188 
AMERICAN BLACK BEAR. 
spot of the same tint in front of the eye, and in others a white line com- 
mencing on the nose reaches to each side of the angle of the mouth ; in a 
few specimens this white line continues over the cheek to a large white 
space mixed with a slight fawn colour, covering the whole of the throat, 
whence a narrow line of the fawn colour descends upon the breast. The 
hairs on the whole body are in most specimens glossy black ; in some 
we examined they were brown, while a few of the skins we have seen were 
light brown or dingy yellow. From this last mentioned variety doubtless 
originated the names Cinnamon Bear, Yellow Bear of Carolina, &c. The 
outer edges of the ears are brownish-black ; eyes and nails, black. 
DIMENSIONS. 
A very large specimen. 
Feet. Inches. 
From nose to root of tail, 6 5 
Height to top of shoulder, 3 1 
A larger Bear than the above may sometimes be captured, but the 
general size is considerably less. 
HABITS. 
The Black Bear, however clumsy in appearance, is active, vigilant, and 
persevering, possesses great strength, courage, and address, and undergoes 
with little injury the greatest fatigues and hardships in avoiding the pursuit 
of the hunter. Like the deer it changes its haunts with the seasons, and 
for the same reason, viz. the desire of obtaining suitable food, or of retiring 
to the more inaccessible parts, where it can pass the time in security, unob- 
served by man, the most dangerous of its enemies. 
During the spring months it searches for food in the low rich alluvial 
lands that border the rivers, or by the margins of such inland lakes as, on 
account of their small size, are called by us ponds. There it procures 
abundance of succulent roots and' tender juicy plants, upon which it chiefly 
feeds at that season. During the summer heat, it enters the gloomy 
swamps, passes much of its time in wallowing in the mud like a hog, and 
contents itself with crayfish, roots, and nettles, now and then seizing on a 
pig, or perhaps a sow, a calf, or even a full-grown cow. As soon as the 
different kinds of berries which grow on the mountains begin to ripen, 
the Bears betake themselves to the high grounds, followed by their cubs. 
In retired parts of the country, where the plantations are large and the 
population sparse, it pays visits to the corn-fields, which it ravages for a 
while. After this, the various species of nuts, acorns, grapes, and other 
