398 
COMMON BEAU. 
»ava ge but solitary ; bo, takes refuge in tlie most 
unfrequented parts, and the most dangerous pre- 
cipices of uninhabited mountains. It chooses its 
den in the most gloomy parts of the forest,, in some 
cavern that has been hollowed by time,, or in the 
hollow of some old enormous tree. There it re- 
tires alone, and passes some months of the winter 
without provisions, or without ever stirring 
abroad. However this animal is not entirely de- 
prived of sensation, like the bat or the dormouse ; 
but seems rather to exist upon the exuberance of 
its former flesh, and only feels the calls of appe- 
tite, when the fat it had acquired in summer begins 
to be entirely wasted away. In this manner when 
the bear retires to its den, to bide for the winter, 
it is extremely fat ; but at the end of forty or fifty 
days, wdien it conies forth to seek for fresh nourish- 
ment, it seems to have slept all its flesh away. It 
is a common report, that during this time they live 
by sucking their paws, which is a vulgar error 
that scarce requires confutation. These solitary 
animals couple in autumn, but the time of gesta- 
tion with the female is still unknown ; she takes 
great care to provide a proper retreat for her 
young ; secures them in the hollow of a rock, and 
provides a bed of bay in the warmest part of her 
den; she brings forth in winter, and the young 
ones begin to follow her in spring. The male and 
female by no means inhabit the same den ; they 
have each their separate retreat, and seldom are 
seen together, but upon the accesses of genial de- 
sire.” 
The voice of the bear is a kind of growl, inter- 
rupted with rage, which is often capriciously ex- 
erted ; and though this animal seems gentle and 
placid to its master, when tamed, yet it is still to 
be distrusted and managed with caution, as it is 
often treacherous and resentful w ithout a cause. 
The* black bears, we are told, are remarkably 
