The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-04-21
BRUINS FIRST BREAKFAST.
NATURAL HISTORY WITH a VEL
Low WHISPERS ACCOMPANY
MENT.


ments in the Spring.
From the New York Sun.
lone thing that has always struck me as
worthy of psychological Investigation"
said John Gilbert, the travelling grocery
man, lis that long yellow whiskers and
disposition to indulge in unprovoked dis
cussion of the bear are inseparable in the
Pennsylvania hemlock belt. Whether yell
low whiskers induce disposition to such
discussion or whether a disposition TO such
| discussion induces yellow whiskers in the
hemlock belt native l do not know, but
they always go hand in hand together.
AS the traveller in that region will find
long yellow whiskers alarmingly frequent
it may be well for him to know what he
may expect whenever he meets a chin so
adorned, and be on his guard. For in
stance, was on my way
along the road from Kettle
| Creek to the Black Forest coun-
try one day and was hailed by a man who
sat on a stump fence near a venerable log
cabin. He had the long yellow whiskers
and wore a woollen shirt of many colors.
After had stopped, and without any pre-
liminary remark whatever, he said:
Cap'n did you know that bars was
queer critters?"
Il told him that 1 had heard that bears
were reputed to be somewhat peculiar in
| disposition and that 1 had no reason 10
| doubt it.
Peculiar! he exclaimed, while the yell
| low whiskers wagged and wabbled. That
don't hit the mark at all! They're queer,
l tell you! There haint nothn' half so
| queer as b'arsr
All right, I replied Call it queer
You bet I'll call it queerl' said the
man, and the yellow whiskers seemed to
defy the wind that tried to blow through
| them. There hain't nobody kin come
| along here an say that bars is only jist
! peculiar leastawayS that so they've heerd,
| cause 1 know too much about b ars, and
1 tell you they're queer! Why say, cap'n,
| bars is so queer that when a feller's tell
in you the worst lies about EN- you'll
more'n' likely think he's tellin' you the
| gospel truth while he wouldn't dast to
| tell you half the truth he knows about 'em
for fear you'd think he was Iyin'! That's
how queer bars IS! When bars goes
| inter their holes fer the winter they're
| fat as goose grease, hain't they?
L believe So, replied
"'You blieve sor exclaimed the man on
the fence. Did you ever see a bar go
| into his hole fer the winter?'
| No. said I. L never did
Course you didn't said my testy IN
terlocutor pulling the yellow whiskers out
| almost at arms length and looking at them
| as if he congratulated himself on having
| them. Then what makes you believe
bears is fat when they go in?'
1--WE been told So L replied.
| Herd so, did you? Wull, hearsay
| evidence hain't ginerly no good in this
| here bailiwick, but it's straight in this
| case Why, bars is more than fat when
! they hole up fer the winter! They're as
| fat as any Twin thing ort to be of it specs
| to waddle. Did you hear how long barn
| sleep when they start in on their winter
nap?
81 said that 1 couldn't remember that
| had exactly.
"'You've heerd so much about bars Il
| is a wonder you hadn't heerd that too
| and the yellow whiskers danced up and
down. Wu1 they'll sleep four or five
| months, unless some lumber man or hun
| ter roots 'em out O. their holler log or hole
| in the rocks; an during all them four or
| five months they don't git as much as a
| snootful O. victuals of any kind. Now,
| s'posin' you should go an stow yourself
| away say, from December 10 April an
|
| maturity expect when you come out to
| show up q leetle short O. flesh an a leetle
long o. bone, hey?'
| "Yes. / think would replied.
""You think you would Why. Jumpsn'
| Jonathan! Don't you know you would?
| and he threw the yellow whskers over his
| left shoulder. They whired around the
| back OF his neck and glared from over his
| right shoulder, as If to say, "Therel How
|
| I'M Jonathanr said TIE man. don't you
| know YOU would|
'I admitted that l knew 1 would
| o'CoaIrse you would. An CONSISTENTLY,
| voud maturity s'pose that when bar
! went to bed with the first snow an didn't
cit M agin till the first Johnny jump-ups
| was stickin' their heads out O. the ground
| he'd be considered better material for
manufacturin' buttons and knife handles
ont of than he'd be fer blln' out hair
grease, wouldn't you?
| "sOf course. Naturally / replied
"'Of course, maturity! mimicked my
disputative friend and as he pulled the
| yellow whskers back to their place they
| looked gleeful. That's what you'd s'pose
bav? WuI, then. you'd be s'posin' jist
about nine miles out O the way! There's
| list where bars is so tarnal queer that
they'd step in an fool you. fer when a
| bar wakes up in the spring an gifts up
| and shakes hisself. an steps out to take
his first gap. he'll weigh ten or fifteen
pounds more than he did when he bunked
| in. way back in December. Do you think
| that queer or don't you?'
II had to admit that such conduct on
the part of bears was certainly queer and
1 asked the man on the fence how he ac-
| counted for il.
""Count fer itr said he. Lord We
| don't count fer itl We don't calclate TO
count fer nothin that bars does. All
| we kin do IL 70 say that the reason bars
| does the things they do Is cause they n
queer critters. Now ye think that bars
a fastin' fer four or five months. an then
| comm up TO the dough-trouEh fatter'n
when he started in. Is queer: an so II u.s.
but IL han't half as queer, 'oordin' 10 my
way Of thinkin'. as what they up an do
| arterward When bar wakes up. lons
| IN the spring. he amt 50 queer bur what
he's hungry. an o course ne don't lose
10 time a strikln' QUE fer the highest pig.
| pen or sheep pasfur' looking fer his
| breakfast. does her
] "a D