
Alexander Henry, one of the first Englishmen to pene- 
trate into the fur countries, after Canada came into the 
hands of the British. This Alexander Henry was the 
■ancle of the Alexander Henry whose journal, edited by 
the late Dr. Elliott Coues, was published in 1897, by 
Francis P. Harper, of New York. The elder Henry wa's 
the author of "Travels and Adventures of Travel in the 
Indian Territory, between the years 1760 and 1777," and 
his book is well worth reading. This is what he said 
about the black bear: 
"In the course of the month of January (whilst on 
the banks of Lake Michigan), I happened to observe that 
the trunk of a very large pine-tree was much torn by the 
claws of a bear, made both in going up and down. On 
further examination, I saw that there was a large open- 
ing in the upper part, near which the smaller branches 
were broken. From these marks, and from the additional 
circumstance that there were no tracks on the snow, 
there was reason to believe that a bear lay concealed in 
the tree. On returning to the lodge, I communicated 
my discovery, and it was agreed that all the family should 
go together, in the morning, to assist in cutting down 
the tree, the girth of which was not less than three 
fathoms. The women, at first, opposed the undertaking, 
because our axes being only of a pound and a half 
weight, were not well adapted to so heavy a labor; but 
the hope of finding a large bear, and obtaining from its 
fat a great quantity of oil, an article at the time much 
wanted, at length prevailed. Accordingly, in the morn- 
ing, we surrounded the tree, both men and women, as 
many at a time as could conveniently work at it; and 
there we toiled, like beavers, till the sun went down. 
This day's work carried us about half way through the 
trunk; and the next morning we renewed the attack, 
continuing it till about two o'clock in the afternoon, 
when the tree fell to the ground. For a few minutes 
everything remained quiet, and I feared that all our ex- 
pectations were disappointed; but as I advanced to the 
opening, there came out, to the great satisfaction of all 
our party, a bear of extraordinary size, which, before 
she had proceeded many yards, I shot. 
"The bear being dead, all my assistants approached, 
and all, but more particularly my old mother (as I was 
wont to call her), took his head in their hands, stroking 
and kissing it several times; begging a thousand pardons 
for taking away her life; calling her their relation and 
grandmother; and requesting her not to lay the fault 
upon them, since it was truly an Englishman that had 
put her to death. This ceremony was not of long 
duration; and if it was I that killed their grandmother, 
they were not themselves behind hand in what remained 
to be performed. The skin being taken off, we found 
the fat in several places six inches deep. This being 
divided into two parts loaded two persons, and the flesh 
parts were as much as four persons could carry. In all, 
the carcass must have exceeded five hundred weight. As 
soon as we reached the lodge, the bear's head was 
adorned with all the trinkets in the possession of the 
family, such as silver armbands, and wristbands, and 
belts of wampum; and then laid upon a scaffold, set up 
for its reception within the lodge. Near the nose was 
placed a large quantity of tobacco. 
"The next morning no sooner appeared, than pre- 
parations were made for a feast to the manes. The lodge 
was cleaned and swept; and the head of the bear lifted 
up, and a new stroud blanket, which had never been used 
before, spread under it. The pipes were now lit; and 
Wawatam blew tobacco smoke into the nostrils of the 
bear, telling me to do the same, and thus appease the 
anger of the bear, on account of my having killed her. 
I endeavored to persuade my benefactor and friendly 
adviser, that she no longer had any life, and assured him 
that I was under no apprehension from her displeasure; 
but the first proposition obtained no credit, and the 
second gave but little satisfaction. At length the feast 
being ready, Wawatam made a speech, resembling, in 
many things, his address to the manes of his relations 
and departed companions; and we then all ate heartily 
oE the bear's flesh. It is only the female bear that makes 
her winter lodging in the upper parts of trees, a practice 
by which her young are secured from the attacks of 
wolves and other animals. She brings forth in the winter 
season, and remains in her lodge till the cubs have 
gained some strength. The male always lodges in the 
ground, under the roots of trees. He takes to this 
habitation as soon as the snow falls, and remains there 
till it has disappeared. The Indians remark, that the 
bear comes out in the spring with the same fat which 
he carries in in the autumn; but, after the exercice of 
only a few days, becomes lean. Excepting for a short 
part of the season, the male lives constantly alone." 
Richardson's Bear. 
Richardson's barren-ground bear, which he called — 
with an expression of some doubt — the American form of 
the brown bear of Europe, was for many years a puzzle 
to naturalists, since few or no specimens fell into their 
hands, and they had no material to compare with the 
bears that they knew well. Of this bear, Richardson 
says: "The barren lands . . . lying to the northward 
and eastward of Great Slave Lake, and extending to the 
Arctic Sea, are frequented by a species of bear, which 
differs from the American black bear in its greater size, 
profile, physiognomy, longer soles, and tail; and from 
the grizzly bear also, in color and the comparative small- 
ness of its claws. Its greatest affinity is with the brown 
bear of Norway; but its identity with that species has 
not been established by actual comparison. It frequents 
the sea coast in the autumn in considerable numbers, 
for the purpose of feeding on fish. 
"The general color of this bear is a dusky (or some- 
times yellowish) brown, but the shoulders and flanks are, 
in the summer season at least, covered with long hair, 
which is frequently very pale towards the tips. The 
Indians and interpreters, who are not very precise in 
their application of the few terms they have to express 
varieties of color, often denominate them 'White Bears.' 
Hearne calls them 'Grizzly Bears,' and some confusion 
has been produced by late writers having applied the 
same name to Lewis and Clark's Ursus ferox^ Pen- 
nant, who describes them as a variety of the American 
black bear, considers them at the same time to be of the 
same species with the 'Silver Bear' that inhabits the 
north of Europe. It is indeed, very probable, that the 
brown bear which Captain King informed Pennant was 
an inhabitant of Kamskatka, is of this species, which" may, 
in fact, extend all along the north of the old continent; 
but this, in the present state of our knowledge, is mere 
matter of conjecture. Mention is made m the narrative 
of Cook's third voyage of bears of a brown or sooty 
color inhabiting the American coast near Cook's River. 
Langsdorff also informs us that brown and red bears are 
abundant on the Aleutian Islands, where the black bear 
does not exist. These authors do not furnish us with any 
details whereby the species may be determined; but the 
bears they mention live in similar districts with the bar- 
ren-ground bear, and differ in that respect from the 
Ursus ferox, which exists principally, perhaps only, in the 
buffalo districts. 
"The Indians dread the barren-ground bears, and are 
careful to avoid burning bones in their hunting encamp- 
ments, lest the smell should attract them. Keskarrah, an 
old Indian mentioned in the 'Narrative of Captain 
Franldin's First Journey,' was seated at the door of his 
tent, pitched by a small stream not far from Fort Enter- 
prise, when a large bear came to the opposite bank, and 
remained for some time apparently surveying him. Kes- 
karrah considering himself to be in great danger, and 
having no one to assist him but his aged wife, made a 
speech to the following effect: 'Oh, Bear, I never did 
you any harm; I have always had the highest respect 
for you and your relations, and never killed any of them 
except through necesssity. Go away, good Bear, and let 
me alone, and I promise not to molest you.' The Bear 
walked off; and the old man, fancying that he owed his 
safety to his eloquence, favored Us, on his arrival at the 
fort, with his speech at length. The Copper Indians 
often cautioned us against these 'White Bears' of the 
barren lands, which they said would attack us if they 
saw us, but we received no such caution in traveling 
through the districts frequented by the Black Bear. It 
does not, however, possess the boldness of the Ursus 
fcrox, as all the individuals we saw fled at once. The 
Barren-ground bear resorts to the coast of the Arctic 
Sea in the month of August, and preys indiscriminately 
upon animal and vegetable matters. In the stomach of 
one which I opened there were the remains of a seal, 
a marmot, a large quantity of the long, sweet roots of 
some astragali and hedysara, together with some berries, 
and a little grass. Many long white worms adhered to 
the interior of the stomach, which held this farrago. 
Hearne has given the name of Grizzly Bear Hill to an 
eminence which had been much ploughed up by the 
bears in quest of the Arctomys parryi, termed by him 
'Ground Hog.' The appellation of 'grizzly,' first used 
by Hearne to designate this bear, being also applied by 
the traders and American authors to the Ursus ferox,. 
I have given this one the ad interim name of Barren- 
ground bear, until its difference from, or identity with, 
the Ursus arctos of Linnseus be fully established." 
Richardson's bear, under the name of Ursus richard- 
sonij is now known to be a perfectly good species, dis- 
tinct from the brown bear of Europe, as it is from the 
various forms of the grizzly, and all other bears. 
The Grizzly Bear. 
The ferocity of the grizzly forms the theme of many 
of the old writers, and the tales told by Lewis and 
Clark, and those who followed them into the North- 
western country, have become familiar by much repe- 
tition. It took a long time for the grizzly to learn to be 
