Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1886-02-17
sTdNsks OF HIBEKNATIoN.
The Hfsp{s Superstition in Regard to
Beaxss fssaand- hogs and Candlemas.

Beaxss fssaand- hogs and Candlemas.
fr0m ~ PHILADELPHIA Record.
SHoEtozA. r., Feb. Ill have only
heard pf.apHs Bear that made its appear
ance in't6fs county on grounding day."
said one of the old residents OF this part
of the county, sand he woke up and
crawled out down in Delaware township.
GrOund-hog day comes on Feb. ?, and
you can't mud a woodsman in the whole
Delaware Valley who doesn't believe sa-
credly that on that day ground-hoge and
bears wake up from their long winter
sleep and come out OF their holes or dens
TO take look around. II the sun shines
so that they can see their shadows they
lose no time in getting right back to their
winter quarters, turn in and 20 to sleep
again and stay asleep for six weeks lon
ger. If it is cloudy and they can't see
their shadows they don't return to their
winter lOdgings-places, but go to work at
once to make arrangements for the spring
and summer campaign, II the sun shines,
according to this ancient backwoods SUI
perstition, the grounding and the bear
know that there will be six weeks more of
tough winter weather, and they go back
and keep out of its way. But cloudy
day is a sure indication that the backbone
OF winter Is broken, and that there is no
use of being solicitous about the kind OF
weather we will have for the rest OF the
season. Last grouad-hog day was sum
ny day. A blind grounding might have
seen it's shadow. So / suppose we may
look for six weeks more Of billiards and
zero weather.
1.-The bear that came out. down in Del
aware township, as l was telling you,
might bett, + have remained in Ignorance
p a.1 fntA Of rlalnrn Fhar kuF AF4Nr
he'll never see his shadow agaip. John
Titman, an observant sort of aeItizen of
Delaware township, had suspicion that
this bear would poke his nose out OF doors
on Feb. 2, so he was ia that vicinity with
his gun bright and early. He got there in
time to see Bruin walk deliberately out of
a hole in a ledge, stretch himself and
yawn, just like a person Will do on wax
ing from sound sleep. Titman let :he
bear walk some distance away, so he
could have the pleasure OF seeing his
shadow If he wanted to. Then the hunter
shot him through the head and the heart,
dropping the bear in his tracks.
Il doubt very much whether there was
q grounding anywhere N the country
wide awake enough to leave his burrow
on the day that is said to be ME, either this
year or any other year. never saw one of
these animals away from its hole of its
own accord any time after 1t retired for
the winter, until it came out for good IN
the spring. l have dug into their winter
quarters many time, and always found
Mr.. Ground-Hog and his mate cuddled up
IN their nests of dry leaves, with no more
evidence of life about them than there
would be ii you had just put load of
buckshot in their hearts. You could play
foot ball with a alternating grounding,
and he wouldn't be any the wiser until
the exercise set his blood to circulating
and warmed him up. Bears. although
they are hibernators, and are generally
supposed to be literally dead from the
time cold weather sets in until warm
weather returns-w1th the exception of
the grOung-h0g-day resurrection--have q
way of appearing in their old haunts at
alm0stany time during the winter. /
have seen fresh bear tracks in the snow
when theweather was so cold that the mer-
curry stood at zero, and have met bears
IN the woods in the depth of winter, ap-
pareutly as lively and capable of taking
care OF themselves as they ever were in
the height Of the feeding season. COons
are the same. Their winter sleep seems
to be a light one, for they wake up at every
thaw, and cOons tracks IN the snow are no
curiosity. But the squirrels. like the
grounding, go to sleep in the winter for
the purpose of sleeping, and they never so
far forget themselves to wake up and take
a cold-weather trip, even in search of
such q cheerful thing as shadow on the
snow.
ssThere was once an innocent, good
hearted old gentleman who lived in New
York, but spent much Of his time here
and at other places in the Deighborood.
He was a great reader Of natural history
aud thought he was a student, but he
ho1 "a o.zyfh inc he I'D
in bis books, and never looked for any
thing beyond that. One winter he was
passing a few DAYS with a friend VINO
lives back along ShohOla creek, three or
four miles from here. He was there when
Candlemas day came around, and heard
the remark made that bears and ground.
hogs would come out that day TO look tor
shadows. The book naturalist rebuked
the superstition, and talked learnedly
about the impossibility OF bears leaving
their dens in midwlnter. because they
were in comatOse state, which only the
natural course of the seasons could
change to one of activity and life. The
old gentleman took his usual tramp IN The
woods that day. Toe weather was warm
and the sky bright. The naturalist wan
dered some distance up "a small tributary
of the creek and sat down on a rock to
rest. While sitting there he heard a
noise, and looking in the direction from
whence it came saw an immense bear
standing by the side of the stream, not a
dozen yards away. and gazing at him
with a bold and impudent look that
frightened the naturalist. The old gen.
tleman jumped to his feet, and the bear
gave a snort aud staggered of across the
creek and disappeared. The sudden APP
pearance Of the bear, which, according TO
all rules set down in the books, should at
that moment have been sleeping soundly
in some hollow tree or crevice in the
rocks. disturbed the VISITORS meditations,
and he turned TO leave the spot. As be
turned he started so that he came near
falling from the rock, for he was con-
frouted by another bear, which stood fac
ing him and looking at him with its nose
in the air. almost within reach OF the
naturalisps hand. The old gentleman's
nerves were not equal TO this second ap-
partition, and he turned and scrambled up
the steep bank TO get away fr0m the spot.
His fright was decreased TO absolute ter
ror, when he was nearly 10 the top OF the
bank, by the appearance on the summit OF
third bear, bigger than either OF the
others. The bear thrust bis head over the
edge OF the bank and stood there cycling
the terrified naturalist as much as TO say
whats all this fuss about, anyhow
The old gentleman rolled and slid back to
the bottom, dashed wildly across the
creek, and never stopped until be reached
his friends house, mile and half dis
tant. lie reached there hatless and
breathless. and 20 thoroughly frightened
that II was a long time before he was able