Los Angeles herald., 1908-12-27

containing the date, and the story
is legendary-there dwelt in the arctic
circle a group of bears. And they were
all brown or black. And the hunters
found them easy prey, owing to their
dark color, for, as all children know,
the arctic country is perpetually COW
cred with snow, and any dark object
upon it can be more easily seen than
could a white object.
So it was that these poor bears were
ever in danger of the hunters weapons,
whicn at that day were very different
to the hunters weapons of modern
times. But that would be another
story. So shall confine this narrative
to the bears and their change of color,
and how it all came about.
One day dear old mother bear went
out to find some food for her little ones
and hardly had she gone a hundred
steps from her icebound cave when the
Esquimo hunter wounded her to her
death. AS she lay there on the ground,
her life-blood reddening the wilderness
of the snow the Esquimo went down
the icy slope to fetch his dog and sled
that he might carry to his hut the fine
prize he had just captured.
1t was toward the evening, at time
of the year when the days were, but an
hour or two long, and before the hunter
could return to the spot to get the
body of the dead bear the darkness
had fallen. But he had no fear about
finding it, for he would be able to dis
tinguish it on account of the color.
What was his surprise on returning
to the spot to find no bear there. He
knew he had wounded the animal to
her death, had seen the death glare
in her eyes before leaving her, and to
return half an hour later to find moth
ing but whiteness over the ground
amazed him very much. He looked
about for a few minutes, then a sort
of fear came over him, for so unnat-
ural thing as dead bear getting up
and going away caused him to feel
that something supernatural had hap
pened. could it be an evil spirit?' he
questioned himself. He was. like all
primitive men, very superstitious, and
hurriedly making some signs, mutter-
ing some incarnation to ward off the
evil spirits which might be near him,
he called to his dogs to get up, and
with swing of his lash over their
backs went off over the frozen snow.
AS soon as he was gone there was a
movement in the snow just where the
dead body of the mother bear had lain,
and gradually a coverlet of snow was
thrown away and the dark body could
be plainly seen outlined against the
white ground. Then a white figure,
gauzy and winged. lifted itself from
near the head of the dead animal, and
with a silvery voice called to the cubs
to come from the cave.
Pretty soon the little motherless
things came hurrying in response to the
voice which they seemed to understand,
and, to their grief and heart-rending
sorrow, saw their dead mother lying
before them lifeless. They gathered
about her, weeping in their own way,
and calling to her to speak to them
once again.
"Ah, my children" said the white
"your mother will never speak to you
again. But I prevented her being car
ried away before you had an opportu-
nifty to bid her farewell. The hunter
who so cruelty killed her left her for
a little while, going down the hillside
for his sled During his absence 1 heard
her moaning, and being in the clouds at
the moment, en- route to a country far
to the south, I paused to hearken to
her wall. Soon l understood all that
had happened.
"Then heard the hunter and his
dogs coming up the slope. 1 had no
time to remove her poor body, 50
quickly covered her with snow till she
resembled a little snow mound. Then,
turning myself into another little snow
mound, 1 waited till the cruel hunter
had come and departed, for he went off
=, t.