Jerking a Bear.

All three—old bear and cubs—now lay stretched along the grass dead as may be. A rare-looking trio they were. The old one could not have weighed less than five hundred pounds. Her long, rough coat was of a fawn, or cinnamon colour, while the cubs were of a uniform black. This, however, is quite a common thing; and, what is still more singular, the cubs of the black bear are often seen of a reddish or cinnamon colour, while the mother herself is pure black. No doubt the cubs when full-grown change to the colour of their own species; but even at all ages bears of the same species are found varying in colour from difference of climate or other circumstances.

On the continent of North America, say the naturalists, but three species of bears are found, viz the “black,” the “polar,” and the “grizzly.” This is not certain, however, for the cinnamon bear, of which we have been speaking, is probably a species distinct from the black. If so, there are four kinds on that continent, and, perhaps, a fifth; as the brown bear of the Hudson’s Bay furriers, hitherto set down as a variety of the black, is more likely the Russian or brown bear of Europe. It may have reached the American continent by Kamschatka, where it is a common species.

The polar bear is found only in the snowy regions that border the Arctic Ocean; and never ranges above one hundred miles from the sea. The “grizzly,” for strength, courage, and ferocity, takes the first place among the bear family—outranking even his white cousin of the north. We shall have more to say of him by-and-bye. The black bear is our present subject; and as all that is known of the cinnamon variety goes to show that its habits are similar to those of the black, what is here said of the one may be considered applicable to both.

The black bear (Ursus Americanus) is said to resemble the brown bear of Europe. I can see no resemblance. There is enough of difference, certainly, to constitute them separate and distinct species. The former has one molar tooth more than the latter; besides, the profile of the black bear is not so much arched, or convex, as that of the brown. In every respect, except habits, they are unlike each other. Their habits are nearly similar.

The whole American continent is the range of the black bear. He can live, and no doubt enjoy life, in all climates. He is equally at home in the icy regions of Canada and the tropic swamps of Louisiana. He is found from the shores of the Atlantic to the Pacific. He inhabits thick forests, and ranges in rocky desert regions, where scarcely any timber grows. He prefers wooded districts, however; and in these is most commonly met with.

Black bears were very plentiful in America previous to its colonisation by the whites. The demand for their skins caused them to be much hunted since that event; and of course they are growing less numerous every day. The fur companies during the last hundred years have obtained thousands upon thousands of their skins both from white and Indian hunters. There are still many of these animals found in wild, unsettled parts; and even in the old and long-inhabited states they are occasionally met with in secluded and mountainous districts. You would wonder that they have not been extirpated long ago—being such large creatures, easily discovered and easily tracked; besides, it is always an ambition with the settlers and amateur-hunters to kill them. Moreover, but two cubs are produced at a litter, and that only happens once a-year. The fact is, that during winter, when the snow is on the ground and the bear might be easily tracked and destroyed, he does not show himself, but lies torpid in his den—which is either a cave in the rocks or a hollow tree. This happens only in the northern countries, where there are snows and severe winters. In these he disappears for several months, hiding himself in his dark lair, and living, as the hunters assert, by “sucking his paws.” This assertion, however, I will not attempt to corroborate. All I can say is, that he retires to his lurking-place as “fat as butter,” and comes out again in early spring as “thin as a rail.”

There is another curious fact about bears, that, to some extent, explains why they are not easily exterminated. It is this: the old she-animals are never killed during the period of gestation—for they are never met with at that time. It has been said there is no hunter to be found in all America who remembers having killed a she-bear with young, either of the black or grizzly species. Now this is not the case with most other animals—such as foxes and wolves—which are often killed with a whole litter of young, many of their species being thus destroyed at once.

The she-bear brings forth in winter in the deep recesses of some cave, where she has lain hid during the whole period of her gestation; and on this account while with young, she rarely, if ever, falls a victim to the hunters. When the cubs are large enough to go abroad, she takes them out, treating them with as much tenderness as a mother would her children. She will lay down her life for them at any time, defending them with great courage when attacked. It has been said that, like the alligator-mother, she is sometimes called upon to protect them from their savage fathers, who would devour them if they could. This I do not believe.

The black bears are omnivorous. They will eat fish, flesh, fowl, and vegetables. They are fond of all kinds of berries and sweet fruits. They “go crazed” after honey, climbing bee-trees and robbing the nests. They dig for roots—such as groundnuts and prairie-turnips. They lick up the larva of insects greedily, turning over great logs to get at them. In the south they tear open the nests of turtles and alligators, and devour the eggs; and, where there are settlements, they steal into the fields and eat quantities of young corn and potatoes, making sad havoc with the crops. They will devour pigs and other animals, eating their flesh—it might be said, alive—as they do not stop to kill them, but eat while tearing them to pieces. They will satisfy their hunger with putrid carcass, or, in short, with anything that is eatable by any other creature.

Notwithstanding the disgusting variety of his food, the flesh of the black bear is very palatable. It is a treat among the Indians and white hunters—particularly the large fat paws, which are esteemed the “tit-bits.” It is, perhaps, because these people are so fond of them, that they are led to believe ............