The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1903-05-16

Copyright, 1903, by Robert Howard Russell)
ROM the last of the shrinking back into the hillside
hollows lingering with chill enacity the thick
branches Of the frs and hemoc the word that then came
the earth stirring her winter sleep
breathing ncaculaby ample
tingled pungent freshness of the
smells that pulsed from bud and wg from the bark
suddenly again climbing
bare patches the souther slope where OF
past umbermen had clear for the of March,
was the word which nothing that has life can hear I'M
moved
In her deep dry cave under the old
black bear heard it. lifted her narrow mzze from under
OF slowly, suggshly uncoied her
self from the furry ball in which she had slept away the
months iron cave had been by slipping
the its roothod the crest of
overhangng barely large to admit
big animal it's occupant dalkened by
the branches Of balsam- fir wedged down by an
accumulation Of snow.
The old bear still had some last upon
the burberry Therefore she did
not this moment she did not let
get awake, chung uxurousy drowsi
Shifting the snoWsmel that came thru her still OBJ
sruced door that the still lay deep over
her wilderness and tubes which
should form her spring diet still buried beyond the
reach of her claws With contented grumbe in her throat
times in her tucked
again settled down for another
calling thru the for
est but time her absolutely shut to them
another she slept Each night the world
rigid again frost each day the with
gathering fervor made hatterg assault on the rear
winters The chic1-adees daily
they hurried branch to branch
and picked the revvng insects from the cevices OF the bark
And all the woods musical with their fnedaWn sca
young fir at the mouth of the
cave, light sifted in.
the old bear woke again. This time she
wide awake indeed but for all that she did not at once go
had happened in the outside world She
quite taken with what had just happened in her den For
the twenty-four hours she completely en-
in licking nursing and mothering two little velvet
arrival followed close her waking
belong huge mother the cubs quite rdi-
cuousy small To the weasel peering down from safe
seemed that the great bear
might well have Uttered dozen such at once While she
about it. To their mother however the cubs doubt
big enough-to black bundles
of perfection AS they nursed they now and then saueaed
whined gently and seemed to be well content
with experience in the great adventure of living
On the following noon mother awoke
to nothing since going to
bed She nosed the cubs down
into their nest in such way that she managed to impress
upon necessity lying quiet during her absence
pushed thru branches OF the balsam
and looked the world It was solemn
pillars, high dissoving corri-
shadowy arches silent for that thin calling OF
the chickadees bubbng Of
underground The bear with keen nostrils upled
direction the faint of enemies turned
with last look the den, then
hurriedy the trees to look meal
den she found one--in an old antog,
which
practiced powerful claws ripped apart and
decately discriminating, licked up the
plump torpid Contenting with
light she made haste back to her cubs
following day, however therapeutic such
that she begin of
her foragng She must find supply Of roots down in the
beaver surprise at least rabbit She set
out from the therefore with the intention OF being
time absent.
It CHANGED that during the night light
the world all white again This vexed her
inches she knew it would
IN with for nuts Her
huge therefore, led straight down
toward meadows, a mile distant And red
insolence, perhaps with idea of
spelling hunting followed her from nearly
chatterng, scoding and vtuperating at the
top Of his stopped
eyed evly this stimulated his loud atten
tons, 50 assumed at last a naughty unconcern
had perhaps half hour from her Sleep
ing tall winter thin and with hunger
by the scarcity OF hare and grouse padding
hemock sight
the fresh He crouched instantly his
leap direction. For minute
absolutely motioness, his
which searched the underbush all Sides
gray, high launched thckegged form for
Warily, strength mighty
its soft His fercely ufted
the bristling
nquisityely his
surd stub twitched small stiff smeed
and considered slowly
raised height his tension