Omaha daily bee., 1909-11-28

with the axe. and like a flash the bear
awoke. sent the axe spinning out Of the
mans rand and with another rake Of his
paw laid open the woodsman's leg from
knee to ankle. OF course, the bear had
no chance, pinned as he was In the hollow
trunk. but he was so dangerous that his
captors took no chances with him.
When the bear comes out Of his winters
sleep he is thin and weak. His long fast
has Slapped his vitality and taken all the
fat off him, but his fur coat Is in the best
Of condition. Hunters say that bruin eats
nothing after coming out Of his den until
he has first found q certain shrub OF the
elderberry family. The bear eats the roots
and berries Of this shrub before akinE
solid food into his system and these roots
and berries act as bruins spring tonic.
Proves nm Ugly Customer.
At this season Of the year the bear is
an ugly customer to meet. He soon gets
back his strength, but he is lean and hun
cry and ready for a fight on short provo
cation.
The last Of March or early in April the
she bear brings forth her young, usually
two or three at a birth. The fluffy little
fellows get their strength with amazing
rapldity and in a short time after birth
are able to run about and scuffle with one
another and climb a tree out Of harms
way with the agility of a cat.
A female bear with cubs is about the
toughest proposition any hunter in the
Maine woods ever has to tackle. The dam
will take any risk to protect her cubs.
The dam killed, however, 1t is an easy
matter to kill or capture the cubs.
The cunning shown by bears in avoiding
traps is often marvellous. They will often
NnAanH Il - L-aa
and keep clear Of the steel jaws, while at
gingerly, uncover the steel teeth, send the
trap spinning with a cuff OF the paw and
then eat the bait at their leisure.
They will enter the best constructed
pen, rip off the top logs and carry away
the bait. When taken by a paw the bear
will drag the heavy clog holding the trap
for a long distance, or until the clog be-
comes caught between the trees. Then, il
the paw in the trap Is not too far in, Bruin
often pulls out or eats off the captured
member and all the owner Of the trap gets
for his pains is the paw which speaks elo-
quently Of the occurrences while the bear
was a prisoner.
The Maine black bear has been a much
maligned animal. Long observation by old
hunters shows that the favorite food of
the bear is vegetables, nuts, berries, roots,
etc. Many complaints have been made by
farmers in the northern and eastern parts
of the state Of bears that have done dam
age to their sheep flocks. Yet old hunters
say the bear is not naturally a killer Of
sheep. once he gets the taste Of fresh
mutton, though, the bear Is likely to crave 1t.
His Epicurean Taste.
A favorite food Of the black bear is all
insects, such as ants and grubs. To get
these the bear will pull to pieces every
rotten stump he comes across. Evidences
of the bears grubblng are found in every
part Of the Maine woods. When the bear
finds a stump about which the ants and
grubs are running he lays himself down
beside IT, Then, poking his snout into the
warm, rotten wood, he let's the insects run
all over his snout and ticks them off with
his long tongue. When the available sup
ply has been exhausted Bruin pulls the
stump apart until he has finished the last
of the insects.
Another mark left by Bruin which shows
he is a frequenter of a certain spot is the
bear tree. When the black bear finds a
tree where another bear has rubbed or
scratched he does likewise. There seems
to be a jealousy existing among bears in
the matter Of height or reach, and every
bear that comes to the tree tries to reach
up higher and scratch the tree deeper than
his predecessor. In this way the bear tree
becomes torn, until 1t looks as though a
man had been at 1t with a gouger
There is good bear hunting in parts of
Maine today, as is shown by the number
of skins brought to market every year and
the number Of animals which figure in the
game lists. So far this year eighteen good
sized bears have passed through Bangor
on their way from the hunting regions.
They are sent to the Boston markets to be
cut IN, for bear steaks are choice eating
in the fall of the year. The skin Of the
black bear makes a fine rug when mounted
with the head intact.
A movement is now on foot to make a
closed time on bears during the month
Ehen their fur is of no value. It has been
shown that on all ordinary occasion the
bear is not dangerous, preferring to run
rather than fight, and If he does occa-
sionally kill sheep or hogs he does far
less damage than deer do to growing crops.
A law placing a closed time on black bears
between the months of April and Septem-
Der would undoubtedly meet with the APP
prevail Of a large number Of people, both
in Maine and out.