314 
HYBERNATION OF THE BEAR. 
pected intruder advanced to tlie table, and, mounting upon the colonel’s chair, began to 
inspect the festive arrangements. Just as the Bear had lifted a dish-cover off the joint at the 
head of the table— a feat which it performed as dexterously as if it had been accustomed to 
wait at table all its life— the colonel entered the room, and when he saw the strange intruder 
who had taken such unceremonious possession of his seat, he demanded, with some irritation, 
“ wll ° brought the animal there % ” and was told he was only a friend of the officer. 
The Bear speedily became a favorite in the regiment, and was promoted to the office 
of sentinel oyer the property contained in a baggage-wagon. Unfortunately, the poor animal’s 
sense of justice was so acute that it executed its responsible office with too much zeal. On one 
occasion, a soldier had gone to the wagon with the intention of robbing it of some of the property 
contained therein, and quietly inserted his arm under the coverings. His intended depredation 
BROWN BEAR. — Ursus arctos , 
was, however, soon checked by the teeth of the watchful Bear, which bit his arm with such 
severity that the limb was rendered useless for the rest of the man’s life. Some little time 
after this occurrence, a child belonging to the regiment made a similar attempt upon the 
wagon, and was killed by the Bear in its anxiety to fulfil the trust that had been committed to 
its charge. As the animal was manifestly an unsafe one, and it was feared that the creature 
might gain a thirst for blood, it was condemned to be shot, although not without much regret 
on the part of judge and executioners. 
The various military adventures of this Bear are very curious, but would occupy too large 
a space for the present work. 
During the autumn, the Bear becomes extremely fat, in consequence of the ample feasts 
which it is able to enjoy, and makes its preparations for passing the cold and inhospitable 
months of winter. About the end of October the Bear has completed its winter house, and 
ceases feeding for the year. The saccharine-loving instinct of the Bear which leads it to dis- 
cover a bee’s nest, however carefully it may be concealed, and to undergo much toil and 
trouble for the sake of the sweet banquet, seems to be given to the animal for the purpose of 
enabling it to lay up within its own body a supply of fat which shall serve the double purpose 
of sustaining the creature in proper condition during its long fast, and of loading the body 
with carbon for the purpose of producing the state of lethargy, in which the animal passes 
