s he straightway slew a bison and an elk,
Of the strong uri four, and a single fierce schelch."[58]

It is a formidable beast, standing six feet high at the shoulders, where
it is protected by a thick and profuse mane. Specimens have been known
to reach a ton in weight. It manifests an invincible repugnance to the
ox.

There are several other animals of note which, like the Bison, were once
common inhabitants of these islands, but have long been extinct here,
though more genial circumstances have preserved their existence on the
continent of Europe. Of the great Cave Bear, no evidence of its period
exists, that I know of, except that which may be deduced from the
commixture of its remains with those of other animals of whose recent
date we have proof. But there is another kind of Bear, whose relics in a
fossil state are not uncommon in the Tertiary deposits, viz., the common
Black Bear (_Ursus arctos_) of Europe.

This savage animal must have early succumbed to man. The "Triads"[59]
mention bears as living here before the Kymri came. The Roman poets knew
of their existence here: Martial speaks of the robber Laureolus being
exposed on the cross to the fangs of the _Caledonian_ Bear; and Claudian
alludes to British bears. The Emperor Claudius, on his return to Rome
after the conquest of this island, exhibited, as trophies, combats of
British bears in the arena. In the Penitential of Archbishop Egbert,
said to have been compiled about A.D. 750, bears are mentioned as
inhabiting the English forests, but they must have gradually become
rare, for the chase-laws of Canute, at the beginning of the eleventh
century, are silent about them. In Doomsday Book, we find incidental
notice of this animal, for the city of Norwich is said to have been
required to furnish a bear annually to Edward the Confessor, together
with "six dogs for the bear,"--no doubt for baiting him. This seems to
have been the latest trace on record of the bear in Britain; unless the
tradition may compete with it, which states that one of the Gordon
family was empowered by the king of Scotland to carry three bears' heads
on his banner, as a reward for his prowess in slaying a fierce bear.

In Ireland it seems to have become extinct even yet earlier. Bede
says the only ravenous animals in his day were the wolf and the fox;
Donatus, who died in A.D. 840, distinctly says it was not a native
of the island in his time; and Geraldus Cambrensis does not enumer