It was surprising how long they could stay under water. If they caught a fish they would come up splashing, but if not they would come up slow and easy, then submerge again. Sometimes when one bear would be fishing, another one would come along, but would not enter the pool. There seemed to be an unwritten law among them that prohibited one from disturbing another's prior rights. The bears also had a certain place where they cross the river, and it was always where the current was swiftest.
Bears have very poor eyesight, but their senses of hearing and smell are very keen.
Often there would be a fight, but Mamma never interfered. But when she did call them and one or the other did not come, there was a spanking due. I have seen her give a cub a swat that would send him twenty or thirty feet through the air. Mamma is a fine mother and will never let her cubs out of her sight. I will tell you what happened to me on Father's Day, June 19, 1949.