rvals, through the whole night, and did not rise
until the sun was well up. He then peeped cautiously about, but neither
heard nor saw any thing; and, axe in hand and gun loaded, he went forth,
but could not perceive aught more than that the ground had been slightly
disturbed. This went on for some time, until at last, one fine moonlight
night, the old man ventured to open a part of his narrow window; and
there he saw rubbing himself, very composedly, a fine large he bear, who
looked up very affectionately at him, and whined in a decent melancholy
growl.

Davenport had, it seems, thrown some useless article of food out of this
window; and Bruin supposed, no doubt, that Blackey did it out of
compassionate feeling for a fellow denizen of the forest, and repeated
his visits to obtain something more substantial, rubbing himself, to get
rid of the mosquitoes, as it was his custom of an afternoon, against the
rough logs of the dwelling. He had, moreover, become a little impatient
at not being noticed, and scratched like a dog to make the lord of the
mansion aware of his presence. This usually occurred about nine o'clock.

Davenport, at last, threw some salt pork to Bruin, which was most
gratefully received; and every night after that, for the whole summer
and autumn, at nine o'clock or thereabouts, the bear came to receive
bread, meat, milk, or potatoes, or whatever could be spared from the
larder, which was left on the ground under the window for him. In fact,
they soon came to be upon very friendly terms, and spent many hours in
each other's company, with a stout log-wall between Davenport and his
brother, as he always calls the bear.

When the snows of winter, the long, severe winter of these northern
woods, at last came, Bruin ceased his nocturnal visitations, and has
never been seen since, the old man thinking that he has been shot or
trapped by the Indian hunters.

I asked Davenport if he ever ventured out to look for his brother, but
he shook his head and replied, "My brudder might have hugged me too
hard, perhaps." The poor old fellow is very cheerful, and regrets his
brother's absence daily. The bailiffs most likely would not have put him
in jail for selling whiskey to a tired traveller, but would have avoided
the castle in the woods, if they thought there was any chance of meeting
Bruin.

CHAPTER VI.

Barrie and Big Trees--A new Capital of a new District--Nature's
Canal--The Devil's Elbow--Macadam