hree of her young ones playing
about her.

If it should so happen that the bear neither heard you, saw you, or
smelt you, you might see this great beast fondling her young ones, and
licking their fur as gently and tenderly as a cat with her kittens.

If she perceived you at last, and you were at a distance, it is very
probable that she and her young ones, if they were big enough, would
all scramble out of sight in a very short time, for the black bears
are very shy of man if circumstances will permit them to get away
before he approaches too near to them. But if you are so near as to
make the old bear-mother fearful for the safety of her children, you
will find that she will face you in a minute, and if you are not well
able to take care of yourself, you will wish you had never seen a
bear.

[Illustration]

But, in the western part of our country, especially in the Rocky
Mountain region, the grizzly bear is found, and he is a very different
animal from his black relations.

He is the most savage and formidable animal on this continent, and
very seldom is it that he runs away from a man. He is glad enough to
get a chance to fight one. He is so large and powerful that he is very
difficult to kill, and the hunter who has slain a grizzly bear may
well be proud of the exploit.

Washington Irving tells of a hunter who accidentally fell into a deep
hole, out in the prairies, and he tumbled right on top of a great
grizzly bear! How the bear got down there is not stated, and I don't
suppose the hunter stopped to inquire. A fight immediately commenced
between these two involuntary companions, and after a long struggle,
in which the man had an arm and leg broken, and was severely bitten
and torn besides, he killed the bear.

The hunter had a very hard time after that, but after passing through
adventures of various kinds, he floated down the Mississippi on a log
and was taken in at a fort. He recovered, but was maimed for life.

[Illustration]

I think it is probable that no other man ever killed a grizzly bear in
single combat, and I also have my doubts about this one having done
so. It is very likely that his victim was a black bear.

Few men care to hunt the grizzly bear except on horseback, so that if
they have to run away, they may have better legs than their own under
them.

The other great bear of this continent is the white or Polar bear, of
which we have all heard so much. Up in the regions of ice and snow