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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..39cf4ee --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #55583 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/55583) diff --git a/old/55583-8.txt b/old/55583-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index df83832..0000000 --- a/old/55583-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,4582 +0,0 @@ -Project Gutenberg's The Life Story of a Black Bear, by Harry Perry Robinson - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license - - -Title: The Life Story of a Black Bear - -Author: Harry Perry Robinson - -Release Date: September 19, 2017 [EBook #55583] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LIFE STORY OF A BLACK BEAR *** - - - - -Produced by Mhairi Hindle and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images generously made available by The -Internet Archive) - - - - - - - - - -Transcriber's Note - - -Illustration markers have been moved near to the text they illustrate. -All variant spellings and variant hyphenation have been preserved. -However, punctuation has been corrected where necessary. - - - - -[Illustration: HOW I TUMBLED DOWNHILL.] - - - - - THE LIFE STORY OF - A BLACK BEAR - - - BY - H. PERRY ROBINSON - - - LONDON - ADAM·&·CHARLES·BLACK - 1913 - - - - -FOREWORD - - -There is always tragedy when man invades the solitudes of the earth, -for his coming never fails to mean the destruction of the wild -things. But, surely, nowhere can the pathos be greater than when, -in the western part of North America, there is a discovery of new -gold-diggings. Then from all points of the compass men come pouring -into the mountains with axe and pick, gold-pan and rifle, breaking -paths through the forest wildernesses, killing and driving before them -the wild animals that have heretofore held the mountains for their own. - -Here in these rocky, tree-clad fastnesses the bears have kinged it for -centuries, ruling in right of descent for generation after generation, -holding careless dominion over the coyote and the beaver, the wapiti, -the white-tailed and the mule-eared deer. Except for the occasional -rebellion of a mutinous lieutenant of a puma, there has been none to -dispute their lordship from year to year and century to century. Each -winter they have laid themselves down (or sat themselves up--for a bear -does not lie down when hibernating) to sleep through the bitter months, -in easy assurance that when they awoke they would find the sceptre -still by their side. - -But a spring comes when they issue from their winter lairs and new -sounds are borne to them on the keen, resin-scented mountain air. The -hills ring to the chopping of axes; and the voices of men--a new and -terrible sound--reach their ears. The earth, soft with the melting -snows, shows unaccustomed prints of heavy heels. The coyote and the -deer and all the forest folk have gone; the beaver-dams are broken, and -the builders vanished. - -Dimly wondering at the strangeness of it all, the bears go forth, -blundering and half awake, down the new-made pathways, not angry, -but curious and perplexed, and by the trail-side they meet man--man -with a rifle in his hand. And, still not angry, still only -wondering and fearing nothing--for are they not lords of all the -mountain-sides?--they die. - - - H. P. R. - - -_First published September, 1905_ - -_Reissued Autumn, 1910; reprinted July, 1913_ - - - - -CONTENTS - - - CHAPTER PAGE - I. HOW I TUMBLED DOWNHILL 1 - - II. CUBHOOD DAYS 9 - - III. THE COMING OF MAN 25 - - IV. THE FOREST FIRE 39 - - V. I LOSE A SISTER 57 - - VI. LIFE IN CAMP 71 - - VII. THE PARTING OF THE WAYS 93 - - VIII. ALONE IN THE WORLD 105 - - IX. I FIND A COMPANION 120 - - X. A VISIT TO THE OLD HOME 134 - - XI. THE TROUBLES OF A FATHER 147 - - XII. WIPING OUT OLD SCORES 163 - - XIII. THE TRAP 176 - - XIV. IN THE HANDS OF MAN 194 - - - - -LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS - - - 'HOW I TUMBLED DOWNHILL' _Frontispiece_ - - FACING PAGE - - 'THE FATHER BEAR ASKED MY FATHER IF WE WERE NOT - GOING TOO' 49 - - 'SLOWLY, YARD BY YARD, SHE WAS BEING DRAGGED AWAY - FROM US' 64 - - 'AS I APPEARED THE YOUNG ONES RAN AND SNUGGLED - UP TO HER' 113 - - 'SHE SAW ME, AND SAT UP AND LOOKED AT ME AMICABLY' 128 - - 'FROM THE MOMENT THAT I THREW MYSELF ON HIM HE - NEVER HAD TIME TO BREATHE' 177 - - 'IT WAS EVIDENTLY A TRAP' 192 - - 'BY STANDING ON HER BACK I WAS ABLE TO SEE OVER' _On cover_ - - - - -THE BLACK BEAR - - - - -CHAPTER I - -HOW I TUMBLED DOWNHILL - - -It is not easy for one to believe that he ever was a cub. Of course, I -know that I was, and as it was only nine years ago I ought to remember -it fairly clearly. None the less, hundreds and hundreds of times I have -looked at my own cubs, and said to myself: 'Surely, I can never have -been like that!' - -It is not so much a mere matter of size, although it is doubtful if -any young bear realizes how small he is. My father and mother seemed -enormous to me, but, on the other hand, my sister was smaller than I, -and perhaps the fact that I could always box her ears when I wanted to, -gave me an exaggerated idea of my own importance. Not that I did it -very often, except when she used to bite my hind-toes. Every bear, of -course, likes to chew his own feet, for it is one of the most soothing -and comforting things in the world; but it is horrid to have anyone -else come up behind you, when you are asleep, and begin to chew your -feet for you. And that was what Kahwa--that was my sister, my name -being Wahka--was always doing, and I simply _had to_ slap her well -whenever she did. It was the only way to stop her. - -But, as I said, cubhood is not a matter of size only. As I look down at -this glossy black coat of mine, it is hard to believe that it was ever -a dirty light brown in colour, and all ridiculous wool and fluff, as -young cubs' coats are. But I must have been fluffy, because I remember -how my mother, after she had been licking me for any length of time, -used to be obliged to stop and wipe the fur out of her mouth with the -back of her paw, just as my wife did later on when she licked our cubs. -Every time my mother had to wipe her mouth she used to try to box my -ears, so that when she stopped licking me, I, knowing what was coming -next, would tuck my head down as far as it would go between my legs, -and keep it there till she began licking again. - -Yes, when I stop to think, I know, from many things, that I must have -been just an ordinary cub. For instance, my very earliest recollection -is of tumbling downhill. - -Like all bears, I was born and lived on the hillside. In the Rocky -Mountains, where my home was, there is nothing but hills, or mountains, -for miles and miles, so that you can wander on for day after day, -always going up one side of a hill and down the other, and up and down -again; and at the bottom of almost every valley there is a stream or -river, which for most of the year swirls along noisily and full of -water. Towards the end of summer, however, the streams nearly dry up, -just trickling along in places over their rocky beds, and you can -splash about in them almost anywhere. The mountains are covered with -trees--gorgeous trees, such as I have never seen anywhere else--with -great straight trunks, splendid for practising climbing, shooting away -up into the sky before the branches begin. Towards the summits of the -bigger mountains the trees become smaller and grow wider apart, and if -you go up to one of these and look around you, you can see nothing but -a sea of dark-green tree-tops, rolling down into the valley and up the -opposite slopes on all sides of you, with here and there the peaks of -the highest mountains standing against the sky bare and rocky, with -streaks and patches of snow clinging to them all through the summer. -Oh, it was beautiful! - -In the winter the whole country is covered with snow many feet deep, -which, as it falls, slides off the hillsides, and is drifted by the -wind into the valleys and hollows till the smaller ones are filled up -nearly to the tops of the trees. But bears do not see much of that, for -when the first snow comes we get into our dens and go half asleep, and -stay hibernating till springtime. And you have no idea how delightful -hibernating is, nor how excruciatingly stiff we are when we wake up, -and how hungry! - -The snow lies over everything for months, until in the early spring -the warm west winds begin to blow, melting the snow from one side of -the mountains. Then the sun grows hotter and hotter day by day, and -helps to melt it until most of the mountain slopes are clear; but in -sheltered places and in the bottoms of the little hollows the snow -stays in patches till far into the summer. We bears come out from our -winter sleep when the snow is not quite gone, when the whole earth -everywhere is still wet with it, and the streams, swollen with floods, -are bubbling and boiling along so that the air is filled with the -noise of them by night and day. - -Our home was well up one of the hillsides, where two huge cedar-trees -shot up side by side close by a jutting mass of rock. In between -the roots of the trees and under the rock was as good a house as a -family of bears could want--roomy enough for all four of us, perfectly -sheltered, and hidden and dry. Can you imagine how warm and comfy it -was when we were all snuggled in there, with our arms round each other, -and our faces buried in each other's fur? Anyone looking in would have -seen nothing but a huge ball of black and brown fluff. - -It was from just outside the door that I tumbled downhill. - -It must have been early in the year, because the ground was still very -wet and soft, and the gully at the bottom full of snow. Of course, if -I had not been a cub I should never have fallen, for big bears do not -tumble downhill. If by any chance anything did start one, and he found -he could not stop himself, he would know enough to tuck in his head and -paws out of harm's way; but I only knew that somehow, in romping with -Kahwa, I had lost my balance, and was going--goodness knew where! I -went all spread out like a squirrel, first on my head, then on my back, -then on my tummy, clutching at everything that I passed, slapping the -ground with my outstretched paws, and squealing for help. Bump! bang! -slap! bump! I went, hitting trees and thumping all the wind out of me -against the earth, and at last--souse into the snow! - -Wow-ugh![1] How cold and wet it was! And it was deep--so deep, indeed, -that I was buried completely out of sight; and I doubt if I should ever -have got out alive had not my mother come down and dug me out with her -nose and paws. Then she half pushed and half smacked me uphill again, -and when I got home I was the wettest, coldest, sorest, wretchedest -bear-cub in the Rocky Mountains. - -Then, while I lay and whimpered, my mother spent the rest of the day -licking me into the semblance of a respectable bearkin again. But I was -bruised and nervous for days afterwards. - -That tumble of mine gave us the idea of the game which Kahwa and I used -to play almost every day after that. Kahwa would take her stand with -her back against the rock by our door, just at the point where the hill -went off most steeply, and it was my business to come charging up the -hill at her and try to pull her down. What fun it was! Sometimes I was -the one to stand against the rock, and Kahwa tried to pull me down. -She could not do it; but she was plucky, and used to come at me so -ferociously that I often wondered for a minute whether it was only play -or whether she was really angry. - -Best of all was when mother used to play with us. Then she put her back -to the rock, and we both attacked her at once from opposite sides, each -trying to get hold of a hind-leg just above the foot. If she put her -head down to pretend to bite either of us, the other jumped for her -ear. Sometimes we would each get hold of an ear, and hang on as hard as -we could, while she pretended we were hurting her dreadfully, growling -and shaking her head, and making as much fuss as she could; but if in -our excitement either of us did chance to bite a little too hard, we -always knew it. With a couple of cuffs, hard enough to make us yelp, -she would throw us to one side and the other, and there was no more -play for that day. And mother could hit hard when she liked. I have -seen her smack father in a way that would have broken all the bones in -a cub's body, and killed any human being outright. - -Father did not romp with us as much as mother. He was more serious, -but, on the other hand, he did not lose his temper nearly so quickly. -She used to get angry with him over nothing, and I think he was afraid -of her. And it was just the same later on with me and my wife. I always -knew that I could have eaten her up had I wanted to, but, somehow, a -bear cannot settle down in earnest to fight his own wife. If she loses -her temper, he can pretend to be angry too, but in the end he surely -gets the worst of it. I do not know why it is, but a she-bear does not -seem to mind how hard she hits her husband, but he always stops just -short of hurting her. Perhaps it is the same with human beings. - -But to Kahwa and me both father and mother were very gentle and kind in -those first helpless days, and I suppose they never punished us unless -we deserved it. Later on my father and I had differences, as you will -hear. But in that first summer our lives, if uneventful, were very -happy. - - -FOOTNOTE - -[1] It is not possible to give any idea of how a bear says _wow-ugh_. -The _wow_ begins at the bottom of the octave, runs halfway up and then -down again, and the _ugh_ comes from the very inside of his insides. -It is as if he started on the ground floor of a house, _wowed_ clear -upstairs to the top and down again, and then went into the cellar to -say _ugh_! - - - - -CHAPTER II - -CUBHOOD DAYS - - -When they are small, bear-cubs rarely go about alone. The whole family -usually keeps together, or, if it separates, it is generally into -couples--one cub with each of the parents; or the father goes off -alone, leaving both cubs with the mother. A cub toddling off alone in -its own woolly, comfortable ignorance would be sure to make all manner -of mistakes in what it ate, and it might find itself in very serious -trouble in other ways. - -Bears, when they live far enough away from man, have absolutely nothing -to be afraid of. There are, of course, bigger bears--perhaps bigger -ones of our own kind, either black or brown ('cinnamon,' as the brown -members of our family are called), or, especially, grizzly. But I never -heard of a grizzly bear hurting one of us. When I smell a grizzly in -the neighbourhood, I confess that it seems wiser to go round the other -side of the hill; but that is probably inherited superstition more -than anything else. My father and mother did it, and so do I. But I -have known several of our cinnamon cousins in my life, and have been -friendly enough with them--with the she-bears especially. Apart from -these, there lives nothing in the forest that a full-grown black bear -has any cause to fear. He goes where he pleases and does what he likes, -and nobody ventures to dispute his rights. With a cub, however, it is -different. - -I had heard my father and mother speak of pumas, or mountain lions, and -I knew their smell well enough--and did not like it. But I shall never -forget the first one that I saw. - -We were out together--father, mother, Kahwa, and I--and it was getting -well on in the morning. The sun was up, and the day growing warm, and -I, wandering drowsily along with my nose to the ground, had somehow -strayed away from the rest, when suddenly I smelled puma very strong. -As I threw myself up on my haunches, he came out from behind a tree, -and stood facing me only a few yards away. I was simply paralyzed -with fear--one of the two or three times in my life when I have been -honestly and thoroughly frightened. As I looked at him, wondering what -would happen next, he crouched down till he was almost flat along the -ground, and I can see him now, his whole yellow body almost hidden -behind his head, his eyes blazing, and his tail going slap, slap! from -side to side. How I wished that I had a tail! - -Then inch by inch he crept towards me, very slowly, putting one foot -forward and then the other. I did not know what to do, and so did what -proved to be the best thing possible: I sat quite still, and screamed -for mother as loud as I could. She must have known from my voice that -something serious was the matter, because in a second, just as the -puma's muscles were growing tense for the final spring, there was a -sudden crash of broken boughs behind me, a feeling as if a whirlwind -was going by, and my mother shot past me straight at the puma. I had -no idea that she could go so fast. The puma was up on his hind-legs to -meet her, but her impetus was so terrific that it bore him backwards, -without seeming to check her speed in the least, and away they went -rolling over and over down the hill. - -But it was not much of a fight. The puma, willing enough to attack a -little cub like me, knew that he was no match for my mother, and while -they were still rolling he wrenched himself loose, and was off among -the trees like a shadow. - -When mother came back to me blood was running over her face, where, at -the moment of meeting, the puma had managed to give her one wicked, -tearing claw down the side of her nose. So, as soon as my father and -Kahwa joined us, we all went down to the stream, where mother bathed -her face, and kept it in the cold water for nearly the whole day. - -It was probably in some measure to pay me out for this scrape, and -to give me another lesson in the unwisdom of too much independence -and inquisitiveness in a youngster, that my parents, soon after this, -allowed me to get into trouble with that porcupine. - -One evening my father had taken us to a place where the ground was full -of mountain lilies. It was early in the year, when the green shoots -were just beginning to appear above the earth; and wherever there was -a shoot there was a bulb down below. And a mountain lily bulb is one -of the very nicest things to eat that there is--so sweet, and juicy, -and crisp! The place was some distance from our home, and after that -first visit Kahwa and I kept begging to be taken there again. At last -my father yielded, and we set out early one morning just before day was -breaking. - -We were not loitering on the way, but trotting steadily along all -together, and Kahwa and I, at least, were full of expectation of the -lily bulbs in store, when, in a little open space among the trees, -we came upon an object unlike anything I had ever seen before. As we -came upon it, I could have declared that it was moving--that it was an -animal which, at sight of us, had stopped stock still, and tucked its -head and toes in underneath it. But it certainly was not moving now, -and did not look as if it ever could move again, so finally I concluded -that it must be a large fungus or a strange new kind of hillock, with -black and white grass growing all over it. My father and mother had -stopped short when they saw it, and just sat up on their haunches and -looked at it; and Kahwa did the same, snuggling up close to my mother's -side. Was it an animal, or a fungus, or only a mound of earth? The -way to find out was to smell it. So, without any idea of hurting it, -I trotted up and reached out my nose. As I did so it shrank a little -more into itself, and became rounder and more like a fungus than ever; -but the act of shrinking also made the black and white grass stick out -a little further, so that my nose met it sooner than I expected, and -I found that, if it was grass, it was very sharp grass, and pricked -horribly. I tried again, and again it shrank up and pricked me worse -than ever. Then I heard my father chuckling to himself. - -That made me angry, for I always have detested being laughed at, and, -without stopping to think, I smacked the thing just as hard as I could. -A moment later I was hopping round on three legs howling with pain, for -a bunch of the quills had gone right into my paw, where they were still -sticking, one coming out on the other side. - -My father laughed, but my mother drew out the quills with her teeth, -and that hurt worse than anything; and all day, whenever she found a -particularly fat lily bulb, she gave it to me. For my part, I could -only dig for the bulbs with my left paw, and it was ever so many days -before I could run on all four feet again. - -All these things must have happened when I was very young--less than -three months old--because we were still living in the same place, -whereas when summer came we moved away, as bears always do, and had no -fixed home during the hot months. - -Bear-cubs are born when the mother is still in her winter den, and they -are usually five or six weeks old before they come out into the world -at all. Even then at first, when the cubs are very young, the family -stays close at home, and for some time I imagine that the longest -journey I made was when I tumbled those fifty feet downhill. Father or -mother might wander away alone in the early morning or evening for a -while, but for the most part we were all four at home by the rock and -the cedar-trees, with the bare brown tree-trunks growing up all round -out of the bare brown mountain-sides, and Kahwa and I spending our time -lying sleepily cuddled up to mother, or romping together and wishing we -could catch squirrels. - -There were a great many squirrels about--large gray ones mostly; but -living in a fir-tree close by us was a black one with a deplorable -temper. - -Every day he used to come and quarrel with us. Whenever he had nothing -particular to do, he would say to himself, 'I'll go and tease those -old bears.' And he did. His plan was to get on our trees from behind, -where we could not see him, then to come round on our side about five -or six feet from the ground, just safely out of reach, and there, -hanging head downwards, call us every name he could think of. Squirrels -have an awful vocabulary, but I never knew one that could talk like -Blacky. And every time he thought of something new to say he waved his -tail at us in a way that was particularly aggravating. You have no idea -how other animals poke fun at us because we have no tails, and how -sensitive we really are on the subject. They say that it was to hide -our lack of tail that we originally got into the habit of sitting up on -our haunches whenever we meet a stranger. - -Kahwa and I used to make all sorts of plans to catch Blacky, but we -might as well have tried to catch a moonbeam. He knew exactly how far -we could reach from the ground, and if we made a rush for him he was -always three inches too high. Then we would run round on opposite sides -of the tree in the hope of cutting him off when he came down. But when -we did that he never did come down, but just went up instead, till he -reached a place where the branches of our trees nearly touched those of -his own fir, and then jumped across. We always hoped he would miss that -jump, and Kahwa and I waited down below with our mouths open for him to -drop in, but he never did. - -We used to try and persuade mother to go up his tree after him, but -she knew very well that she could neither catch him nor get out on the -thin branches where his nest was. There is only one way in which a bear -can catch squirrels, and that is by pretending to be dead or asleep; -for squirrels are so idiotically inquisitive that sooner or later they -are certain to come right up to you if you do this, and sit on your -nose. Some bears, I believe, are fond of squirrels, but I confess I -never cared for them. There is so much fluff and stringy stuff in them, -and so little to eat. - -Chipmunks[2] are different. Though smaller than squirrels, they are -much less fluffy in proportion, and taste almost as nice as mice. - -Next to Blacky, our most frequent visitor was Rat-tat, the woodpecker. -The air in the mountains is very still, so that you can hear sounds a -long way, and all day long from every direction the 'rat-tat-tat-tat!' -of the woodpeckers was ringing through the woods. In the evening -when the sun was going down, they used to sit on the very tops of -the trees, and call to each other from hill to hill--just two long -whistles, 'whee-whoo, whee-whoo.' It was a sad noise, but I liked -Rat-tat. He was so jauntily gay in his suit of black and white, with -his bright red crest, and always so immensely busy. Starting near -the bottom of a tree, he worked steadily up it--rat-tat-tat-tat! and -up--rat-tat-tat-tat! till he got to the top; then down like a flash to -another, to begin all over again. Grubs he was after, and nothing else -mattered. Grubs--rat-tat-tat-tat! rat-tat-tat-tat! grubs! and up and up -he went. - -One of our cedars was dead at the top, and Rat-tat used to come there -nearly every day. Little chips and splinters of wood would come -floating down to us, and once a lovely fat beetle grub that he had -somehow overlooked came plump down under my very nose. If that was the -kind of thing that he found up there, I was not surprised that he was -fond of our tree. I would have gone up too, if I could; but the dead -part would never have been safe for me. - -Very soon we began to be taken out on long excursions, going all four -together, as I have said, and then we began to learn how much that is -nice to eat there is in the world. - -You have probably no idea, for instance, how many good things there may -be under one rotting log. Even if you do not get a mouse or a chipmunk, -you are sure of a fringe of greenstuff which, from lack of sunlight, -has grown white and juicy, and almost as sure of some mushrooms or -other fungi, most of which are delicious. But before you can touch them -you have to look after the insects. Mushrooms will wait, but the sooner -you catch beetles, and earwigs, and ants, and grubs, the better. It is -always worth while to roll a log over, if you can, no matter how much -trouble it costs; and a big stone is sometimes nearly as good. - -Insects, of course, are small, and it would take a lot of ants, or -even beetles, to make a meal for a bear; but they are good, and they -help out. Some wild animals, especially those which prey upon others, -eat a lot at one time, and then starve till they can kill again. A -bear, on the other hand, is wandering about for more than half of the -twenty-four hours, except in the very heat of summer, and he is eating -most of the while that he wanders. The greater part of his food, of -course, is greenstuff--lily bulbs, white camas roots, wild-onions, and -young shoots and leaves. As he walks he browses a mouthful of young -leaves here, scratches up a root there, tears the bark off a decaying -tree and eats the insects underneath, lifts a stone and finds a mouse -or a lizard beneath, or loiters for twenty minutes over an ant-hill. -With plenty of time, he is never in a hurry, and every little counts. - -But most of all in summer I used to love to go down to the stream. In -warm weather, during the heat of the day, bears stay in the shelter of -thickets, among the brush by the water or under the shade of a fallen -tree. As the sun sank we would move down to the stream, and lie all -through the long evening in the shallows, where the cold water rippled -against one's sides. And along the water there was always something -good to eat--not merely the herbage and the roots of the water-plants, -but frogs and insects of all sorts among the grass. Our favourite -bathing-place was just above a wide pool made by a beaver-dam. The pool -itself was deep in places, but before the river came to it, it flowed -for a hundred yards and more over a level gravel bottom, so shallow -that even as a cub I could walk from shore to shore without the water -being above my shoulders. At the edge of the pool the same black and -white kingfisher was always sitting on the same branch when we came -down, and he disliked our coming, and _chirred_ at us to go away. I -used to love to pretend not to understand him, and to walk solemnly -through the water underneath and all round his branch. It made him -furious, and sent him _chirring_ upstream to find another place to -fish, where there were no idiotic bear-cubs who did not know any better -than to walk about among his fish. - -Here, too, my father and mother taught us to fish; but it was a long -time before I managed to catch a trout for myself. It takes such a -dreadful lot of sitting still. Having found where a fish is lying, -probably under an overhanging branch or beneath the grass jutting out -from the bank, you lie down silently as close to the edge of the water -as you can get, and slip one paw in, ever so gradually, behind the -fish, and move it towards him gently--gently. If he takes fright and -darts away, you leave your paw where it is, or move it as close to the -spot where he was lying as you can reach, and wait. Sooner or later he -will come back, swimming downstream and then swinging round to take -his station almost exactly in the same spot as before. If you leave -your paw absolutely still, he does not mind it, and may even, on his -return, come and lie right up against it. If so, you strike at once. -More probably he will stop a few inches or a foot away. If you have -already reached as far as you can towards him, then is the time that -you need all your patience. Again and again he darts out to take a fly -from the surface of the water or swallow something that is floated down -to him by the current, and each time that he comes back he may shift -his position an inch or two. At last he comes to where you can actually -crook your claws under his tail. Ever so cautiously you move your paw -gently halfway up towards his head, and then, when your claws are -almost touching him, you strike--strike, once and hard, with a hooking -blow that sends him whirling like a bar of silver far out on the bank -behind you. And trout is good--the plump, dark, pink-banded trout of -the mountain streams. But you must not strike one fraction of a second -too soon, for if your paw has more than an inch to travel before the -claws touch him he is gone, and all you feel is the flip of a tail upon -the inner side of the paw, and all your time is wasted. - -It is hard to learn to wait long enough, and I know that at first I -used to strike at fish that were a foot away, with no more chance of -catching them than of making supper off a waterfall. But father and -mother used to catch a fish apiece for us almost every evening, and -gradually Kahwa and I began to take them for ourselves. - -Then, as the daylight faded, the beavers came out upon their dam and -played about in the pool, swimming and diving and slapping the surface -with their tails with a noise like that of an osprey when he strikes -the water in diving for a fish. But though they had time for play, they -were busy folk, the beavers. Some of them were constantly patching and -tinkering at the dam, and some always at work, except when the sun was -up, one relieving another, gnawing their way with little tiny bites -steadily through one of the great trees that stood by the water's edge, -and always gnawing it so that when, after weeks of labour, it fell, it -never failed to fall across the stream precisely where they wanted it. -If an enemy appeared--at the least sign or smell of wolf or puma--there -would be a loud ringing slap from one of the tails upon the water, and -in an instant every beaver had vanished under water and was safe inside -the house among the logs of the dam, the door of which was down below -the surface. - -Us bears they were used to and did not mind; but they never let us come -too near. Sitting safely on the top of their piled logs, or twenty feet -away in the water, they would talk to us pleasantly enough; but--well, -my father told me that young, very young, beaver was good eating, and -I imagine that the beavers knew that we thought so, and were afraid, -perhaps, that we might not be too particular about the age. - -As the dusk changed to darkness we would leave the water and roam over -the hillsides, sometimes sleeping through the middle hours of the -night, but in summer more often roaming on, to come back to the stream -for a while just before the sun was up, and then turning in to sleep -till he went down again. - -Those long rambles in the summer moonlight, or in the early dawn when -everything reeked with dew, how good they were! And when the afternoon -of a broiling day brought a thunderstorm, the delight of the smell of -the moist earth and the almost overpowering scent of the pines! And -when the berries were ripe--blueberries, cranberries, wild-raspberries, -and, later in the year, elderberries--no fruit, nor anything else to -eat, has ever tasted as they did then in that first summer when I was a -cub. - - -FOOTNOTE - -[2] The striped ground squirrels of North America. - - - - -CHAPTER III - -THE COMING OF MAN - - -Summer was far advanced. We had had a week or two of hot, dry weather, -during which we had wandered abroad, spending the heat of the days -asleep in the shadow of cool brushwood down by the streams, and in the -nights and early mornings roaming where we would. Ultimately we worked -round to the neighbourhood of our home, and went to see if all was -right there, and to spend one day in the familiar place. - -It was in the very middle of the day--a sultry day, when the sun was -blazing hot--that we were awakened by the sound of somebody coming -through the bushes. The wind was blowing towards us, so that long -before he came in sight we knew that it was a bear like ourselves. But -what was a bear doing abroad at high noon of such a day, and crashing -through the bushes in that headlong fashion? Something extraordinary -must have happened to him, and we soon learned that indeed something -had. - -Coming plunging downhill with the wind behind him, he was right on -us before he knew we were there. He was one of our brown cousins--a -cinnamon--and we saw at once that he was hurt, for he was going on -three legs, holding his left fore-paw off the ground. It was covered -with blood and hung limply, showing that the bone was broken. He was -so nervous that at sight of us he threw himself up on his haunches and -prepared to fight; but we all felt sorry for him, and he soon quieted -down. - -'Whatever has happened to you?' asked my father, while we others sat -and listened. - -'Man!' replied Cinnamon, with a growl that made my blood run cold. - -Man! Father had told us of man, but he had never seen him; nor had his -father or his grandfather before him. Man had never visited our part -of the mountains, as far as we knew, but stories of him we had heard -in plenty. They had been handed down in our family from generation to -generation, from the days when our ancestors lived far away from our -present abiding-place; and every year, too, the animals that left the -mountains when the snow came brought us back stories of man in the -spring. The coyotes knew him and feared him; the deer knew him and -trembled at his very name; the pumas knew him and both feared and hated -him. Everyone who knew him seemed to fear him, and we had caught the -fear from them, and feared him, too, and had blessed ourselves that he -did not come near us. - -And now he was here! And poor Cinnamon's shattered leg was evidence -that his evil reputation was not unjustified. - -Then Cinnamon told us his story. - -He had lived, like his father and grandfather before him, some miles -away on the other side of the high range of mountains behind us; and -there he had considered himself as safe from man as we on our side had -supposed ourselves to be. But that spring when he awoke he found that -during the winter the men had come. They were few in the beginning, -he said, and he had first heard of them as being some miles away. But -more came, and ever more; and as they came they pushed further and -further into the mountains. What they were doing he did not know, but -they kept for the most part along by the streams, where they dug holes -everywhere. No, they did not live in the holes. They built themselves -places to live in out of trees which they cut down and chopped into -lengths and piled together. Why they did that, when it was so much -easier to dig comfortable holes in the hillside, he did not know; but -they did. And they did not cut down the trees with their teeth like -beavers, but took sticks in their hands and beat them till they fell! - -Yes, it was true about the fires they made. They made them every day -and all the time, usually just outside the houses that they built of -the chopped trees. The fires were terrible to look at, but the men -did not seem to be afraid of them. They stood quite close to them, -especially in the evenings, and burned their food in them before they -ate it. - -We had heard this before, but had not believed it. And it was true, -after all! What was still more wonderful, Cinnamon said that he had -gone down at night, when the men were all asleep in their chopped-tree -houses, and, sniffing round, had found pieces of this burnt food lying -about, and eaten them, and--they were very good! So good were they -that, incredible as it might seem, Cinnamon had gone again and again, -night after night, to look for scraps that had been left lying about. - -On the previous night he had gone down as usual after the men, as -he supposed, were all asleep, but he was arrested before he got to -the houses themselves by a strong smell of the burnt food somewhere -close by him. The men, he explained, had cut down the trees nearest -to the stream to build their houses with, so that between the edge -of the forest and the water there was an open space dotted with the -stumps of the trees that had been felled, which stuck up as high as a -bear's shoulder from the ground. It was just at the edge of this open -space that he smelled the burnt food, and, sure enough, on one of the -nearest stumps there was a bigger lump of it than any he had ever seen. -Naturally, he went straight up to it. - -Just as he got to it he heard a movement between him and the houses, -and, looking round, he saw a man lying flat on the ground in such a -way that he had hitherto been hidden by another stump. As Cinnamon -looked he saw the man point something at him (yes, unquestionably, the -dreadful thing we had heard of--the thunder-stick--with which man kills -at long distances), and in a moment there was a flash of flame and a -noise like a big tree breaking in the wind, and something hit his leg -and smashed it, as we could see. It hurt horribly, and Cinnamon turned -at once and plunged into the wood. As he did so there was a second -flash and roar, and something hit a tree-trunk within a foot of his -head, and sent splinters flying in every direction. - -Since then Cinnamon had been trying only to get away. His foot hurt him -so that he had been obliged to be down for a few hours in the bushes -during the morning; but now he was pushing on again, only anxious to go -somewhere as far away from man as possible. - -While he was talking, my mother had been licking his wounded foot, -while father sat up on his haunches, with his nose buried in the fur -of his chest, grumbling and growling to himself, as his way was when -he was very much annoyed. I have the same trick, which I suppose I -inherited from him. We cubs sat shivering and whimpering, and listening -terror-stricken to the awful story. - -What was to be done now? That was the question. How far away, we asked, -were the men? Well, it was about midnight when Cinnamon was wounded, -and now it was noon. Except the three or four hours that he had lain -in the bushes, he had been travelling in a straight line all the time, -as fast as he could with his broken leg. And did men travel fast? No; -they moved very slowly, and always on their hind-legs. Cinnamon had -never seen one go on all fours, though that seemed to him as ridiculous -as their building houses of chopped trees instead of making holes in -the ground. They very rarely went about at night, and Cinnamon did -not believe any of them had followed him, so there was probably no -immediate danger. Moreover, Cinnamon explained, they seldom moved far -away from the streams, and they made a great deal of noise wherever -they went, so that it was easy to hear them. Besides which, you could -smell them a long way off. It did not matter if you had never smelled -it before: any bear would know the man-smell by the first whiff he got -of it. - -All this was somewhat consoling. It made the danger a little more -remote, and, especially, it reduced the chance of our being taken by -surprise. Still, the situation was bad enough as it stood, for the -news changed the whole colour and current of our lives. Hitherto we -had gone without fear where we would, careless of anything but our own -inclinations. Now a sudden terror had arisen, that threw a shadow -over every minute of the day and night. Man was near--man, who seemed -to love to kill, and who _could_ kill; not by his strength, but by -virtue of some cunning which we could neither combat nor understand. -Thereafter, though perhaps man's name might not be mentioned between us -from one day to another, I do not think there was a minute when we were -not all more or less on the alert, with ears and nostrils open for an -indication of his dreaded presence. - -Though Cinnamon thought we could safely stay where we were, he proposed -himself to push on, further away from the neighbourhood of the hated -human beings. In any emergency he would be sadly crippled by his broken -leg, and--at least till that was healed--he preferred to be as remote -from danger as possible. - -After he was gone my father and mother held council. There was no more -sleep for us that day, and in the evening, when we started out on our -regular search for food, it was very cautiously, and with nerves all on -the jump. It was a trying night. We went warily, with our heads ever -turned up-wind, hardly daring to dig for a root lest the sound of our -digging should fill our ears so that we would not hear man's approach; -and when I stripped a bit of bark from a fallen log to look for -beetles underneath, and it crackled noisily as it came away, my father -growled angrily at me and mother cuffed me from behind. - -I remember, though, that they shared the beetles between them. - -I need not dwell on the days of anxiety that followed. I do not -remember them much myself, except that they were very long and -nerve-racking. I will tell you at once how it was that we first -actually came in contact with man himself. - -In the course of my life I have reached the conclusion that nearly -all the troubles that come to animals are the result of one of two -things--either of their greediness or their curiosity. It was curiosity -which led me into the difficulty with Porcupine. It was Cinnamon's -greediness that got his leg broken for him. Our first coming in contact -with man was the result, I am afraid, of both--but chiefly of our -curiosity. - -During the days that followed our meeting with Cinnamon, while we were -moving about so cautiously, we were also all the time (and, though we -never mentioned the fact, we all knew that we were) gradually working -nearer to the place where Cinnamon had told us that man was. I knew -what was happening, but would not have mentioned it for worlds, -lest if we talked about it we should change our direction. And I -wanted--yes, in spite of his terrors--I _wanted_ to see man just once. -Also--I may as well confess it--there were memories of what Cinnamon -had said of that wonderful burnt food. - -Some ten or twelve days must have passed in this way, when one morning, -after we had been abroad for three or four hours, and the sun was just -getting up, we heard a noise such as we had never heard before. Chuck! -chuck! chuck! chuck! It came at regular intervals for a while, then -stopped and began again. What could it be? It was not the noise of a -woodpecker, nor that which a beaver makes with its tail. Chuck! chuck! -chuck! chuck! It was not the clucking of a grouse, though perhaps more -like that than anything else, but different, somehow, in quality. -Chuck! chuck! chuck! chuck! I think we all knew in our hearts that it -had something to do with man. - -The noise came from not far away, but the wind was blowing across us. -So we made a circle till it blew from the noise to us; and suddenly in -one whiff we all knew that it was man. I felt my skin crawling up my -spine, and I saw my father's nose go down into his chest, while the -hair on his neck and shoulders stood out as it only could do in moments -of intense excitement. - -Slowly, very slowly, we moved towards the noise, until at last we were -so close that the smell grew almost overpowering. But still we could -not see him, because of the brushwood. Then we came to a fallen log -and, carefully and silently we stepped on to it--my father and mother -first, then I, then Kahwa. Now, by standing up on our hind-feet, our -heads--even mine and Kahwa's--were clear of the bushes, and there, -not fifty yards away from us, was man. He was chopping down a tree, -and that was the noise that we had heard. He did not see us, being -too intent on his work. Chuck! chuck! chuck! chuck! He was striking -steadily at the tree with what I now know was an axe, but which at -the time we all supposed to be a thunder-stick, and at each blow the -splinters of wood flew just as Cinnamon had told us. After a while he -stopped, and stooped to pick something off the ground. This hid him -from my sight, and from Kahwa's also, so she strained up on her tiptoes -to get another look at him. In doing so her feet slipped on the bark of -the log, and down she came with a crash that could have been heard at -twice his distance from us, even if the shock had not knocked a loud -'Wooff!' out of her as she fell. The man instantly stood up and turned -round, and, of course, found himself staring straight into our three -faces. - -He did not hesitate a moment, but dropped his axe and ran. I think he -ran as fast as he could, but what Cinnamon said was true: he went, of -course, on his hind-legs, and did _not_ travel fast. It was downhill, -and running on your hind-legs for any distance downhill is an awkward -performance at best. - -We, of course, followed our impulse, and went after him. We did not -want him in the least. We would not have known what to do with him -if we had him. But you know how impossible it is to resist chasing -anything that runs away from you. We could easily have caught him had -we wished to, but why should we? Besides, he might still have another -thunder-stick concealed about him. So we just ran fast enough to keep -him running. And as we ran, crashing through the bushes, galloping down -the hill, with his head rising and falling as he leaped along ahead of -us, the absurdity of it got hold of me, and I yelped with excitement -and delight. To be chasing man, of all things living--man--like this! -And I could hear my father 'wooffing' to himself at each gallop with -amusement and satisfaction. - -Very soon, however, we smelled more men. Then we slowed down, and -presently there came in sight what we knew must be one of the -chopped-tree houses. So we stood and watched, while the man, still -running as if we were at his very heels, tore up to the house, and out -from behind it came three or four others. We could see them brandishing -their arms and talking very excitedly. Then two of them plunged into -the house, and came out with--yes, there could be no doubt of it; these -were the real things--the dreaded thunder-sticks themselves. - -Then we knew that it was our turn to run; and we ran. - -Back up the hill we went, much faster than we had come down; for we -were running for our own lives now, and bears like running uphill best. -On and on we went, as fast as we could go. We had no idea at how long -a distance man could hit us with the thunder-sticks, but we preferred -to be on the safe side, and it must have been at least two hours before -we stopped for a moment to take breath. And when a bear is in a hurry, -two hours, even for a cub, mean more than twenty miles. - -So it was that we first met man. And how absurdly different from what -in our terrified imaginations we had pictured it! - - - - -CHAPTER IV - -THE FOREST FIRE - - -Though we had come off so happily from our first encounter with man, -none the less we had no desire to see him again. On the contrary, we -determined to keep as far away from him as possible. For my part, I -confess that thoughts of him were always with me, and every thought -made the skin crawl up my back. At nights I dreamed of him--dreamed -that he was chasing me endlessly over the mountains. I would get -away from him, and, thinking myself safe, crawl into a thicket to -sleep; but before I could shut my eyes he was on me again, and the -dreadful thunder-stick would speak, and showers of chips flew off the -tree-trunks all round me, and off I would have to go again. And all -the time my fore-leg was broken, like Cinnamon's, and I never dared -to stop long enough to wash it in the streams. It seemed to me that -the chase lasted for days and days, over hills and across valleys, and -always, apparently, in a circle, because I never managed to get any -distance away from home. Then, just as man was going to catch me, and -the thunder-stick was roaring, and the chips flying off the trees in -bewildering showers about me, my mother would slap me, and wake me up -because she could not sleep for the noise that I was making. And I was -very glad that she did. - -Nor was I the only one of the family who was nervous. Father and mother -had become so changed that they were gruff and bad-tempered; and all -the pleasure and light-heartedness seemed to have gone out of our -long rambles. There was no more romping and rolling together down the -hillsides. If Kahwa and I grew noisy in our play, we were certain to be -stopped with a 'Woof, children! be quiet.' The fear of man was always -with us, and his presence seemed to pervade the whole of the mountains. - -Soon, however, a thing happened which for a time at least drove man and -everything else out of our minds. - -We still lingered around the neighbourhood of our home, because, I -think, we felt safer there, where we knew every inch of the hills and -every bush, and tree, and stone. It had been very hot for weeks, so -that the earth was parched dry, and the streams had shrunk till, in -places where torrents were pouring but a few weeks ago, there was now -no more than a dribble of water going over the stones. During the day -we hardly went about at all, but from soon after sunrise to an hour -or so before sunset we kept in the shadow of the brushwood along the -water's edge. - -One evening the sun did not seem to be able to finish setting, but -after it had gone down the red glow still stayed in the sky to -westward, and instead of fading it glowed visibly brighter as the -night went on. All night my father was uneasy, growling and grumbling -to himself and continually sniffing the air to westward; but the -atmosphere was stagnant and hot and dead all night, with not a breath -of wind moving. When daylight came the glow died out of the western -sky, but in place of it a heavy gray cloud hung over the further -mountains and hid their tops from sight. We went to bed that morning -feeling very uncomfortable and restless, and by mid-day we were up -again. And now we knew what the matter was. - -A breeze had sprung up from the west, and when I woke after a few -hours' sleep--sleep which had been one long nightmare of man and -thunder-sticks and broken leg--the air was full of a new smell, very -sharp and pungent; and not only was there the smell, but with the -breeze the cloud from the west had been rolling towards us, and the -whole mountain-side was covered with a thin haze, like a mist, only -different from any mist that I had seen. And it was this haze that -smelled so strongly. Instead of clearing away, as mist ought to do -when the sun grows hot, this one became denser as the day went on, -half veiling the sun itself. And we soon found that things--unusual -things--were going on in the mountains. The birds were flying excitedly -about, and the squirrels chattering, and everything was travelling from -west to east, and on all sides we heard the same thing. - -'The world's on fire! quick, quick, quick, quick!' screamed the -squirrels as they raced along the ground or jumped from tree to -tree overhead. 'Fire! fire!' called the myrtle-robin as it passed. -'Firrrrrre!' shouted the blue jay. A coyote came limping by, yelping -that the end of the world was at hand. Pumas passed snarling and -growling angrily, first at us, and then over their shoulders at the -smoke that rolled behind. Deer plunged up to us, stood for a minute -quivering with terror, and plunged on again into the brush. Overhead -and along the ground was an almost constant stream of birds and -animals, all hurrying in the same direction. - -Presently there came along another family of bears, the parents and two -cubs just about the size of Kahwa and myself, the cubs whimpering and -whining as they ran. The father bear asked my father if we were not -going, too; but my father thought not. He was older and bigger than -the other bear, and had seen a forest fire when he was a cub, and his -father then had saved them by taking to the water. - -'If a strong wind gets up,' he said, 'you cannot escape by running away -from the fire, because it will travel faster than you. It may drive -you before it for days, until you are worn out, and there's no knowing -where it will drive you. It may drive you unexpectedly straight into -man. I shall try the water.' - -The others listened to what he had to say, but they were too frightened -to pay much attention, and soon went on again, leaving us to face the -fire. And I confess that I wished that father would let us go, too. - -Meanwhile the smoke had been growing thicker and thicker. It made eyes -and throat smart, and poor little Kahwa was crying with discomfort -and terror. Before sunset the air was so thick that we could not see -a hundred yards in any direction, and as the twilight deepened the -whole western half of the sky, from north to south and almost overhead, -seemed to be aflame. Now, too, we could hear the roaring of the fire -in the distance, like the noise the wind makes in the pine-trees -before a thunderstorm. Then my father began to move, not away from the -fire, however, but down the stream, and the stream ran almost due west -straight towards it. What a terrible trip that was! The fire was, of -course, much further away than it looked; the smoke had been carried -with the wind many miles ahead of the fire itself, and we could not -yet see the flames, but only the awful glare in the sky. But, in my -inexperience, I thought it was close upon us, and, with the dreadful -roaring growing louder and louder in my ears, every minute was an agony. - -But my father and mother went steadily on, and there was nothing to -do but to follow them. Sometimes we left the stream for a little to -make a short-cut, but we soon came back to it, and for the most part -we kept in the middle of the water, or wading along by the bank where -it was deep. All the time the noise of the roaring of the flames grew -louder and the light in the sky brighter, until, as we went forward, -everything in front of us looked black against it, and if we looked -behind us everything was glowing, even in the haze of smoke, as if in -strong red sunshine. Now, too, at intervals the gusts of wind came -stiflingly hot, laden with the breath of the fire itself, and we were -glad to plunge our faces down into the cool water until the gusts went -by. - -At last we reached our pool above the beaver-dam, and here, feeling -his way cautiously well out into the middle, till he found a place -where it was just deep enough for Kahwa and me to be able to lift our -heads above the water, father stopped. By this time the air was so hot -that it was hard to breathe without dipping one's mouth constantly in -the water, and for the roaring of the flames I could not hear Kahwa -whimpering at my side, or the rush of the stream below the dam. And we -soon found that we were not alone in the pool. My friend the kingfisher -was not there, but close beside us were old Grey Wolf and his wife, -and, as I remembered that Grey Wolf was considered the wisest animal -in the mountains, I began to feel more comfortable, and was glad that -we had not run away with the others. The beavers--what a lot of them -there were!--were in a state of great excitement, climbing out on to -the top of the dam and slapping the logs and the water with their -tails, then plunging into the water, only to climb out again and plunge -in once more. Once a small herd of deer, seven or eight of them, -came rushing into the water, evidently intending to stay there, but -their courage failed them. Whether it was the proximity of Grey Wolf -or whether it was mere nervousness I do not know, but after they had -settled down in the water one of them was suddenly panic-stricken, and -plunged for the bank and off into the woods, followed by all the rest. - -When we reached the pool there was still one ridge or spur of the -mountains between us and the fire, making a black wall in front of us, -above which was nothing but a furnace of swirling smoke and red-hot -air. It seemed as if we waited a long time for the flames to top that -wall, because, I suppose, they travelled slowly down in the valley -beyond, where they did not get the full force of the wind. Then we -saw the sky just above the top of the wall glowing brighter from red -to yellow; then came a few scattered, tossing bits of flame against -the glow and the swirling smoke; and then, with one roar, it was upon -us. In an instant the whole line of the mountain ridge was a mass of -flame, the noise redoubled till it was almost deafening, and, as the -wind now caught it, the fire leaped from tree to tree, not pausing at -one before it swallowed the next, but in one steady rush, without check -or interruption, it swept over the hill-top and down the nearer slope, -and instantaneously, as it seemed, we were in the middle of it. - -I remember recalling then what my father had said to the other bears -about not being able to run away from the fire if the wind were blowing -strongly. - -Had we not been out in the middle of the pool, we must have perished. -The fire was on both sides of the stream--indeed, as we learned later, -it reached for many miles on both sides, and where there was only the -usual width of water the flames joined hands across it and swept up -the stream in one solid wall. Where we were was the whole width of -the pool, while, besides, the beavers had cut down the larger trees -immediately near the water, so there was less for the fire to feed -upon. But even so I did not believe that we could come through alive. -It was impossible to open my eyes above water, and the hot air scorched -my throat. There was nothing for it but to keep my head under water -and hold my breath as long as I could, then put my nose out just enough -to breathe once, and plunge it in again. How long that went on I do not -know, but it seemed to me ages; though the worst of it can only have -lasted for minutes. But at the end of those minutes all the water in -that huge pool was hot. - -I saw my father raising his head and shoulders slowly out of the water -and beginning to look about him. That gave me courage, and I did the -same. The first thing that I realized was that the roaring was less -loud, and then, though it was still almost intolerably hot, I found -that it was possible to keep one's head in the open air and one's eyes -open. Looking back, I saw that the line of flame had already swept far -away, and was even now surmounting the top of the next high ridge; and -it was, I knew, at that moment devouring the familiar cedars by our -home, just as it had devoured the trees on either side of the beavers' -pool. On all sides of us the bigger trees were still in flames, -and from everywhere thick white smoke was rising, and over all the -mountain-side, right down to the water's edge, there was not one green -leaf or twig. Everything was black. The brushwood was completely -gone. The trees were no more than bare trunks, some of them still -partially wreathed in flames. The whole earth was black, and from every -side rose columns and jets and streams of smoke. It seemed incredible -that such a change could have been wrought so instantaneously. It was -awful. Just a few minutes, and what had been a mountain-side clothed -in splendid trees, making one dense shield of green, sloping down to -the bottom-land by the stream, with its thickets of undergrowth, and -all the long cool green herbage by the water, had been swept away, and -in its place was only a black and smoking wilderness. And what we saw -before our eyes was the same for miles and miles to north and south of -us, for a hundred miles to the west from which the fire had come; and -every few minutes, as long as the wind held, carried desolation another -mile to eastward. - -[Illustration: THE FATHER BEAR ASKED MY FATHER IF WE WERE NOT GOING -TOO.] - -And what of all the living things that had died? Had the animals and -birds that had passed us earlier in the day escaped? The deer which had -fled from the pool at the last moment--they, I knew, must have been -overtaken in that first terrible rush of the flames; and I wondered -what the chances were that the bears who had declined to stay with -us, the squirrels, the coyote, the pumas, and the hosts of birds that -had been hurrying eastward all day, would be able to keep moving long -enough to save themselves. And what of all the insects and smaller -things that must be perishing by millions every minute? I do not know -whether I was more frightened at the thought of what we had escaped or -grateful to my father for the course he had taken. - -It is improbable that I thought of all this at the time, but I know -I was dreadfully frightened; and it makes me laugh now to think what -a long time it was before we could persuade Kahwa to put her head -above water and look about her. Our eyes and throats were horribly -sore, but otherwise none of us was hurt. But though we were alive, -life did not look very bright for us. Where should we go? That was the -first question. And what should we find to eat in all this smoking -wilderness? While we sat in the middle of the pool wondering what we -could do or whether it would be safe to do anything, we saw Grey Wolf -start to go away. He climbed out on the bank while his wife sat in the -water and watched him. He got out safely, and then put his nose down to -snuff at the ground. The instant his nose touched the earth he gave -a yelp, and plunged back into the water again. He had burnt the tip -of his nose, for the ground was baking hot, as we soon discovered for -ourselves. When we first stepped out on shore, our feet were so wet -that we did not feel the heat, but in a few seconds they began to dry, -and then the sooner we scrambled back into the water again, the better. - -How long it would have taken the earth to cool again I do not know. -It was covered with a layer of burned stuff, ashes, and charred wood, -which everywhere continued smouldering underneath, and all through the -morning of the next day little spirals of smoke were rising from the -ground in every direction. Fortunately, at mid-day came a thunderstorm -which lasted well on towards evening, and when the rain stopped the -ground had ceased smoking. Many of the trees still smouldered and -burned inside. Sometimes the flame would eat its way out again to the -surface, so that the tree would go on burning in the middle of the wet -forest until it was consumed; and for days afterwards, on scratching -away the stuff on the surface, we would come to a layer of half-burned -sticks that was still too hot to touch. And nothing more desolate than -the landscape can be imagined. Wherever we looked there was not a -speck of green to be seen--nothing but blackness. The earth everywhere -was black, and out of it in long rows in every direction stood up the -black trees. In many cases only the branches were burnt, leaving the -whole straight shaft of the trunk going up like a mast into the sky. In -others the trees were destroyed, trunk and all, to within a foot or two -of the ground, leaving nothing but a ragged and charred stump standing. -Sometimes the fire had eaten through the tree halfway up, so that the -top had broken off, and what remained was only a column, ten, twenty, -or thirty feet high. And everything was black, black, black--like -ourselves. - -We of course kept to the stream. There along the edges we found food, -for the rushes and grass and plants of all kinds had burned to the -water-line, but below that the stems and roots remained fresh and good. -But it was impossible to avoid getting the black dust into one's nose -and mouth, and our throats and nostrils were still full of the smell -of the smoke. No amount of water would wash it out. The effect of the -thunderstorm soon passed off, and by the next day everything was as -dry as ever, and the least puff of wind filled the air with clouds of -black powder which made us sneeze, and, getting into our eyes, kept -them red and sore. I do not think that in all my life I have spent such -a miserable time as during those days while we were trying to escape -from the region of the fire. - -Of course, we did not know that there was any escape. Perhaps the whole -world had burned. But my father was sure that we should get out of it -some time or other if we only kept straight on. And keep on we did, -hardly ever leaving the water, but travelling on and on up the stream -as it got smaller and smaller, until finally there was no stream at -all, but only a spring bubbling out of the mountain-side. So we crossed -over the burnt ground until we came to the beginning of another stream -on the other side, and followed that down just as we had followed the -first one up. And perhaps the most dreadful thing all the time was the -utter silence of the woods. As a rule, both day and night, they were -full of the noises of other animals and birds, but now there was not a -sound in all the mountains. We seemed to be the only living things left. - -The stream which we now followed was that on which the men whom we had -seen were camping, and presently we came to the place where they had -been. The chopped-log house was a pile of ashes and half-burnt wood. -About the ruins we found all sorts of curious things that were new to -us--among them, things which I now know were kettles and frying-pans; -and we came across lumps of their food, but it was all too much covered -with the black powder to be eatable. There we stayed for the best -part of a day, and then we went on without having seen a sign of man -himself, and wondering what had become of him. We had no cause to love -him; but I remember hoping that he had not been burned. And the thought -that even man himself had been as helpless as we made it all seem more -terrible and hopeless. - -Seven or eight days had passed since the fire, when, the day after we -passed the place where man had lived, we came to a beaver-dam across -the stream, and the beavers told us that, some hours before the fire -reached there, they had seen the men hurrying downstream, but they did -not know whether they had succeeded in escaping or not. And now other -life began to reappear. We met badgers and woodchucks and rats which -had taken refuge in their holes, and had at first been unable to force -their way out again through the mass of burnt stuff which covered the -ground and choked up their burrows. The air, too, began to be full of -insects, which had been safe underground or in the hearts of trees, and -were now hatching out. And then we met birds--woodpeckers first, and -afterwards jays, which were working back into the burnt district, and -from them it was that we first learned for certain that it was only a -burnt district, and that there was part of the world which had escaped. -So we pushed on, until one morning, when daylight came, we saw in the -distance a hill-top on which the trees still stood with all their -leaves unconsumed. And how good and cool it looked! - -We did not stop to sleep, but travelled on all through the day, going -as fast as we could along the rocky edges of the stream, which was now -almost wide enough to be a river, when suddenly we heard strange noises -ahead of us, and we knew what the noises were, and that they meant man -again. Men were coming towards us along the bank of the stream, so we -had to leave it and hurry into the woods. There, though there was no -shelter but the burnt tree-stumps, we were safe; for everything around -us was of the same colour as ourselves, and all we had to do was to -squat perfectly still, and it was impossible even for us, at a little -distance, to distinguish each other from burnt tree-stumps. So we -sat and watched the men pass. There were five of them, each carrying -a bundle nearly as big as himself on his back, and they laughed and -talked noisily as they passed, without a suspicion that four bears were -looking at them from less than a hundred yards away. - -As soon as they had passed, we went on again, and before evening we -came to places where the trees were only partly burned; here and -there one had escaped altogether. Then, close by the stream, a patch -of willows was as green and fresh as if there had been no fire; -and at last we had left the burnt country behind us. How good it -was--the smell of the dry pine-needles and the good, soft brown earth -underneath, and the delight of the taste of food that was once more -free from smoke, and the glory of that first roll in the green grass -among the fresh, juicy undergrowth by the water! - -That next day we slept--really slept--for the first time since the -night in the beavers' pool. - - - - -CHAPTER V - -I LOSE A SISTER - - -We soon found that the country which we were now in was simply full of -animals. Of course it had had its share of inhabitants before the fire, -and, in addition, all those that fled before the flames had crowded -into it; besides which the beasts of prey from all directions were -drawn towards the same place by the abundance of food which was easy -to get. We heard terrible stories of sufferings and narrow escapes, -and the poor deer especially, when they had at last won to a place of -safety from the flames, were generally so tired and so bewildered that -they fell an easy prey to the pumas and wolves. All night long the -forest was full of the yelping of the coyotes revelling over the bodies -of animals that the larger beasts had killed and only partly eaten, -and every creature seemed to be quarrelling with those of its kind, -the former inhabitants of the neighbourhood resenting the intrusion of -the newcomers. For ourselves, nobody attacked us. We found two other -families of bears quite close to us, but though we did not make friends -at first, they did not quarrel with us. We were glad enough to live in -peace, and to be able to devote ourselves to learning something about -the new country. - -In general it was very much like the place that we had left--the same -succession of mountain after mountain, all densely covered with trees, -and with the streams winding down through gulch and valley. The stream -that we had followed was now a river, broader all along its course -than the beavers' pool which had saved our lives, and at one place, -about two miles beyond the end of the burned region, it passed through -a valley, wider than any that I had seen, with an expanse of level -land on either side. Here it was, on this level bottom-land, that I -first tasted what are, I think, next to honey, of all wild things -the greatest treat that a bear knows--ripe blueberries. But this -'berry-patch,' as we called it, was to play a very important part in my -life, and I must explain. - -We had soon learned that we were now almost in the middle of men. There -was the party which had passed us going up the stream into the burned -country. There were two more log-houses about a mile from the edge of -the burned country, and therefore also behind us. There were others -further down the stream, and almost every day men passed either up or -down the river, going from one set of houses to another. Finally we -heard, and, before we had been there a week, saw with our own eyes, -that only some ten miles further on, where our stream joined another -and made a mighty river, there was a town, which had all sprung up -since last winter, in which hundreds of men lived together. This was -the great drawback of our new home. But if we went further on, the -chances were that we should only come to more and more men; and for the -present, by lying up most of the day, and only going out at night in -the direction of their houses, there was no difficulty in keeping away -from them. - -Familiarity with them indeed had lessened our terror. We certainly had -no desire to hurt them, and they, as they passed up and down or went -about their work digging in the ground along the side of the river or -chopping down trees, appeared to give no thought to us; and with that -fear removed, even though we kept constantly on the alert, lest they -should unexpectedly come too near us, our life was happy and free from -care. Father and mother grew to be like their old selves again, less -gruff and nervous than they had been since the memorable day when we -saw Cinnamon with his broken leg; and as for Kahwa and me, though we -romped less than we used to do--for we were seven months old now, and -at seven months a bear is getting to be a big and serious animal--we -were as happy as two young bears could be. After a long hot day, -during which we had been sleeping in the shade, what could be more -delightful than to go and lie in the cool stream, where it flowed only -a foot or so deep, and as clear as the air itself, over a firm sandy -bottom? There were frogs, and snails, and beetles of all sorts, along -the water's edge, and the juicy stems of the reeds and water-plants. -Then, in the night we wandered abroad finding lily roots, and the sweet -ferns, and camas, and mushrooms, with another visit to the river in the -early morning, and perhaps a trout to wind up with before the sun drove -us under cover again. - -And above all there was the berry-patch. - -The mere smell of a berry-patch at the end of summer, when the sun has -been beating down all day, so that the air is heavy with the scent -of the cooking fruit, is delicious enough, but it is nothing to the -sweetness of the berries themselves. - -It was in the evening, after our dip in the river, when twilight was -shading into night, that we used to visit the patch. It was a great -open space in a bend of the river, half a mile long and nearly as -wide, without a tree on it, and nothing but just the blue-berry bushes -growing close together all over it, reaching about up to one's chest as -one walked through, and every bush loaded with berries. Not only we, -but every bear in the neighbourhood, used to go there each evening--the -two other families of whom I have spoken, and also two other single -he-bears who had no families. One of these was the only animal in the -neighbourhood--except the porcupines, which every bear hates--whom I -disliked and feared. He was a bad-tempered beast, bigger than father, -with whom at our first meeting he wanted to pick a quarrel, while -making friends with mother. She, however, would not have anything to -say to him. When he was getting ready to fight my father--walking -sideways at him and snarling, while my father, I am bound to confess, -backed away--mother did not say a word, but went straight at him as she -had rushed at the puma that day when she saved my life. Then father -jumped at him also, and between them they bundled him along till -he fairly took to his heels and ran. But whenever we met him after -that--and we saw him every evening at the patch--he snarled viciously -at us, and I, at least, was careful to keep father and mother between -him and me. If he had caught any one of us alone, I believe he would -have killed us; so we took care that he never should. - -I can see the berry-patch now, lying white and shining in the -moonlight, with here and there round the edges, and even sometimes -pretty well out into the middle, if the night was not too light, the -black spots showing where the bears were feeding. We enjoyed our feasts -in silence, and beyond an occasional snapping of a twig, or the cry of -some animal from the forest, or the screech of a passing owl, there was -not a sound but that of our own eating. One night, however, there came -an interruption. - -It was bright moonlight, and we were revelling in our enjoyment of the -fruit, but father was curiously restless. The air was very still, but -in a little gust of wind early in the evening father declared that -he had smelled man. As an hour passed and there was no further sign -of him, however, we forgot him in the delight of the ripe berries. -Suddenly from the other side of the patch, nearly half a mile away from -us, rang out the awful voice of the thunder-stick. We did not wait to -see what was happening, but made at all speed for the shelter of the -trees, and tore on up the mountain slope. There was no further sound, -but we did not dare to go back to the patch that night, nor did we see -any of the other bears; so that it was not until some days afterwards -that we heard that the thunder-stick had very nearly killed the mother -of one of the other families. It had cut a deep wound in her neck, -and she had saved herself only by plunging into the woods. If we had -known all this at the time, I doubt if we should have gone back to the -berry-patch as we did on the very next night. - -On our way to the patch we met the bad-tempered bear coming away -from it. That was curious, and if it had been anybody else we should -undoubtedly have asked him why he was leaving the feast at that time -in the evening. Had we done so, it might have saved a lot of trouble. -As it was, we only snarled back at him as he passed snarling by us, -and went on our way. We were very careful, however, and took a long -time to make our way out of the trees down to the edge of the bushes; -but there was no sound to make us uneasy, nor any smell of man in such -wind as blew. Of course we took care to approach the patch at the -furthest point from where we had heard the thunder-stick on the night -before. It was a cloudy night, and the moon shone only at intervals. -Taking advantage of a passing cloud, we slipped out from the cover of -the trees into the berry-bushes. We could see no other bears, but they -might be hidden by the clouds. In a minute, however, the moon shone -out, and had there been any others there--at least, as far out from -the edge as ourselves--we must have been able to see them. Certainly, -alas! we were seen, for even as I was looking round the patch in the -first ray of the moonlight to see if any of our friends were there, the -thunder-stick rang out again, and once more we plunged for the trees. -But this time the sound was much nearer, and there was a second report -before we were well into the shadow, and then a third. So terrified -were we that there was no thought of stopping, but after we got into -the woods we kept straight on as fast as we could go, father and mother -in front, I next, and Kahwa behind; and none of us looked back, for we -heard the shouts of men and the crashing of branches as they ran, and -again and again the thunder-stick spoke. - -Suddenly I became aware that Kahwa was not behind me. I stopped and -looked round, but she was nowhere to be seen. I remembered having heard -her give a sudden squeal, as if she had trodden on something sharp, but -I had paid no attention to it at the time. Now I became frightened, and -called to father and mother to stop. They were a long way ahead, and it -was some time before I could get near enough to attract their attention -and tell them that Kahwa was missing. - -Mother wished to charge straight down the hill again at the men, -thunder-sticks or no thunder-sticks; but father dissuaded her, and at -last we began to retrace our steps cautiously, keeping our ears and -noses open for any sign either of Kahwa or of man. As we came near -the edge of the wood, noises reached us--shouts and stamping; and -then, mixed with the other sounds, I clearly heard Kahwa's voice. She -was crying in anger and pain, as if she was fighting, and fighting -desperately. A minute later we were near enough to see, and a miserable -sight it was that we saw. - -Out in the middle of the berry-patch, in the brilliant moonlight, was -poor Kahwa with four men. They had fastened ropes around her, and two -of them at the end of one rope on one side, and two at the end of one -on the other, were dragging her across the middle of the patch. She was -fighting every inch of the way, but her struggles against four men were -useless, and slowly, yard by yard, she was being dragged away from us. - -[Illustration: SLOWLY, YARD BY YARD, SHE WAS BEING DRAGGED AWAY FROM -US.] - -But if she could not fight four men, could not we? There were four of -us, and I said so to my father. But he only grunted, and reminded me of -the thunder-sticks. It was only too true. Without the thunder-sticks -we should have had no difficulty in meeting them, but with those -weapons in their hands it would only be sacrificing our lives in vain -to attempt a rescue. So there we had to stand and watch, my mother all -the time whimpering, and my father growling, and sitting up on his -haunches and rubbing his nose in his chest. We dared not show ourselves -in the open, so we followed the edge of the patch, keeping alongside of -the men, but in the shadow of the trees. They pulled Kahwa across the -middle of the patch into the woods on the other side, and down to the -river-bank, where, we knew, there began an open path which the men had -beaten in going to and from their houses half a mile further on. Here -there were several houses in a bunch together. Inside one of these they -shut her, and then all went in to another house themselves. We stayed -around, and two or three times later on we saw one or more of the men -come out and stand for awhile at Kahwa's door listening; but at last -they came out no more, and we saw the lights go out in their house, and -we knew that the men had gone to sleep. - -Then we crept down cautiously till we could hear Kahwa whimpering and -growling through the walls. My mother spoke to her, and there was -silence for a moment, and then, when mother spoke again, the poor -little thing recognised her voice and squealed with delight. But what -could we do? We talked to her for awhile, and tried to scratch away the -earth from round the wall, in the hope of getting at her; but it was -all useless, and as the day began to dawn nothing remained but to make -off before the men arose, and to crawl away to hide ourselves in the -woods again. - -What a wretched night that was! Hitherto I do not think that I had -thought much of Kahwa. I had taken her as a matter of course, played -with her and quarrelled with her by turns, without stopping to think -what life might be without her. But now I thought of it, and as I lay -awake through the morning I realized how much she had been to me, and -wondered what the men would do with her. Most of all I wondered why -they should have wanted to catch her at all. We had no wish to do them -any harm. We were nobody's enemy; least of all was little Kahwa. Why -could not men live in peace with us as we were willing to live in peace -with them? - -Long before it was dusk next evening we were in the woods as near to -the men's houses as we dared to go, but we could hear no sound of my -sister's voice. There appeared to be only one man about the place, and -he was at work chopping wood, until just at sunset, when the other -three men came back from down the stream, and we noticed that they -carried long ropes slung over their arms. Were those the ropes with -which they had dragged Kahwa the night before? If so, had they again, -while we slept, dragged her off somewhere else? We feared it must be so. - -Impatiently we waited until it was dark enough to trust ourselves -in the open near the houses, and then we soon knew that our fears -were justified. The door of the house in which Kahwa had been shut -was open; the men went in and out of it, and evidently Kahwa was not -there. Nor was there any trace of her about the buildings. So under my -father's guidance we started on the path down the stream by which the -three men had returned, and it was not long before we found the marks -of where she had struggled against her captors, and in places the scent -of her trail was still perceptible, in spite of the strong man-smell -which pervaded the beaten path. - -So we followed the trail down until we came to more houses; then made -a circuit and followed on again, still finding evidence that she had -passed. Soon we came to more houses, at ever shortening intervals, -until the bank of the stream on both sides was either continuously -occupied by houses or showed traces of men being constantly at work -there. And beyond was the town itself. It was of no use for us to -go further. In the town we could see lights streaming from many of -the buildings, and the shouting of men's voices came to our ears. We -wandered round the outskirts of the town till it was daylight, and then -drew back into the hills and lay down again, very sad and hungry--for -we had hardly thought of food--and very lonesome. - -Kahwa, we felt sure, was somewhere among those houses in the town. But -that was little comfort to us. And all the time we wondered what man -wanted with her, and why he could not have left us to be happy, as we -had been before he came. - - - - -CHAPTER VI - -LIFE IN CAMP - - -One of the results of Kahwa's disappearance was to make me much more -solitary than I had ever been before, not merely because I did not have -her to play with, but now, for the first time, I took to wandering on -excursions by myself. And these excursions all had one object:--to find -Kahwa. - -For some days after her capture we waited about the outskirts of the -town nearly all night long; but on the third or fourth morning father -made up his mind that it was useless, and, though mother persuaded him -not to abandon the search for another night or two, he insisted after -that on giving up and returning to the neighbourhood where we had been -living since the fire. So we turned our backs upon the town, and, for -my part very reluctantly, went home. - -The moon was not yet much past the full, and I can remember now how the -berry-patch looked that night as we passed it, lying white and shining -in the moonlight. We saw no other bears at it, and did not stop, but -kept under the trees round the edges, and went on to our favourite -resting-place, where, a few hundred yards from the river, a couple of -huge trees had at some time been blown down. Round their great trunks -as they lay on the ground, young trees and a mass of elder-bushes and -other brushwood had sprung up, making a dense thicket. The two logs lay -side by side, and in between them, with the tangle of bushes all round -and the branches of the other trees overhead, there was a complete and -impenetrable shelter. - -We had used this place so much that a regular path was worn to it -through the bushes. This night as we came near we saw recent prints -of a bear's feet on the path, and the bear that made them was -evidently a big one. From the way father growled when he saw them, I -think he guessed at once whose feet they were. I know that I had my -suspicions--suspicions which soon proved to be correct. - -During our absence our enemy, the surly bear that I have spoken of, -had taken it into his head that he would occupy our home. Of course he -had lived in this district much longer than we, and, had this been -his home when we first came, we should never have thought of disputing -possession with him. But it had been our home now, so far as we had -any regular home at this time of year, ever since our arrival after -the fire, while he had lived half a mile away. Now, however, there he -was, standing obstinately in the pathway, swinging his head from side -to side, and evidently intending to fight rather than go away. We all -stopped, my father in front, my mother next, and I behind. I have said -that the stranger was bigger than my father, and in an ordinary meeting -in the forest I do not think my father would have attempted to stand up -to him; but this was different. It was our home, and we all felt that -he had no right there, but that, on the contrary, he was behaving as he -was out of pure bad temper and a desire to bully us and make himself -unpleasant. Moreover, the events of the last few days had rendered my -father and mother irritable, and they were in no mood to be polite to -anybody. - -Usually it takes a long time to make two bears fight. We begin slowly, -growling and walking sideways towards each other, and only getting -nearer inch by inch. But on this occasion there was not much room in -the path, and father was thoroughly exasperated. He hardly waited at -all, but just stood sniffling with his nose up for a minute to see if -the other showed any sign of going away, and then, without further -warning, threw himself at him. I had never seen my father in a real -fight, and now he was simply splendid. Before the stranger had time to -realize what was happening, he was flung back on his haunches, and in -a moment they were rolling over and over in one mass in the bushes. At -first it was impossible to see what was going on, but, in spite of the -ferocity of my father's rush, it soon became evident that in the end -the bigger bear must win. My father's face was buried in the other's -left shoulder, and he had evidently got a good grip there; but he was -almost on his back, for the stranger had worked himself uppermost, and -we could see that he was trying to get his teeth round my father's fore -leg. Had he once got hold, nothing could have saved the leg, bone and -all, from being crushed to pieces, and father, if not killed, would -certainly have been beaten, and probably crippled for life. And sooner -or later it seemed certain that the stranger would get his hold. - -Then it was that my mother interfered. Hurling herself at him, she -threw her whole weight into one swinging blow on the side of the big -bear's head, and in another second had plunged her teeth into the back -of his neck. My father's grip in the fleshy part of the shoulder, -however painful it might be, had little real effect; but where my -mother had attacked, behind the right ear, was a different matter. The -stranger was obliged to leave my father's leg alone and to turn and -defend himself against this new onslaught; but, big as he was, he now -had more on his hands than he could manage. As soon as he turned his -attention to my mother, my father let go of his shoulder, and in his -turn tried to grip the other's fore-leg. There was nothing for the -stranger to do now but to get out of it as fast as he could; and even -I could not help admiring his strength as he lifted himself up and -shook mother off as lightly as she would have shaken me. She escaped -the wicked blow that he aimed at her, and dodged out of his reach, -and my father, letting go his hold of the fore-leg, did the same. The -stranger, with one on either side of him, backed himself against one of -the fallen logs and waited for them to attack him. But that they had no -wish to do. All that they wanted was that he should go away, and they -told him so. They moved aside from the path on either hand to give him -space to go, and slowly and surlily he began to move. - -I was still standing in the pathway. Suddenly he made a movement -as if to rush at me, but my father and mother jumped towards him -simultaneously, while I plunged into the bushes, and he was compelled -to turn and defend himself against my parents again. But they did not -attack him, though they followed him slowly along the path. Every step -or two he stopped to make an ugly start back at one or the other, but -he knew that he was overmatched, and yard by yard he made off, my -father and mother following him as far as the edge of the thicket, and -standing to watch him out of sight. And I was glad when he was safely -gone and they came back to me. - -It was not a pleasant home-coming, and we were all restless and nervous -for days afterwards; and then it was that I vowed to myself that, if I -ever grew up and the opportunity came, I would wreak vengeance on that -bear. - -If we were all nervous, I was the worst, and in my restlessness took -to going off by myself. Up to this time I do not think I had ever been -a hundred yards away from one or other of my parents, and now, when -I started out alone, it was always in horrible fear of meeting the -big bear when there was no one to stand by me. Gradually, however, I -acquired confidence in myself, making each night a longer trip alone, -and each night going in the direction of the town. At last, one night, -I found myself at the edge of the town itself, and now when I was -alone I did not stop at the first building that I came to, but very -cautiously--for the man-smell was thick around me, and terrified me in -spite of myself--very cautiously I began to thread my way in between -the buildings.[3] As I snuffed round each building, I found all sorts -of new things to eat, with strange tastes, but most of them were good. -That the men were not all asleep was plain from the shouts and noises -which reached me at times from the centre of the big town, where, as -I could see by occasional glimpses which I caught through the nearer -buildings, many of the houses had bright lights streaming from them -all night. Avoiding these, I wandered on, picking up things to eat, and -all the while keeping ears and nose open for a sign of Kahwa. - -I stayed thus, moving in and out among the buildings, till dawn. Once a -dog inside a house barked furiously as I came near, and I heard a man's -voice speaking to it, and I hurried on. As the sky began to lighten, I -made my way out into the woods again, and rejoined my father and mother -before the sun was up. When I joined them, my father growled at me -because I smelled of man. - -The next night found me down in the town again. I began to know my way -about. I learned which houses contained dogs, and avoided them. Other -animals besides myself, I discovered, came into the town at night -for the sake of the food which they found lying about--coyotes and -wood-rats, and polecats; but though bears would occasionally visit the -buildings nearest to the woods, no other penetrated into the heart of -the town as I did. It had a curious fascination for me, and gradually I -grew so much at home, that even when a man came through the buildings -towards me, I only slipped out of his way round a corner, and--for -man's sight and smell are both miserably bad compared with ours--he -never had a suspicion that I was near. - -On the third or fourth night I had gone nearer to the lighted buildings -than I had ever been before, when I heard a sound that made me stop -dead and throw myself up on my haunches to listen. Yes, there could be -no doubt of it! It was Kahwa's voice. Anyone who did not know her might -have thought that she was angry, but I knew better. She was making -exactly the noise that she used to make when romping with me, and I -knew that she was not angry, but only pretending, and that she must be -playing with someone. I suppose I ought to have been glad that she was -alive and happy enough to be able to play, but it only enraged me and -made me wonder who her playmates might be. Then gradually the truth, -the incredible truth, dawned upon me. Truly incredible it seemed at -first, but there could be no doubt of it. _She was playing with man._ - -I could hear men's voices speaking to her as if in anger, and then I -heard her voice and theirs in turn again, and at last I recognised that -their anger was no more real than hers. The sounds came from where the -lights were brightest, and it was long before I could make up my mind -to go near enough to be able to see. At last, however, I crept to a -place from which I could look out between two buildings, keeping in the -deep shade myself, and I can see now every detail of what met my eyes -as plainly as if it was all before me at this minute. - -There was a building larger than those around it, with a big door wide -open, and from the door and from the windows on either side poured -streams of light out into the night. In the middle of the light, and -almost in front of the door, was a group of five or six men, and in -the centre of the group was Kahwa, tied to a post by a chain which was -fastened to a collar round her neck. I saw a man stoop down and hold -something out to her--presumably something to eat--and then, as she -came to take it from the hand which he held out, he suddenly drew it -away and hit her on the side of the head with his other hand. He did -not hit hard enough to hurt her, and it was evidently done in play, -because as he did it she got up on her hind-legs and slapped at him, -first with one hand and then with the other, growling all the time in -angry make-believe. Sometimes the man came too near, and Kahwa would -hit him, and the other men all burst out laughing. Then I saw him walk -deliberately right up to her, and they took hold of each other and -wrestled, just as Kahwa and I used to do by the old place under the -cedar-trees when we were little cubs. I could see, too, that now and -then she was not doing her best, and did not want to hurt him, and he -certainly did not hurt her. - -At last the men went into the building, leaving Kahwa alone outside; -but other men were continually coming out of, or going into, the open -door, and I was afraid to approach her, or even to make any noise to -tell her of my presence. So I sat in the shade of the buildings and -watched. Nearly every man who passed stopped for a minute and spoke to -her, but none except the man whom I had first seen tried to play with -her or went within her reach. The whole thing seemed to me incredible, -but there it was under my eyes, and, somehow, it made me feel terribly -lonely--all the lonelier, I think, because she had these new friends; -for as friends she undoubtedly regarded them, while I could not even go -near enough to speak to her. - -At last so many men came out of the building that I was afraid to -stay. Some of them went one way, and some another, and I had to keep -constantly moving my position to avoid being seen. In doing so I found -myself further and further away from the centre of the town, and nearer -to the outskirts. The men shouted and laughed, and made so much noise -that I did not dare to go back, but made my way out into the woods. -And for the first time I did not go home to my father and mother, but -stayed by myself in the brush. - -The next evening I again made my way into the town, and once more saw -the same sights as on the preceding night. This evening, however, there -was a wind blowing, and it blew directly from me, as I stood in the -same place, to Kahwa in front of the lighted door. Suddenly, while she -was in the middle of her play, I saw her stop and begin to snuff up the -wind with every sign of excitement. Then she called to me. Answer I -dared not, but I knew that she had recognised me and would understand -why I did not speak. While she was still calling to me, the man with -whom she had been playing--the same man as on the night before--came up -and gave her a cuff on the head, and she lost her temper in earnest. -She hit at him angrily, but he jumped out of her way (how I wished she -had caught him!), and, after trying for awhile to tempt her to play -again, he and the other men left her and went into the building. Then -she gave all her time to me, and at last, when nobody was near, I spoke -just loud enough for her to hear. She simply danced with excitement, -running to the end of her chain toward me until it threw her back on -to her hind-legs, circling round and round the stump to which she was -fastened, and then charging out to the end of her chain again, all the -time whimpering and calling to me in a way which made me long to go to -her. - -I did not dare to show myself, however, but waited until, as on the -night before, just as it was beginning to get light, the men all came -out of the building and scattered in different directions. This time, -however, I did not go back to the woods, but merely shifted out of the -men's way behind the dark corners of the buildings, hoping that somehow -I would find an opportunity of getting to speak to Kahwa. At last the -building was quiet, and only the man who had played with Kahwa seemed -to be left, and I saw the lights inside begin to grow less. I hoped -that then the door would be shut, and the man inside would go to sleep, -as I knew that men did in other houses when the lights disappeared -at night; but while there was still some light issuing from door and -windows the man came out and went up to Kahwa, and, unfastening the -chain from the stump, proceeded to lead her away somewhere to the rear -of the building. She struggled and tried to pull away from him, but he -jerked her along with the chain, and I could see that she was afraid -of him, and did not dare to fight him in earnest, and bit by bit he -dragged her along. I followed and saw him go to a sort of pen, or a -small enclosure of high walls without any roof, in which he left her, -and then went in to his own building. And soon I saw the last lights go -out inside and everything was quiet. - -I stole round to the pen and spoke to Kahwa through the walls. She was -crazy at the sound of my voice, and I could hear her running round and -round inside, dragging the chain after her. Could she not climb out? -I asked her. No; the walls were made of straight, smooth boards with -nothing that she could get her claws into, and much too high to jump. -But we found a crack close to the ground through which our noses would -almost touch, and that was some consolation. - -I stayed there as long as I dared, and told her all that had happened -since she was taken away--of the fight with the strange bear, and how -I had been in the town alone looking for her night after night; and -she told me her story, parts of which I could not believe at the time, -though now I can understand them better. - -What puzzled me, and at the time made me thoroughly angry, was the way -in which she spoke of the man whom I had seen playing with her, and -who had dragged her into the pen. She was afraid of him in a curious -way--in much the same way as she was afraid of father or mother. The -idea that she could feel any affection for him I would have scouted as -preposterous; but after the experiences of the last few nights nothing -seemed too wonderful to be true, and it was plain that all her thoughts -centred in him and he represented everything in life to her. Without -him she would have no food, but as it was she had plenty. He never came -to her without bringing things to eat, delightful things sometimes; -and in particular she told me of pieces of white stuff, square and -rough like small stones, but sweeter and more delicious than honey. Of -course, I know now that it was sugar; but as she told me about it then, -and how good it was, and how the man always had pieces of it in his -pockets, which he gave her while they were playing together, I found -myself envying her, and even wishing that the man would take me to play -with, too. - -But as we talked the day was getting lighter, and, promising to come -again next night, I slipped away in the dawn into the woods. - -Night after night I used to go and speak to Kahwa. Sometimes I did -not go until it was nearly daylight, and she was already in her pen. -Sometimes I went earlier, and watched her with the men before the door -of the building, and often I saw the man who was her master playing -with her and giving her lumps of sugar, and I could tell from the way -in which she ate it how good it was. Many times I had narrow escapes -of being seen, for I grew careless, and trotted among the houses as -if I were in the middle of the forest. More than once I came close to -a man unexpectedly, for the man-smell was so strong everywhere that a -single man more or less in my neighbourhood made no difference, and I -had to trust to my eyes and ears entirely. Somehow, however, I managed -always to keep out of their way, and during this time I used to eat -very little wild food, living almost altogether on the things that I -picked up in the town. And during all these days and nights I never saw -my father or my mother. - -Then one evening an eventful thing happened. - -The door of Kahwa's pen closed with a latch from the outside--a large -piece of iron which lifted and fell, and was then kept in place by a -block of wood. I had spent a great deal of time at that latch, lifting -it with my nose, and biting and worrying it, in the hopes of breaking -it off or opening the door; but when I did that I was always standing -on my hind-legs, so as to reach up to it, with my fore-feet on the -door, and, of course, my weight kept the door shut. But that never -occurred to me. One evening, however, I happened to be standing up and -sniffing at the latch, with my fore-feet not on the door itself, but on -the wall beside the door. It happened that, just as I lifted the latch -with my nose, Kahwa put her fore-feet against the door on the inside. -To my astonishment, the door swung open into my face, and Kahwa came -rolling out. If we had only thought it out, we could just as well have -done that on the first night, instead of trying to reach each other for -nearly two weeks through a narrow crack in the wall until nearly all -the skin was rubbed off our noses. - -However, it was done at last, and we were so glad that we thought of -nothing else. Now we were free to go back into the woods and take up -our old life again with father and mother. Would it not be glorious, I -asked? Yes, she said, it would be glorious. To go off into the woods, -and never, never, never, I said, see or think of man again. - -Yes--yes, she said, but----Of course it would be very glorious, -but----Well, there was the white stuff--the sugar--she could come back -once in a while--just once in a while--couldn't she, to see the man and -get a lump or two? - -I am afraid I lost my temper. Here was what ought to have been a moment -of complete happiness spoiled by her greediness. Of course she could -not come back, I told her. If she did she would never get away a second -time. We would go to father and mother and persuade them to move just -as far away from man as they could. Instead of being delighted, the -prospect only made her gloomy and thoughtful. Of course she wanted -to see father and mother, but--but--but----There was always that -'but'--and the thought of the man and the sugar. - -While we were arguing, the time came when I usually left the town for -the day, and the immediate thing to be done was to get her away from -that place and out into the woods. Then, I thought, I could prevent her -going back into the town; so by pointing out to her that, if she wanted -to, she could come back at any time, I persuaded her to move, and we -started off through the buildings on the road that I usually took back -to the forest. But at the first step we were reminded of her chain, -which was still attached to her collar, and dragged along the ground as -she walked. It was a nuisance, but there was no way to get it off at -the moment. Perhaps, when we were safe away and had plenty of time, we -could find some way of loosening it, but at present the first thing was -to get clear of the town. - -So we started, but the path was new to Kahwa, who, of course, had never -been away from the pen and the door of the building where her master -lived, and had seen nothing of the town except as she was being dragged -in by the men who had caught her, and then she had been too busy -fighting to pay any attention to her surroundings. So at almost every -step she must needs stop to smell something. Meanwhile it was getting -lighter, and we began to hear noises of men moving about inside the -buildings. Once a door opened, and I only just had time to dodge -back and keep Kahwa behind as a man stepped out into the air. But we -succeeded in reaching the very edge of the town before anything serious -happened. - -The houses were all made of wood, those in the middle, like that where -Kahwa had lived, being of boards nailed together, and those on the -outskirts of logs laid upon each other whole, with the bark still on, -like the first houses that we had seen up the river. There was one of -this last kind in particular, which stood away from all the others -almost inside the forest. It was the first house that I came to each -evening on approaching the town, and the last one that I passed on -leaving it; but I always gave it a wide berth, because there was a dog -there--a small dog, it is true, but a noisy one--and the first time -that I came that way he had seen me, and made such a fuss that I had to -bolt back into the forest and wait a long time before I dared to go on -again. - -Now, however, Kahwa insisted on going up to snuff around this house. I -warned her of the dog, but the truth was that she had grown accustomed -to dogs, and I think had really lost her fear of men. So she went -close up to the house, and began smelling round the walls to see if -there was anything good to eat, while I stood back under the trees -fretting and impatient of her delay. - -Having sniffed all along one side of the house, she passed round the -corner to the back. In turning the corner she came right upon the dog, -who flew at her at once, though he was not much bigger than her head. -Whether she was accustomed to dogs or not, the sudden attack startled -her, and she turned round to run back to me. In doing so she just -grazed the corner of the house, and the next instant she was rolling -head over heels on the ground. The end of her chain had caught in the -crack between the ends of two of the logs at the corner, and she was -held as firmly as if she had been tied to her stump in front of the -door. As she rolled over, the dog jumped upon her, small as he was, -yelping all the time, and barking furiously. I thought it would only be -a momentary delay, but the chain held fast, and all the while the dog's -attacks made it impossible for her to give her attention to trying to -tear it free. - -A minute later, and the door of the house burst open, and a man came -running out, carrying, to my horror, a thunder-stick in his hand. -Kahwa and the dog were all mixed up together on the ground, and I saw -the man stop and stand still a moment and point the thunder-stick at -her. And then came that terrible noise of the thunder-stick speaking. - -Too frightened to see what happened, I took to my heels, and plunged -into the wood as fast as I could, without the man or the dog having -seen me. I ran on for some distance till I felt safe enough to stop and -listen, but there was not a sound, and no sign of Kahwa coming after -me. I waited and waited until the sun came up, and still there was no -sign of Kahwa, until at last I summoned up courage to steal slowly back -again. As I came near I heard the dog barking at intervals, and then -the voices of men. Very cautiously I crept near enough to get a view of -the house from behind, and as I came in sight of the corner where Kahwa -had fallen I saw her for the second time--just as on that wretched -evening at the berry-patch--surrounded by a group of three or four men. -But this time they had no ropes round her, and were not trying to drag -her away; only they stood talking and looking down at her, while she -lay dead on the ground before them. - - -FOOTNOTE - -[3] The new mining town or camp of the Far West has no long rows of -houses or paved streets. The houses are built of logs or of boards, -rarely more than one story high, and are set down irregularly. There -may be one more or less well-defined 'street'--the main trail running -through the camp--but even along that there will be wide gaps between -the houses; while, for the rest, the buildings are at all sorts of -angles, so that a man or a bear may wander through them as he pleases, -regardless of whether he is following a 'street' or not. - - - - -CHAPTER VII - -THE PARTING OF THE WAYS - - -Now indeed I was truly lonely. During the three or four weeks that had -passed since I had seen my father or mother, I had in a measure learned -to rely upon myself; nor had I so far felt the separation keenly, -because I knew that every evening I should see Kahwa. Now she was gone -for ever. There was no longer any object in going into the town, and -the terror of that last scene was still so vivid in my mind that I -wished never to see man again. - -It was true that I had feared man instinctively from the first, but -familiarity with him had for a while overcome that fear. Now it -returned, and with the fear was mingled another feeling--a feeling of -definite hatred. Originally, though afraid of him, I had borne man -no ill-will whatever, and would have been entirely content to go on -living beside him in peace and friendliness, just as we lived with the -deer and the beaver. Man himself made that impossible, and now I no -longer wished it. I hated him--hated him thoroughly. Had it not been -for dread of the thunder-sticks, I should have gone down into the town -and attacked the first man that I met. I would have persuaded other -bears to go with me to rage through the buildings, destroying every man -that we could find; and though this was impossible, I made up my mind -that it would be a bad day for any man whom I might meet alone, when -unprotected by the weapon that gave him so great an advantage. - -Meanwhile my present business was, somehow and somewhere, to go on -living. On that first evening, amid my conflict of emotions, it was -some time before I could bring myself to turn my back definitely upon -the town; for it was difficult to realize at once that there was in -truth no longer any Kahwa there, nor any reason for my going again -among the buildings, and it was late in the night before I finally -started to look for my father and mother. I went, of course, to the -place where I had left them, and where the fight with the stranger had -taken place. - -They were not there when I arrived, but I saw that they had spent the -preceding day at home, and would, in all probability, be back soon -after it was light. So I stayed in the immediate neighbourhood, and -before sunrise they returned. My mother was glad to see me, but I do -not think I can say as much for my father. I told them where I had -been, and of my visits to the town, and of poor Kahwa's death; and -though at the time father did not seem to pay much attention to what I -said, next day he suggested that we should move further away from the -neighbourhood of men. - -The following afternoon we started, making our way back along the -stream by which we had descended, and soon finding ourselves once more -in the region that had been swept by the fire. It was still desolate, -but the two months that had passed had made a wonderful difference. It -was covered by the bright red flowers of a tall plant, standing nearly -as high as a bear's head, which shoots up all over the charred soil -whenever a tract of forest is burned. Other undergrowth may come up in -the following spring, but for the first year nothing appears except -the red 'fireweed,' and that grows so thickly that the burnt wood is -a blaze of colour, out of which the blackened trunks of the old trees -stand up naked and gaunt. - -We passed several houses of men by the waterside, and gave them a wide -berth. We learned from the beavers and the ospreys that a number of -men had gone up the stream during the summer, and few had come back, -so that now there must be many more of them in the district swept by -the fire than there had been before. We did not wish to live in the -burnt country, however, because there was little food to be found -there, and under the fireweed the ground was still covered with a layer -of the bitter black stuff, which, on being disturbed, got into one's -throat and eyes and nostrils. So we turned southwards along the edge -of the track of the fire, and soon found ourselves in a country that -was entirely new to us, though differing little in general appearance -from the other places with which we were familiar--the same unbroken -succession of hills and gulches covered with the dense growth of good -forest trees. It was, in fact, bears' country; and in it we felt at -home. - -For the most part we travelled in the morning and evening; but the -summer was gone now, and on the higher mountains it was sometimes -bitterly cold, so we often kept on moving all day. We were not going -anywhere in particular: only endeavouring to get away from man, -and, if possible, to find a region where he had never been. But it -seemed as if man now was pushing in everywhere. We did not see him, -but continually we came across the traces of him along the banks of -the streams. The beavers, and the kingfishers, and the ospreys, of -course, know everything that goes on along the rivers. Nothing can pass -upstream or down without going by the beaver-dams, and the beavers -are always on the watch. You might linger about a beaver-dam all day, -and except for the smell, which a man would not notice, you would not -believe there was a beaver near. But they are watching you from the -cracks and holes in their homes, and in the evening, if they are not -afraid of you, you will be astonished to see twenty or thirty beavers -come out to play about what you thought was an empty house. We never -passed a dam without asking about man, and always it was the same tale. -Men had been there a week ago, or the day before, or when the moon last -was full. And the kingfishers and the ospreys told us the same things. -So we kept on our way southward. - -As the days went on I grew to think less of Kahwa; the memory of those -nights spent in the town, with the lights, and the strange noises, and -the warm man-smell all about me, began to fade until they all seemed -more like incidents of a dream than scenes which I had actually lived -through only a few weeks before. I began to feel more as I used to -feel in the good old days before the fire, and came again to be a part -of the wild, wholesome life of the woods. Moreover, I was growing; -my mother said that I was growing fast. No puma would have dared to -touch me now, and my unusual experiences about the town had bred in -me a spirit of independence and self-reliance, so that other cubs of -my own age whom we met, and who, of course, had lived always with -their parents, always seemed to me younger than I; and certainly I -was bigger and stronger than any first-year bear that I saw. On the -whole, I would have been fairly contented with life had it not been -for the estrangement which was somehow growing up between my father -and myself. I could not help feeling that, though I knew not why, he -would have been glad to have me go away again. So I kept out of his -way as much as possible, seldom speaking to him, and, of course, not -venturing to share any food that he found. On the first evening after -my return he had rolled over an old log, and mother and I went up as a -matter of course to see what was there; but he growled at me in a way -that made me stand off while he and mother finished the fungi and the -beetles. After that I kept my distance. It did not matter much, for I -was well able to forage for myself. But I would have preferred to have -him kinder. His unkindness, however, did not prevent him from taking -for himself anything which he wanted that I had found. One day I came -across some honey, from which he promptly drove me away, and I had to -look on while he and mother shared the feast between them. - -At last we came to a stream where the beavers told us that no man had -been seen in the time of any member of their colony then living. The -stream, which was here wide enough to be a river, came from the west, -and for two or three days we followed it down eastwards, and found no -trace or news of man; so we turned back up it again--back past the -place where we had first struck it--and on along its course for another -day's journey into the mountains. It was, perhaps, too much to hope -that we had lighted on a place where man would never come; but at least -we knew that for a distance of a week's travelling in all directions -he never yet had been, and it might be many years before he came. -Meanwhile we should have a chance to live our lives in peace. - -Here we stayed, moving about very little, and feeding as much as we -could; for winter was coming on, and a bear likes to be fat and well -fed before his long sleep. It rained a good deal now, as it always does -in the mountains in the late autumn, and as a general rule the woods -were full of mist all day, in which we went about tearing the roots -out of the soft earth, eating the late blueberries where we could find -them, and the cranberries and the elderberries, which were ripe on the -bushes, now and then coming across a clump of nut-trees, and once in a -while, the greatest of all treats, revelling in a feast of honey. - -One morning, after a cold and stormy night, we saw that the tops of -the highest mountains were covered with snow. It might be a week or -two yet before the snow fell over the country as a whole, or it might -be only a day or two; for the wind was blowing from the north, biting -cold, and making us feel numb and drowsy. So my father decided that it -was time to make our homes for the winter. He had already fixed upon -a spot where a tree had fallen and torn out its roots, making a cave -well shut in on two sides, and blocked on a third by another fallen -log; and here, without thinking, I had taken it as a matter of course -that we should somehow all make our winter homes together. But when -that morning he started out, with mother after him, and I attempted -to follow, he drove me away. I followed yet for a while, but he kept -turning back and growling at me, and at last told me bluntly that I -must go and shift for myself. I took it philosophically, I think, but -it was with a heavy heart that I turned away to seek a winter home for -myself. - -It did not take me long to decide on the spot. At the head of a narrow -gully, where at some time or other a stream must have run, there was a -tree half fallen, and leaning against the hillside. A little digging -behind the tree would make as snug and sheltered a den as I could -want. So I set to work, and in the course of a few hours I had made a -sufficiently large hollow, and into it I scraped all the leaves and -pine-needles in the neighbourhood, and, by working about inside and -turning round and round, I piled them up on all sides until I had a -nest where I was perfectly sheltered, with only an opening in front -large enough to go in and out of. This opening I would almost close -when the time came, but for the present I left it open and lived -inside, sleeping much of the time, but still continuing for a week or -ten days to go out in the mornings and evenings for food. But it was -getting colder and colder, and the woods had become strangely silent. -The deer had gone down to the lower ground at the first sign of coming -winter, and the coyotes and the wolves had followed to spend the cold -months in the foot-hills and on the plains about the haunts of man. The -woodchucks were already asleep below-ground, and of the birds only the -woodpeckers and the crossbills, and some smaller birds fluttering among -the pine-branches, remained. There was a fringe of ice along the edges -of the streams, and the kingfishers and the ospreys had both flown to -where the waters would remain open throughout the year. The beavers had -been very busy for some time, but now, if one went to the nearest dam -in the evening, there was not a sign of life. - -At last the winter came. It had been very cold and gray for a day or -two, and I felt dull and torpid. And then, one morning towards mid-day, -the white flakes began to fall. There had been a few little flurries of -snow before, lasting only for a minute or two; but this was different. -The great flakes fell slowly and softly, and soon the whole landscape -began to grow white. Through the opening in my den I watched the snow -falling for some time, but did not venture out; and as the afternoon -wore on, and it only fell faster and faster, I saw that it would soon -pile up and close the door upon me. - -There was no danger of its coming in, for I had taken care that the -roof overhung far enough to prevent anything falling in from above, and -the den was too well sheltered for the wind to drift the snow inside. -So I burrowed down into my leaves and pine-needles, and worked them -up on both sides till only a narrow slit of an opening remained, and -through this slit, sitting back on my haunches against the rear of the -little cave, I watched the white wall rising outside. All that night -and all next day it snowed, and by the second evening there was hardly -a ray of light coming in. I remember feeling a certain pride in being -all alone, in the warm nest made by myself, for the first time in my -life; and I sat back and mumbled at my paw, and grew gradually drowsier -and drowsier, till I hardly knew when the morning came, for I was very -sleepy and the daylight scarcely pierced the wall of snow outside. -And before another night fell I was asleep, while outside the white -covering which was to shut me in for the next four months at least, was -growing thicker until it was many feet deep all around, and under it I -was as safe and snug up there in the heart of the mountains as ever a -man could be in any house that he might build. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII - -ALONE IN THE WORLD - - -Have you any idea how frightfully stiff one is after nearly five -months' consecutive sleep? Of course, a bear is not actually asleep for -the greater part of the time, but in a deliciously drowsy condition -that is halfway between sleeping and waking. It is very good. Of -course, you lose all count and thought of time; days and weeks and -months are all the same. You only know that, having been asleep, you -are partly awake again. There is no light, but you can see the wall of -your den in front of you, and dimly you know that, while all the world -outside is snow-covered and swept with bitter winds, and the earth is -gripped solid in the frost, you are very warm and comfortable. Changes -of temperature do not reach you, and you sit and croon to yourself -and mumble your paws, and all sorts of thoughts and tangled scraps of -dreams go swimming through your head until, before you know it, you -have forgotten everything and are asleep again. - -Then again you find yourself awake. Is it hours or days or weeks since -you were last awake? You do not know, and it does not matter. So you -croon, and mumble, and dream, and sleep again; and wake, and croon, -and mumble, and dream. Sometimes you are conscious of feeling stiff, -and think you will change your position; but, after all, it does not -matter. Nothing matters; for you are already floating off again, the -wall of your den grows indistinct, and you are away in dreams once more -for an hour, or a day, or a week. - -At last a day comes when you wake into something more like complete -consciousness than you have known since you shut yourself up. There -is a new feeling in the air; a sense of moisture and fresh smells are -mingling with the warm dry scent of your den. And you are aware that -you have not changed your position for more than a quarter of a year, -but have been squatting on your heels, with your back against the wall -and your nose folded into your paws across your breast; and you want to -stretch your hind-legs dreadfully. But you do not do it. It is still -too comfortable where you are. You may move a little, and have a vague -idea that it might be rather nice outside. But you do not go to see; -you only take the other paw into your mouth, and, still crooning to -yourself, you are asleep again. - -This happens again and again, and each time the change in the feeling -of the air is more marked, and the scents of the new year outside -grow stronger and more pungent. At last one day comes daylight, -where the snow has melted from the opening in front of you, and -with the daylight come the notes of birds and the ringing of the -woodpecker--rat-tat-tat-tat! rat-tat-tat-tat!--from a tree near by. But -even these signs that the spring is at hand again would not tempt you -out if it were not for another feeling that begins to assert itself, -and will not let you rest. You find you are hungry, horribly hungry. -It is of no use to say to yourself that you are perfectly snug and -contented where you are, and that there is all the spring and summer to -get up in. You are no longer contented. It is nearly five months since -you had your last meal, and you will not have another till you go out -for yourself and get it. Mumbling your paws will not satisfy you. There -is really nothing for it but to get up. - -But, oh, what a business it is, that getting up! Your shoulders are -cramped and your back is stiff; and as for your legs underneath you, -you wonder if they will really ever get supple and strong again. -First you lift your head from your breast and try moving your neck -about, and sniff at the walls of your den. Then you unfold your arms, -and--ooch!--how they crack, first one and then the other! At last you -begin to roll from one side to the other, and try to stretch each -hind-leg in turn; then, cautiously letting yourself drop on all fours, -you give a step, and before you know it you have staggered out into the -open air. - -It is very early in the morning, and the day is just breaking, and all -the mountain-side is covered with a clinging pearly mist; but to your -eyes the light seems very strong, and the smell of the new moist earth -and the resinous scent of the pines almost hurt your nostrils. One side -of the gully in front of you is brown and bare, but in the bottom, and -clinging to the other side, are patches of moist and half-melted snow, -and on all sides you hear the drip of falling moisture and the ripple -of little streams of water which are running away to swell the creeks -and rivers in every valley bottom. - -You are shockingly unsteady on your feet, and feel very dazed and -feeble; but you are also hungrier than ever now, with the keen morning -air whetting your appetite, and the immediate business ahead of you is -to find food. So you turn to the bank at your side and begin to grub; -and as you grub you wander on, eating the roots that you scratch up -and the young shoots of plants that are appearing here and there. And -all the time the day is growing, and the sensation is coming back to -your limbs, and your hunger is getting satisfied, and you are wider and -wider awake. And, thoroughly interested in what you are about, before -you are aware of it, you are fairly started on another year of life. - -That is how a bear begins each spring. It may be a few days later or a -few days earlier when one comes out; but the sensations are the same. -You are always just as stiff, and the smells are as pungent, and the -light is as strong, and the hunger as great. For the first few days you -really think of nothing but of finding enough to eat. As soon as you -have eaten, and eaten until you think you are satisfied, you are hungry -again; and so you wander round looking for food, and going back to your -den to sleep. - -That spring when I came out it was very much as it had been the -spring before, when I was a little cub. The squirrels were chattering -in the trees (I wondered whether old Blacky had been burned in the -fire), and the woodpecker was as busy as ever--rat-tat-tat-tat! -rat-tat-tat-tat!--overhead. There were several woodchucks--fat, -waddling things--living in the same gully with me, and they had been -abroad for some days when I woke up. On my way down to the stream on -that first morning, I found a porcupine in my path, but did not stop -to slap it. By the river's bank the little brown-coated minks were -hunting among the grass, and by the dam the beavers were hard at work -protecting and strengthening their house against the spring floods, -which were already rising. - -It was only a couple of hundred yards or so from my den to the stream, -and for the first few days I hardly went further than that. But it was -impossible that I should not all the time--that is, as soon as I could -think of anything except my hunger--be contrasting this spring with -the spring before, when Kahwa and I had played about the rock and the -cedar-trees, and I had tumbled down the hill. And the more I thought -of it, the less I liked being alone. And my father and mother, I knew, -must be somewhere close by me--for I presumed they had spent the -winter in the spot that they had chosen--so I made up my mind to go and -join them again. - -It was in the early evening that I went, about a week after I had come -out of my winter-quarters, and I had no trouble in finding the place; -but when I did find it I also found things that I did not expect. - -'Surely,' I said to myself as I came near, 'that is little Kahwa's -voice!' There could be no doubt of it. She was squealing just as -she used to do when she tried to pull me away from the rock by my -hind-foot. So I hurried on to see what it could mean, and suddenly the -truth dawned upon me. - -My parents had two new children. I had never thought of that -possibility. I heard my mother's voice warning the cubs that someone -was coming, and as I appeared the young ones ran and snuggled up to -her, and stared at me as if I was a stranger and they were afraid of -me, as I suppose they were. It made me feel awkward, and almost as if -my mother was a stranger, too; but after standing still a little time -and watching them I walked up. Mother met me kindly, but, somehow, not -like a mother meeting her own cub, but like a she-bear meeting any -he-bear in the forest. The cubs kept behind her and out of the way. -I spoke to mother and rubbed noses with her, and told her that I was -glad to see her. She evidently thought well of me, and I was rather -surprised, when standing beside her, to find that she was not nearly so -much bigger than I as I had supposed. - -[Illustration: AS I APPEARED THE YOUNG ONES RAN AND SNUGGLED UP TO HER.] - -But before I had been there more than a minute mother gave me warning -that father was coming, and, turning, I saw him walking down the -hillside towards us. He saw me at the same time, and stopped and -growled. At first, I think, not knowing who I was, he was astonished -to see my mother talking to a strange bear. When he did recognise me, -however, I might still have been a stranger, for any friendliness -that he showed. He sat up on his haunches and growled, and then came -on slowly, swinging his head, and obviously not at all disposed to -welcome me. Again I was surprised, to see that he was not as big as -I had thought, and for a moment wild ideas of fighting him, if that -was what he wanted, came into my head. I wished to stay with mother, -and even though he was my father, I did not see why I should go away -alone and leave her. But, tall though I was getting, I had not anything -like my father's weight, and, however bitterly I might wish to rebel, -rebellion was useless. Besides, my mother, though she was kind to -me, would undoubtedly have taken my father's part, as it was right that -she should do. - -So I moved slowly away as my father came up, and as I did so even the -little cubs growled at me, siding, of course, with their father against -the stranger whom they had never seen. Father did not try to attack -me, but walked up to mother and began licking her, to show that she -belonged to him. I disliked going away, and thought that perhaps he -would relent; but when I sat down, as if I was intending to stay, he -growled and told me that I was not wanted. - -I ought by this time to have grown accustomed to being alone, and to -have been incapable of letting myself be made miserable by a snub, even -from my father. But I was not; I was wretched. I do not think that even -on the first night after Kahwa was caught, or on that morning when I -saw her dead, that I felt as completely forlorn as I did that day when -I turned away from my mother, and went down the mountain-side back to -my own place alone. The squirrels chattered at me, and the woodpecker -rat-tat-tat-ed, and the woodchucks scurried away, and I hated them -all. What company were they to me? I was lonely, and I craved the -companionship of my own kind. - -But it was to be a long time before I found it. I was now a solitary -bear, with my own life to live and my own way to make in the world, -with no one to look to for guidance and no one to help me if I needed -help; but many regarded me as an enemy, and would have rejoiced if I -were killed. - -In those first days I thought of the surly solitary bear who had taken -our home while we were away, and whom I had vowed some day to punish; -and I began to understand in some measure why he was so bad-tempered. -If we had met then, I almost believe I would have tried to make friends -with him. - -I have said that many animals would have rejoiced had I been killed. -This is not because bears are the enemies of other wild things, for we -really kill very little except beetles and other insects, frogs and -lizards, and little things like mice and chipmunks. We are not as the -wolves, the coyotes, the pumas, or the weasels, which live on the lives -of other animals, and which every other thing in the woods regards as -its sworn foe. Still, smaller animals are mostly afraid of us, and the -carcase of a dead bear means a feast for a number of hungry things. -If a bear cannot defend his own life, he will have no friends to do it -for him; and while, as I have said before, a full-grown bear in the -mountains has no need to fear any living thing, man always excepted, -in stand-up fight, it is none the less necessary to be always on one's -guard. - -In my case fear had nothing to do with my hatred of loneliness. Even -the thought of man himself gave me no uneasiness. I was sure that no -human beings were as yet within many miles of my home, and I knew -that I should always have abundant warning of their coming. Moreover, -I already knew man. He was not to me the thing of terror and mystery -that he had been a year ago, or that he still was to most of the forest -folk. I had cause enough, it is true, to know how dangerous and how -savagely cruel he was, and for that I hated him. But I had also seen -enough of him to have a contempt for his blindness and his lack of the -sense of scent. Had I not again and again, when in the town, dodged -round the corner of a building, and waited while he passed a few yards -away, or stood immovable in the dark shadow of a building, and looked -straight at him while he went by utterly unconscious that I was near? -Nothing could live in the forest for a week with no more eyesight, -scent, or hearing than a man possesses, and without his thunder-stick -he would be as helpless as a lame deer. All this I understood, and was -not afraid that, if our paths should cross again, I should not be well -able to take care of myself. - -But while there was no fear added to my loneliness, the loneliness -itself was bad enough. Having none to provide for except myself, I -had no difficulty in finding food. For the first few weeks, I think, -I did nothing but wander aimlessly about and sleep, still using my -winter den for that purpose. As the summer came on, however, I began -to rove, roaming usually along the streams, and sleeping there in the -cool herbage by the water's edge during the heat of the day. My chief -pleasure, I think, was in fishing, and I was glad my mother had shown -me how to do it. No bear, when hungry, could afford to fish for his -food, for it takes too long; but I had all my time to myself, and -nearly every morning and evening I used to get my trout for breakfast -or for supper. At the end of a long hot day, I know nothing pleasanter -than, after lying a while in the cold running water, to stretch one's -self out along the river's edge, under the shadow of a bush, and wait, -paw in water, till the trout comes gliding within striking distance; -and then the sudden stroke, and afterwards the comfortable meal off -the cool juicy fish in the soft night air. I became very skilful at -fishing, and, from days and days of practice, it was seldom indeed that -I lost my fish if once I struck. - -Time, too, I had for honey-hunting, but I was never sure that it was -worth the trouble and pain. In nine cases out of ten the honey was too -deeply buried in a tree for me to be able to reach it, and in trying I -was certain to get well stung for my pains. Once in a while, however, -I came across a comb that was easy to reach, and the chance of one of -those occasional finds made me spend, not hours only, but whole days at -a time, looking for the bees' nests. - -Along by the streams were many blueberry-patches, though none so large -as that which had cost Kahwa her life; but during the season I could -always find berries enough. And so, fishing and bee-hunting, eating -berries and digging for roots, I wandered on all through the summer. I -had no one place that I could think of as a home more than any other. -I preferred not to stay near my father and mother, and so let myself -wander, heading for the most part westward, and further into the -mountains as the summer grew, and then in the autumn turning south -again. I must have wandered over many hundred miles of mountain, but -when the returning chill in the air told me that winter was not very -far away, I worked round so as to get back into somewhat the same -neighbourhood as I had been in last winter, not more, perhaps, than ten -miles away. - -On the whole, it was an uneventful year. Two or three times I met a -grizzly, and always got out of the way as fast as I could. Once only I -found myself in the neighbourhood of man, and I gave him a wide berth. -Many times, of course--in fact, nearly every day--I met other bears -like myself, and sometimes I made friends with them, and stayed in -their company for the better part of a day, perhaps at a berry-patch -or in the wide shallows of a stream. But there was no place for me--a -strong, growing he-bear, getting on for two years old--in any of the -families that I came across. Parents with young cubs did not want me. -Young bears in their second year were usually in couples. The solitary -bears that I met were generally he-bears older than I, and, though we -were friendly on meeting, neither cared for the other's companionship. -Again and again in these meetings I was struck by the fact that I was -unusually big and strong for my age, the result, I suppose, as I have -already said, of the accident that threw me on my own resources so -young. I never met young bears of my own age that did not seem like -cubs to me. Many times I came across bears who were one and even two -years older than myself, but who had certainly no advantage of me in -height, and, I think, none in weight. But I had no occasion to test -my strength in earnest that summer, and when winter came, and the -mountain-peaks in the neighbourhood showed white again against the dull -gray sky, I was still a solitary animal, and acutely conscious of my -loneliness. - -That year I made my den in a cave which I found high up on a -mountain-side, and which had evidently been used by bears at some -time or other, though not for the last year or two. There I made my -nest with less trouble than the year before, and at the first serious -snowfall I shut myself up for another long sleep. - - - - -CHAPTER IX - -I FIND A COMPANION - - -The next spring was late. We had a return of cold weather long after -winter ought to have been over, and for a month or more after I moved -out it was no easy matter to find food enough. The snow had been -unusually deep, and had only half melted when the cold returned, -so that the remaining half stayed on the ground a long while, and -sometimes it took me all my time, grubbing up camas roots, turning -over stones and logs, and ripping the bark off fallen trees, to find -enough to eat to keep me even moderately satisfied. Besides the mice -and chipmunks which I caught, I was forced by hunger to dig woodchucks -out of their holes, and eat the young ones, though hitherto I had never -eaten any animal so large. - -Somehow, in one way and another, I got along, and when spring really -came I felt that I was a full-grown bear, and no longer a youngster who -had to make way for his elders when he met them in the path. Nor was -it long before I had an opportunity of seeing that other bears also -regarded me no longer as a cub. - -I had found a bees' nest about ten feet up in a big tree, and of course -climbed up to it; but it was one of those cases of which I have spoken, -when the game was not worth the trouble. The nest was in a cleft in the -tree too narrow for me to get my arm into, and I could smell the honey -a foot or so away from my nose without being able to reach it--than -which I know nothing more aggravating. And while you are hanging on to -a tree with three paws, and trying to squeeze the fourth into a hole, -the bees have you most unpleasantly at their mercy. I was horribly -stung about my face, both my eyes and my nose were smarting abominably, -and at last I could stand it no longer, but slid down to the ground -again. - -When I reached the ground, there was another bear standing a few yards -away looking at me. He had a perfect right to look at me, and he was -doing me no sort of harm; but the stings of the bees made me furious, -and I think I was glad to have anybody or anything to vent my wrath -upon. So as soon as I saw the other bear I charged him. He was an -older bear than I, and about my size; and, as it was the first real -fight that I had ever had, he probably had more experience. But I had -the advantage of being thoroughly angry and wanting to hurt someone, -without caring whether I was hurt myself or not, while he was feeling -entirely peaceable, and not in the least anxious to hurt me or anybody -else. The consequence was that the impetuosity of my first rush was -more than he could stand. Of course he was up to meet me, and I expect -that under my coat my skin on the left shoulder still carries the marks -of his claws where he caught me as we came together. - -But I was simply not to be denied, and, while my first blow must have -almost broken his neck, in less than a minute I had him rolling over -and over and yelling for mercy. I really believe that, if he had not -managed to get to his feet, and then taken to his heels as fast as he -could, I would have killed him. Meanwhile the bees were having fun with -us both. - -It was of no use, however angry I might be, to stop to try and fight -them; so as soon as the other bear had escaped I made my own way as -fast as I could out of the reach of their stings, and down to the -stream to cool my smarting face. As I lay in the water, I remember -looking back with astonishment to the whole proceeding. Five minutes -before I had had no intention of fighting anybody, and had had no -reason whatever for fighting that particular bear. Had I met him in the -ordinary way, we should have been friendly, and I am not at all sure -that, if I had had to make up my mind to it in cold blood, I should -have dared to stand up to him, unless something very important depended -on it. Yet all of a sudden the thing had happened. I had had my first -serious fight with a bear older than myself, and had beaten him. -Moreover, I had learned the enormous advantage of being the aggressor -in a fight, and of throwing yourself into it with your whole soul. As -it was, though I was astonished at the entire affair and surprised at -myself, and although the bee-stings still hurt horribly, I was pretty -well satisfied and rather proud. - -Perhaps it was as well that I had that fight then, for the time was -not far distant when I was to go through the fight of my life. A bear -may have much fighting in the course of his existence, or he may have -comparatively little, depending chiefly on his own disposition; but -at least once he is sure to have one fight on which almost the whole -course of his life depends. And that is when he fights for his wife. -Of course he may be beaten, and then he has to try again. Some bears -never succeed in winning a wife at all. Some may win one and then have -her taken from them, and have to seek another; but I do not believe -that any bear chooses to live alone. Every one will once at least make -an effort to win a companion who will be the mother of his children. -The crisis came with me that summer, though many bears, I believe, -prefer to run alone until a year, or even two years, later. - -The summer had passed like the former one, rather uneventfully after -the episode of the bees. I wandered abroad, roaming over a wide tract -of country, fishing, honey-hunting, and finding my share of roots and -beetles and berries, sheltering during the heat of the day, and going -wherever I felt inclined in the cool of the night and morning. I think -I was disposed to be rather surly and quarrelsome, and more than once -took upon myself to dispute the path with other bears; but they always -gave way to me, and I felt that I pretty well had the mountains and the -forests for my own. But I was still lonely, and that summer I felt it -more than ever. - -The late spring had ruined a large part of the berry crop, and the -consequence was that, wherever there was a patch with any fruit on it, -bears were sure to find it out. There was one small sheltered patch -which I knew, where the fruit had nearly all survived the frosts. I was -there one evening, when, not far from me, out of the woods came another -bear of about my size. I was inclined to resent it at first, but then -I saw that it was a she-bear, and I liked her the moment I obtained a -good view of her. She saw me, and sat up and looked at me amicably. - -[Illustration: SHE SAW ME, AND SAT UP AND LOOKED AT ME AMICABLY.] - -I had never tried to make love before, but I knew what was the right -thing to do; so I approached her slowly, walking sideways, rubbing my -nose on the ground, and mumbling into the grass to tell her how much -I admired her. She responded in the correct way, by rolling on the -ground. So I continued to approach her, and I cannot have been more -than five or six yards away, when out of the bushes behind her, to -my astonishment, came another he-bear. He growled at me, and began -to sniff around at the bushes, to show that he was entirely ready to -fight if I wanted to. And of course I wanted to. I probably should have -wanted to in any circumstances, but when the she-bear showed that she -liked me better than him, by growling at him, I would not have gone -away, without fighting for her, for all the berries and honey in the -world. One of the most momentous crises in my life had come, and, as -all such things do, had come quite unexpectedly. - -He was as much in earnest as I, and for a minute we sidled round -growling over our shoulders, and each measuring the other. There was -little to choose between us, for, if I was a shade the taller, he was a -year older than I, and undoubtedly the heavier and thicker. In fighting -all other animals except those of his kind, a bear's natural weapons -are his paws, with one blow of which he can crush a small animal, and -either stun or break the neck of a larger one. But he cannot do any -one of these three things to another bear as big as himself, and only -if one bear is markedly bigger than the other can he hope to reach -his head, so as either to tear his face or give him such a blow as -will daze him and render him incapable of going on fighting. A very -much larger bear can beat down the smaller one's arms, and rain such -a shower of blows upon him as will convince him at once that he is -overmatched, and make him turn tail and run. When two are evenly -matched, however, the first interchange of blows with the paws is not -likely to have much effect either way, and the fight will have to be -settled by closing, by the use of teeth and main strength. But, as I -had learned in my fight that day when I had been stung by the bees, the -moral effect of the first rush may be great, and it was in that that my -slight advantage in height and reach was likely to be useful, whereas -if we came to close quarters slowly the thicker and stockier animal -would have the advantage. So I determined to force the fighting with -all the fury that I could; and I did. - -It was he who gave the first blow. As we sidled up close to one -another, he let out at me wickedly with his left paw, a blow which, -if it had caught me, would undoubtedly have torn off one of my ears. -Most bears would have replied to that with a similar swinging blow -when they got an opening, and the interchange of single blows at arms' -length would have gone on indefinitely until one or the other lost his -temper and closed. I did not wait for that. The instant the first blow -whistled past my head I threw myself on my hind-quarters and launched -myself bodily at him, hitting as hard as I could and as fast, first -with one paw and then with the other, without giving him time to -recover his wits or get in a blow himself. I felt him giving way as -the other bear had done, and when we closed he was on his back on the -ground, and I was on the top of him. - -The fight, however, had only begun. I had gained a certain moral -effect by the ferocity of my attack, but a bear, when he is fighting -in earnest, is not beaten by a single rush, nor, indeed, until he is -absolutely unable to fight longer. Altogether we must have fought for -over an hour. Two or three times we were compelled to stop and draw -apart, because neither of us had strength left to use either claws or -jaw. And each time when we closed again I followed the same tactics, -rushing in and beating him down and doing my best to cow him before we -gripped; and each time, I think, it had some effect--at least to the -extent that it gave me a feeling of confidence, as if I was fighting a -winning fight. - -The deadliest grip that one bear can get on another is with his jaws -across the other's muzzle, when he can crush the whole face in. Once -he very nearly got me so, and this scar on the side of my nose is the -mark of his tooth; but he just failed to close his jaws in time. -And, as it proved then, it is a dangerous game to play, for it leaves -you exposed if you miss your grip, and in this case it gave me the -opportunity that I wanted, to get my teeth into his right paw just -above the wrist. My teeth sank through the flesh and tendons and closed -upon the bone. In time, if I could hold my grip, I would crush it. His -only hope lay in being able to compel me to let go, by getting his -teeth in behind my ear; and this we both knew, and it was my business -with my right paw to keep his muzzle away. - -A moment like that is terrible--and splendid. I have never found myself -in his position, but I can imagine what it must be. We swayed and fell -together, and rolled over and over--now he uppermost, and now I; but -never for a second did I relax my hold. Whatever position we were in, -my teeth were slowly grinding into the bone of his arm, and again and -again I felt his teeth grating and slipping on my skull as I clawed and -pushed blindly at his face to keep him away. More and more desperate -he grew, and still I hung on; and while I clung to him in dead silence -he was growling and snarling frantically, and I could hear his tone -getting higher and higher till, just as I felt the bone giving between -my teeth, the growling broke and changed to a whine, and I knew that I -had won. - -One more wrench with my teeth, and I felt his arm limp and useless -in my mouth. Then I let go, and as he cowered back on three legs I -reared up and fell upon him again, hitting blow after blow with my -paws, buffeting, biting, beating, driving him before me. Even now he -had fight left in him; but with all his pluck he was helpless with his -crippled limb, and slowly I bore him back out of the open patch where -we had been fighting into the woods, and yard by yard up the hill, -until at last it was useless for him to pretend to fight any longer, -and he turned and, as best he could, limping on three legs, ran. - -During the whole of the fight the she-bear had not said a word, but sat -on the ground watching and awaiting the result. While the battle was -going on I had no time to look at her; but in the intervals when we -were taking breath, whenever I turned in her direction, she avoided my -eye and pretended not to know that I was there or that anything that -interested her was passing. She looked at the sky and the trees, and -washed herself, or did whatever would best show her indifference. All -of which only told me that she was not indifferent at all. - -Now, when I came back to her, she still pretended not to see me until -I was close up to her, and when I held out my nose to hers she growled -as if a stranger had no right to behave in that way. But I knew she did -not mean it; and I was very tired and sore, with blood running from me -in a dozen places. So I walked a few yards away from her and lay down. -In a minute she came over to me and rubbed her nose against mine, and -told me how sorry she was for having snubbed me, and then began to lick -my wounds. - -She told me how splendidly I had fought; and, mauled though I was, I -was very proud and happy. She in turn told me all about herself. She -was older than I by two years, and the bear that I had beaten was a -year older than myself. She had known him for some three weeks only, -having met him a few days after her husband and her two children, the -first she had ever had, had been killed by a thunder-stick. That was -a long way off over there--pointing eastward--and she had been moving -away from the neighbourhood of man ever since. - -That gave us a new bond of sympathy; and I told her about Kahwa and -myself, and how lonely I had been for the last two summers. Now, with -her help, I proposed not to be lonely any more. She saw that I was well -able to take care of myself and of her, even though I was only three -years old. If I filled out in proportion to my height and the size of -my bones, there would not be a bear in the forest that would be able -to stand up to me by the end of next summer. She told me that she had -liked me the moment we met, and had hoped every minute of the fight -that I would win, though, of course, it would not have been proper for -her to show it. Altogether I was happier than I had been since the old -days before Kahwa was caught. - -As soon as I was fairly rested, we got up and made our way in the -bright moonlight down to the river, so that I could wash the blood off -myself and get the water into my wounds. We stayed there for a while, -and then returned to the patch and made a supper off the berries, and -later wandered into the woods side by side. She was very kind to me, -and every caress and every loving thing she did or said was a delight. -It was all so wonderfully new. And when at last we lay down under the -stars, so that I could sleep after the strain that I had been through, -and I knew that she was by me, and that when I woke up I should not be -lonely any more, it all seemed almost too good to be true. It was as if -I had suddenly come into a new world and I was a new bear. - - - - -CHAPTER X - -A VISIT TO THE OLD HOME - - -When I awoke I found that it was indeed all true, but I was so -frightfully stiff that it was not easy to be very happy all at once. I -slept straight on all through the morning until late in the afternoon. -My new companion had been awake, and had wandered round a little in the -early morning, but without awaking me. When I awoke in the afternoon -she was asleep by my side. I tried to stand up, but every bone in my -body hurt, every muscle ached, and every joint was so stiff that I -could almost hear it creak. The fuss that I made in trying to get on -to my feet disturbed her, and she helped me up. Somehow I managed to -stagger along, and we went off for a short ramble in search of food. I -could hardly dig at all, but she shared with me the roots she found, -and with a few berries we made a sort of a meal; and then I was so -tired that we lay down again, and I slept right on till daybreak the -following morning. - -After that I felt myself again. It was days before all the stiffness -wore off, and weeks before my wounds were entirely healed; while, as -you can see, I carry some of the scars to this day. - -For some days the bear that I had beaten hung about, in the hope of -tempting Wooffa (that was what I called my wife, it being my mother's -name) to go back to him. But he was a pitiable object, limping about -with his broken leg, and I never even offered to fight him again. There -was no need for it. Wooffa did not wish to have anything to say to him, -and she ignored him for the most part unless he came too near, when -she growled at him in a way that was not to be misunderstood. I really -felt sorry for him, remembering my own loneliness, and realizing that -it was probably worse to lose her and have to go off alone, while she -belonged to somebody else, than never to have known her at all. After -a while he recognised that it was hopeless, and we saw him no more. We -ourselves, indeed, did not stay in the same place, but as long as the -summer lasted we wandered where we pleased. - -We suited each other admirably, Wooffa and I. We had much the same -tastes, with equal cause to hate man and to wish to keep away from his -neighbourhood, and we were very nearly of the same size and strength. -I never knew a bear that had a keener scent, and she was a marvel at -finding honey. In many ways it is a great advantage for two bears to -be together, for they have two noses and two sets of eyes and ears, -and two can turn over a log or a stone that is too heavy for one. -Altogether, I now lived better and was much more free from care than I -had been; while above all was the great fact of companionship--the mere -not being alone. In small ways she used to tyrannize over me, just as -mother did over father; but I liked it, and neither of us ever found -any tit-bit which was large enough to share without being willing to go -halves with the other. - -The rest of that summer we spent together, and all the next, and I -think she was as contented as I. What I had hoped came true, for I -increased in weight so much that I do not think there was a bear that -we saw that could have held his own against me in fair fight. Certainly -there was no pair that could have stood up against Wooffa and me -together; for though not quite so high at the shoulder as I, she was -splendidly built and magnificently strong. On her chest she had a white -spot or streak, of which she was very proud, and which she kept always -beautifully white and well combed. - -Early in the summer of the year after I had met her, I took her to -visit my childhood home. It needed a week's steady travelling to get -there, and when we arrived in the neighbourhood we found the whole -place so changed that I could hardly find my way. It was more than -three years since I had seen it, and man had now taken possession of -the whole country. For the last day or two of our journey we had to -go very carefully, for men's houses were scattered along the banks -of every stream, and wherever two streams of any size came together -there had grown up a small town. In the burnt district many of the -blackened trees were still standing, but the ground was carpeted with -brush again, and young trees were shooting up in every direction. The -beaver-dams were most of them broken, and those which remained were -deserted. On all sides were the marks of man's handiwork. - -At last we came to the beaver-dam, the pool of which had saved my life -in the fire. There were houses close beside the pool, and a large -clearing which had been made in the forest was now a grass-field, and -in that field for the first time I saw cows. We had already passed -several strings of mules and ponies on the mountain-paths which the -men had made, each animal carrying a huge bundle lashed on its back; -and now we met horses dragging carts along the wide road which had -been made along the border of the stream. Of course, we did not -venture near the road during the day, but stayed hidden well up on the -mountain-side, where we could hear the noise of people passing, and in -the evening we made our way down. - -Just as we arrived at the road, going very cautiously, a pair of horses -dragging a waggon came along. Curious to see it, we stayed close by, -and peered out from behind the trees; but as they came abreast of us a -gust of wind blew the scent of us to the horses, and they took fright -and seemed to go mad in one instant. Plunging and rearing, they tried -to turn round, backing the waggon off the road into a tree. Then, -putting their heads down, they started blindly thundering up the road, -with the waggon swaying and rocking behind them. The man shouted and -pulled and thrashed them with his whip, but the horses were too mad -with terror to listen to him. On they dashed until there came a turn in -the road, when with a crash the waggon collided with a tree. Precisely -what happened we could not see. Bits of the waggon were strewn about -the road, while the horses plunged on with what was left of it dangling -behind them. But in what was left there was no man. - -We made our way along the edge of the road to where the crash had taken -place, and there among the broken wheels and splinters of the waggon we -found the man lying, half on the road and half in the forest, dead. It -was some time before we could make up our minds to approach him, but at -last I touched him with my nose, and then we turned him over with our -paws. We were still inspecting him, when we heard the sound of other -men and horses approaching, and before they came in sight we slipped -off into the wood. We saw the new horses shy just as the former ones -had done, but whether at the smell of ourselves or of the dead man in -the road we did not know. The men managed to quiet them, however, and -got out of the waggon, and after standing over the dead man for a while -they lifted him and took him away with them. - -We loitered about until it was dark, and then tried to make our way -on to where my old home had been. It could not be half a mile away, -but that half-mile was beset with houses, and as we drew nearer the -houses became thicker, until I saw that it would be useless to go on, -for where the cedar-trees used to grow, where the hill-slope was that I -had tumbled down, where Blacky the squirrel and Rat-tat used to live, -was now the middle of a town. At the first sign of dawn we made our way -back to the beaver-pool, and, crossing the dam again, turned our backs -for ever on the neighbourhood where I had spent my childhood. It was no -longer bears' country. - -Now for the first time I understood what the coming of man meant to the -people of the forest and the mountains. I had, indeed, seen a man-town -before, and the men coming and going up and down the streams, but, -somehow, it had not occurred to me that where they came they never went -away again. These men here, however, with their houses, their roads and -cows and horses--they would never go away. They were wiping out the -forest: the animals that lived in it had vanished: the very face of the -mountains was changed, so that I could not tell the spots that I knew -best; and I was sure that we could never drive them out again. I was -sorry that I had come to see the old home, and we were a gloomy couple -as we started on our return journey southwards. - -For a long time yet we would have to go cautiously, for man was all -around us. Along the streams he had been digging, digging, digging, -endlessly digging, but what he gained by it we could not comprehend; -for we often watched him at work, and he seemed to take nothing out of -the ground, nor to eat anything as he dug. When he was not digging, he -was chopping trees, either to build more houses, to make dams across -the streams, or to break the wood up into pieces to burn. So wherever -he came the forest disappeared, and the rivers were disfigured with -holes and ditches and piles of gravel on which no green thing grew, and -nothing lived that was good to eat. - -In travelling we kept away from the streams as much as possible, moving -along the hillsides, and only coming down to the water when we wished -to cross. We had been travelling in this way for some two or three -nights, when one morning very early we came down to a stream at a point -close by a clump of buildings. The wind was blowing from them to us, -and suddenly Wooffa threw herself up on her haunches and gasped one -word--'Pig!' - -I had heard of pig before, and Wooffa had eaten it to her cost; and in -spite of the cost she agreed with everyone in saying that young pig -is the very best thing there is to eat in all the world. I had often -wondered whether some of the best scraps that I had picked up about the -houses in the town in the old days might not be pig, and now I know -that they were. But they were cooked and salted pig, and not the fresh -young pig newly killed, which is the joy of joys to a bear. This it was -that Wooffa now smelled, and as the scent came to my nostrils I knew -that it was something new to me and something very good. - -The smell came from a sort of pen at one side of the biggest building, -not unlike that in which Kahwa had been shut up, only the walls were -not so high. They were too high to look over, however, and there was no -way of climbing up until Wooffa helped me, and by standing on her back -I was able to see over. It was a small square pen, the floor deep in -mud, and at one end was a covered place something like the boxes that -men keep dogs in; and in the door of this covered place I could see, -asleep, a large black-and-white sow and five little pigs. - -If I got inside, I saw that I could climb on the roof of the covered -part and get out again; so I did not hesitate, but with one scramble -I was over and down in the middle of the family. Wouff! what a noise -they made! But with one smack of my paw I had killed the nearest little -one, and grabbed it in my mouth, and in a minute I was up on the -covered roof and out with Wooffa on the grass outside. - -We did not stop to eat the pig there, for the others were still -squealing as if they were all being killed, and we were afraid that -they would wake the men; so we made off as fast as we could into the -wood, taking the pig with us. It was as well that we did, for we had -not gone far before we heard a door bang and a dog barking, and then -the voices of men shouting to each other. We kept on for a mile or so -before we stopped, down by the side of a little stream. Then we divided -the pig fairly, and nothing that I had heard about his goodness had -been exaggerated. No; there are many good things in the world--honey -and berries and sugar and cooked things; but pig is above all others. - -So good was he that, if I had been by myself, I think I should have -stayed there, and gone down again next night for another, and probably -been shot for my pains. But, as Wooffa had told me long ago, it was in -doing just that very thing that her husband and two children had lost -their lives. They had found some pigs kept by men just as we had, and -had taken three the first night. The next night they went and got two -more; the third night the men were waiting for them, and only Wooffa -escaped. The smell of the pig when it came to her again after two years -had for the moment overcome all her fears; but she told me that she had -been terrified all the time that I was in the sty, and nothing on earth -would tempt her to risk a second visit. - -I have said before that greediness is the undoing of nearly all wild -animals, and, however much I longed for another taste of pig, I knew -that she was right. It was better to go without pig and keep alive. So -we set our faces resolutely in the other direction, and kept on our -course, vowing that nothing should tempt us to linger in the proximity -of man. And very glad we both were when we found ourselves at last once -more in a region where as yet man had not been seen, where we could -wander abroad as we pleased by night or day, where the good forest -smells were still untainted, and where we could lie in the water of the -streams at sunset or fish as long as we pleased without thought of an -enemy. - -It was a beautiful autumn that year, and I think, as I look back to -it, I was as happy then as ever in my life. There had been a splendid -crop of berries, in contrast to the year before, and now, with the -long clear autumn, all signs pointed to a hard winter. So we made -our preparations for the cold season early, hollowing out our dens -carefully side by side under the roots of two huge trees, where -they were well sheltered from the wind, and lining them with sticks -and leaves. Wooffa in particular spent a long time over hers; and -afterwards I understood why. - -It was still bright autumn weather, when the birds flying southwards -told us that already snow had fallen to the north, and it was bitterly -cold. Everyone was talking of the severe winter that was ahead of us, -and the wolves and the coyotes had gone to the plains. We were glad -we had made our preparations in good time, for, when the winter came, -it came, in spite of all that had been said about it, unexpectedly. -There was no warning of snow upon the higher peaks, but one night the -north wind blew steadily the long night through, and in the morning the -winter was on us, settling down on all the country, peak and valley, -together. - -That day we retired into our dens for good. When I came out in the -spring, Wooffa had not appeared, so I began to scratch away the stuff -from the opening of her den, and as I did so I heard new noises inside; -and all at once it dawned upon me that I was a father. Wooffa had -brought me a little Kahwa and a little Wahka for my own. - - - - -CHAPTER XI - -THE TROUBLES OF A FATHER - - -Every young cub, I imagine, gets into about the same amount of trouble -and causes about the same worry and anxiety to his parents. I know -that little Wahka took the earliest possible opportunity of getting -himself stuck full of porcupine quills, and I do not suppose he made -any more fuss when his mother pulled them out than I had done under -similar circumstances five summers before. He nearly drowned himself -by tumbling into the swiftest part of the stream that he could find, -and when I laughed at him, shivering and whining, while his mother -alternately licked and cuffed him on the head, I could not help -thinking of my own misery when I went downhill into the snow. - -As I looked at him, so preposterously small, and fluffy, and brown, it -was, as I said at the beginning, hard to believe that I was ever quite -like that. But I recognised myself in things that he did fifty times a -day. - -Kahwa, too, was exactly like the other little Kahwa, her aunt who was -dead. Wahka would be sitting looking into the air at nothing, as cubs -do, when she would steal up behind him and make a sudden grab at his -hind-foot. I could remember just how it felt when her teeth caught -hold. And he would roll over on his side, squealing, and smack her head -until she let go. In a few minutes they were perfectly good friends -again hunting squirrels up the trees, and standing down below with -open mouths, waiting for them to drop in. I showed them how to play at -pulling each other down the hill, and often of an afternoon I would sit -with my own back against the tree, and invite them to pull me down. -Then it was just as it used to be. Wahka came at me on one side, slowly -and doggedly, almost in silence, but intensely in earnest, while on -the other side Kahwa rushed on me like a little whirlwind, yapping and -snarling, and scuffling all over me with her mouth wide open to grab -anything that was within reach--the same ferocious, reckless little -spitfire as I had known years ago. They were good children, I think. -At all events, Wooffa and I were very proud of them, and she used to -spend an astonishing amount of time licking them, and combing them, and -smacking their little woolly heads. - -Then we began to take them out and teach them how to find food, and -what food to eat; that the easiest way to get at a lily bulb is not -to scrabble at it with both paws straight down, but to scoop it out -with one good scrape from the side; how to wipe off the top of an -ant-hill at one smooth stroke; how to distinguish the wild-onion by -its smell; and what the young shoots of the white camas look like. -They soon learned not to pass any fair-sized stone without turning it -over to look for the insects beneath, and also that it is useless to -go on turning the same stone over and over again to keep looking at -the 'other side.' Every fallen log had to be carefully inspected, the -bark ripped off where it was rotten to get at the beetles and grubs and -wood-lice underneath, and, if it were not too heavy, the log itself -should be rolled over. We taught them that, in approaching a log or -large stone, one should always sniff well first to see if there is a -mouse or chipmunk underneath, and, if there be fresh scent, turn it -over with one paw while holding the other ready to strike. - -Mice bothered them dreadfully at first, dodging and zigzagging round -their hind-legs, and keeping them hopping in the air, while they -grabbed wildly at the little thing that was never where it ought to be -when the paw came down to squash it. I shall never forget the first -time that Wahka found a chipmunk by himself. He lifted a stone very -cautiously, with his nose much too close to it, apparently expecting -the chipmunk to run into his mouth, which it did not do; but as soon -as the stone was lifted an inch it was out and on to Wahka's nose, and -over his head, down the middle of his back, and off into the wood. -Wahka really never saw it at all, and was spinning round and round -trying to get at the middle of his own back after the chipmunk was a -hundred yards away. - -We took the cubs down to the stream and showed them how to root -along the edges among the grass and weeds for frogs and snails, and -water-beetles and things, and when the trout came upstream we caught -some for them, and showed them how to do it; but fishing is a thing -that needs too much patience to commend itself to cubs. - -Wahka did not have any adventure with a puma, but he had one experience -which might have been even more serious. He had wandered away from his -mother and myself, just as he had been told hundreds of times not to -do, when suddenly there was the noise of a scuffle from his direction, -and he was screaming with all his might. I was there in a moment, with -his mother close behind me, and saw two huge gray wolves which had -already rolled him over, and in another instant would have done for -him. We charged them, but they were gone before we reached the spot; -and beyond a bad shaking and one scar on his shoulder Wahka was none -the worse. He was a thoroughly frightened cub, however, and it would -have taken a great deal of persuasion to make him leave his mother's -side for the rest of that day. Indeed, it was necessary to be careful -for more than that day, because the wolves hung around us, hoping still -to catch either him or Kahwa alone where they could make away with them. - -I dislike wolves immensely. In spite of their size and the strength of -their jaws, they are cowardly animals, and one wolf will never attack -even a much smaller beast than himself alone, if he can get another -to help him. Bears are not like that. We want to have our fighting -to ourselves. We would much rather have any other bear that is near -stand and look on instead of coming to help us--unless, of course, it -is a case of husband and wife, and one or other is overmatched. What -we do, we do in the open, and prefer that people should understand our -intentions clearly, and take us just as we are. A wolf is exactly the -opposite. He never does anything openly that he can do in secret. He -likes to keep out of sight, and hunt by stealth, owing what he gets to -his cunning and to superior numbers, rather than to his own individual -fighting spirit. - -We recognise that wolves know many things that we do not; though some -of them are things that we would not want to know. And they think us -fools--but they keep out of our way. There have indeed, I believe, -been cases where a number of wolves together have succeeded in killing -a bear--not in fair fight, but by dogging and following him for days, -preventing his either eating or sleeping, until from sheer exhaustion -he has been unable to resist them when they have attacked him in force -and pulled him down. This, however, could not happen in the mountains. -The wolves are only there in the summer, and then they run in couples, -or alone, or at most in families of two old ones and the cubs together. -In the autumn they go down to the foot-hills and the plains, and then -it is only in hard weather that they collect in packs. At that time the -bears are usually in their winter dens, and all the wolves that were -ever born could never get a bear out of his den, where they can reach -him only in front. - -In this case, the wolves which had attacked Wahka seldom showed -themselves, but that they were constantly near us, and watching us, we -knew. With all their cunning, they could not help getting between us -and the wind once in a while, and sometimes, when they were a little -distance away, we could hear them quarrelling between themselves over -some small animal they had killed, or some scrap of food that they had -found in the forest. It is not pleasant being shadowed, whether it is -your child or yourself that is being hunted, and we had to be extremely -cautious not to let either Kahwa or Wahka out of our sight. Nor was -it always easy, in spite of his recent fright, to keep the latter -under restraint, for he was an independent, self-reliant youngster, of -inexhaustible inquisitiveness. - -One day, when we knew the wolves were following us, and we were keeping -Wahka well in hand, we met a family of elk,[4] two parents and quite a -young fawn, and Wahka must needs go and try to find out all about the -fawn. He meant no harm whatever, and had no idea that there was any -danger. He only thought the fawn would be a nice thing to play with; -and before we could stop him he had trotted straight up to it. Elk are -jealous animals, and, like all deer, in spite of their timidity, will -fight to protect their young; and with his tremendous antlers and great -strength a big stag is a person to be let alone. - -Wahka knew nothing about all this, and went straight towards the fawn -in the friendliest and most confiding way. Fortunately, the stag was -some yards away, and we were able to put Wahka on his guard in time. -But it was a narrow escape, and I do not think the stag's antler missed -his tail by half an inch. Wooffa jumped in the stag's way, and for a -minute it looked as if there would be a fight. Of course it would have -ended in our killing the stag--and probably also his wife and the fawn -as well--but one or the other of us would have been likely to have had -the end of an antler through the ribs before the fight was over. - -The stag showed not the slightest intention of running away, though he -must have known perfectly well that the odds were hopelessly against -him; but he stood facing Wooffa, with his head down, snorting and -pawing the ground, and telling her to come on. She was so angry at the -attack on Wahka that for a moment she was inclined to do it, but I -spoke to her, and she cooled down, and we moved away, leaving the stag, -still pawing the ground and shaking his head, in possession of the -field. - -I have already said that we had had warning that the wolves were -hanging about us that day, and we had not gone far after the meeting -with the elk before we heard that some sort of trouble was in progress -behind. It was not difficult to guess what it was; the snarling and -yapping of the wolves, the breaking of branches, and the clashing of -the elk's antlers, told the story. The wolves, following us, had made -up their minds that the fawn would be easier prey and better eating -than a bear-cub; and the stag, we knew, was doing his best to defend -his young. We were very much inclined to go down and help the stag; but -we stood and listened, and suddenly the noise stopped. The silence that -ensued was too much for our curiosity, and back we went. - -As we came near we knew that the fight could not be altogether over, -for there was still a sound of snarling and the angry stamping of a -stag, and the sight that at last met our eyes was one that it did us -good to see. - -There was a wide circular open space, in which every living thing had -been trampled down, and the ground was all scored and furrowed with the -mark of hoof and antler; and in the middle stood the stag, erect and -defiant. Before him on the ground lay the body of the he-wolf, covered -with blood and stamped almost beyond recognition. There was blood--his -own blood--on the stag's shoulder, and blood on his horns, which was -not his own. At the edge of the circle, lying down and panting, lay the -she-wolf, sulky and baffled, and evidently with no mind to go on with -the combat alone, though the stag challenged her to come on. - -When he saw us, the stag perhaps thought that we were new enemies come -to take up the cause of the remaining wolf, for he signalled to his -wife, who with the fawn was standing behind him, and they began to move -slowly away, the deer and fawn going first, and the stag following, -moving backwards, and keeping his antlers always towards the enemy, -till they had passed out of the circle of cleared space into the -trees. The she-wolf lay there till they had passed, turning sulkily to -snarl at us once in a while, and then, as we stood still and showed no -sign of approaching or attacking her, she got up and walked over to the -dead body of her husband, and began turning it over with her nose. Next -she commenced to lick him, and then, taking the throat in her mouth, -deliberately began to bite into it! Growling and snarling, she crouched -over the body, and we left her to her horrid meal. - -It was a relief to know that we at least would be no more troubled by -her or her husband. - -On the whole, life went very peaceably with us, as it had done with -my parents when Kahwa and I were cubs in the days before man came, -and before the forest fire drove us into his arms. This year we saw -no sign of man. We had no wish to do so, and took care not to go in -any direction where we thought we were likely to meet him. Once in -midsummer we saw the sky to the north of us red for two or three -nights with flames in the distance, and I wondered for a while whether -history was going to repeat itself; but the wind blew steadily from -the south-west, and the fire did not come within many miles of us. It -must, I guessed, be somewhere in the neighbourhood of the former fire, -and, of course, it is where man is that forest fires are frequent; for -man is the only animal that makes fires for himself, and it is from -his fires that the flames spread to the woods. Sometimes, in very dry -seasons, the woods ignite of themselves, but that is rare. - -Of course, as the summer grew, we moved about and wandered abroad as in -other years, keeping in the neighbourhood of the streams, sheltering -during the heat of the day, and roaming over the mountains in the sweet -cool air of the night and morning. We always kept together, though, of -course, the little ones clung to their mother more than to me. I was -a kind father to them, I think, and I believe they liked and admired -me as much as young cubs ought to like and admire their father; but, -as is always the case in families like ours, while occasionally one -of them, generally Kahwa, would wander away from the others with me, -usually Wooffa and the youngsters kept close together while I moved -about alone, though within calling distance, in case I should be -needed. Sometimes the father bear leaves the family altogether during -the early summer months, and either goes alone or joins other he-bears -that are solitary like himself; but it is better for the family to stay -together. Besides, Wooffa and I suited each other admirably as hunting -companions, and I am not ashamed to confess that I was fond of my -children. - -I began to realize what an anxiety I must have been to my own parents, -for one or the other of the cubs was always getting into trouble. They -were sitting one day watching Wooffa and myself trying to turn over -a big log. We had warned them again and again not to stand below a -log downhill when we were moving it, but, of course, Kahwa had paid -no attention, and, as that was the best place from which to watch the -operation, down she sat and contentedly awaited results. After two or -three efforts we felt the log begin to move, and then, with one heave -together, we got it started, and it rolled straight down on Kahwa. We -had been too busy to notice where she was till we heard her squeal. -It might very easily have killed her, and as it was her hind-leg was -firmly caught, with the whole weight of the great log resting on it. -Her mother boxed her ears, while I managed to move the log enough to -set her free; but her foot was badly crushed, and she limped more or -less for the rest of the summer. - -On another occasion Wahka put his head into a slit in a hollow tree -to look for honey, and could not get it out again. I have heard of -bears being killed in that way, when the hole is some distance from -the ground. The opening will probably be narrower towards the bottom -than it is in the middle, and when a bear climbs up to the hole, of -course he puts his head in at the widest part. Perhaps he slips, and -his neck slides down to where the slit is narrower. If he loses his -hold altogether, his whole weight comes on his neck, and he breaks it; -and even if that does not happen, he may not be able to raise himself -and force his neck up to the wider opening again, but has to hang there -caught in a trap until he dies. - -In this case Wahka's feet were on the ground, as the hole was quite -low down, so there was no danger of his being hanged; but he was so -frightened when he found that he could not pull his head out again that -it is quite possible that if he had been alone he never would have -succeeded in getting loose. But his mother smacked him until he lifted -his head a little to where the hole was an inch or so wider, and he -was able to pull out. But there was not much hair left on the back of -his ears by the time he was free. - -With all the trouble that they gave us, however, and though I would not -have let them know it for worlds, and always made a point of noticing -their existence as little as possible, I was proud of my children. -Wahka, especially, gave promise of growing into a splendid bear, while -Kahwa was the very image of her mother, even down to the little white -streak on her chest, though that did not appear until she got her -second year's coat. - -They were good, straightforward, rollicking youngsters who got all -the pleasure out of life that there was to be got, and enjoyed -amazingly everything that was good to eat. I shall never forget the -first time that we introduced them to a berry-patch; and their first -wild-raspberries drove them nearly crazy. They would not go to sleep -all next day, though it was blazing hot, but sat up while we slept, and -whenever we woke begged to be taken to look for more raspberries. - -When winter approached, we returned to the place where we had -hibernated the previous year. Wooffa hollowed out her den to twice -its former size, so as to hold herself and both the cubs, and I -took my old quarters close by. Winter came slowly, and after all our -preparations were made we were able to be about for a long time, during -which we did nothing but eat and sleep, and gather strength and fatness -for the long fast that was coming. - - -FOOTNOTE - -[4] The North American elk is the wapiti. - - - - -CHAPTER XII - -WIPING OUT OLD SCORES - - -I have said more than once that both Wooffa and I had made up our minds -that we never wished to see man again. Looking back now, it is hard to -tell what made us depart from that determination; indeed, I am not sure -that there was any particular moment at which we did definitely change -our minds and decide to go into his neighbourhood once more. It was -rather, I think, that we drifted or wandered into it; but we certainly -must have known quite well what we were doing. - -When we started out in the following spring, with Wahka and Kahwa in -their second year, we were a formidable family, without much cause to -be afraid of anything. We had no intention of meddling with a grizzly -if we happened to meet one, and so long as we kept out of the way of -thunder-sticks there was nothing to hurt us. At first we wandered -northward with no definite object, but as we got nearer a great -curiosity came over me to see the places which I had cause to remember -so well--the berry-patch and the house where Kahwa had met her death; -and also, I believe, there was a vague hope of somehow meeting again my -old enemy and being able to square accounts with him. He had threatened -me again and again, and I had always had to run from him. Moreover, I -held him responsible in my mind for Kahwa's death. If he had warned us, -as decent bears always do warn one another of any danger, when we met -him that night on our way to the berry-patch, we should never have gone -on, and Kahwa would not have been captured. He was coming away from the -patch, and he must have known that the men were there. But for mother's -help, he would probably have killed father that time when he tried to -turn us out of our home. Altogether, it was a long list of injuries -that I had against him, and I nursed the memory of them. Perhaps I -should meet him some day, and this time I should not run away. Whenever -I thought of him, I used to get so angry that I would sit up on my -hind-legs and rub my nose in my chest and growl; and Wooffa knew what -was in my mind, and growled in sympathy with me. - -So it came about that we travelled steadily northward that summer, -going back over much of the same ground as father, mother, and I had -travelled when we came away after Kahwa's death. Sometimes we stayed in -one locality for a week, and then perhaps kept moving for a couple of -days, until we came to another place which tempted us to loiter. Many -times we saw man, but he never saw us; for we were old and experienced, -and had no trouble in keeping out of his way. We found that he did not -always stay wherever he came. Some houses, which I remembered passing -three years before, we found empty now and in ruins, with the roofs -falling in and bushes growing over them. On several streams the beavers -told us that they had not seen a man for three years. - -We now learned, too, something of the reason of man's coming into the -mountains. Sometimes men's dogs were lost in the woods, or they made -friends with coyotes and ran wild; and they told the coyotes all they -knew, and from them it spread to the other animals. We met one of these -coyotes who had been friends with a dog, and she told us what the -dog had told her. It was gold that the men were looking for, yellow, -shining stuff that was found in the gravel in the river-beds. What men -wanted with it she had no idea, as the dog himself did not know, and -it was not good to eat; but they set great store by it, and were always -looking for it everywhere, following up the streams and scratching and -digging in the beds. If they found no gold in a stream, they left it -and went on to another. Where they did find it they built houses and -stayed, and more men came, and more, until towns grew up, with roads -and horses and cows as we had seen. In many ways what the coyote told -us agreed with what we had observed for ourselves, so we presumed it -was true; though a coyote is too much like a wolf to be safe to trust -as a general rule. - -The next time that we came to a place where the men had been working I -thought I would like to see some of the wonderful yellow stuff. There -were mounds of earth, and a long ditch running slantwise away from -the stream, and nobody seemed to be about; so I scrambled down into -the ditch to look if any of the yellow stuff was there. I was walking -slowly along, sniffing at the ground and the sides of the ditch, when -suddenly out of a sort of cave in one side, and only a few yards -from me, came a man! Wooffa was just behind me, and the cubs behind -her, and he was evidently no less astonished than I, and much more -frightened. With one yell, he clambered up the bank before I could make -up my mind what to do, and rushed to a small tree or sapling near by, -and then for the first time I learned that a man could climb. He went -up fast, too, until he got to the first branches, when he stopped and -looked down and shouted at us--I suppose with some idea of frightening -us. But he had no thunder-stick, and we were not in the least afraid; -so we followed him and looked at the tree. It was too thin for us to -climb--for a bear has to have something solid to take hold of--or I -would certainly have gone up after him. As it was, we sat about for a -while looking at him, and waiting to see if he would come down again; -but he showed no intention of doing that, and, as we did not know how -soon other men might come, we left him and went on our way. But I did -not go investigating empty ditches in the daylight any more. - -One thing that completely puzzled us--as completely as it -terrified--was the thunder-stick. What was it? How came man to be able -to kill at such distances with it? Above all, at what distance could he -kill? These questions puzzled me many a time. - -It was soon after the adventure in the ditch that for the first time -we saw a boat. It was coming down the stream with three men in it. At -first we thought the boat itself to be some kind of an animal, and that -the long oars waving on either side were its legs or wings; but as it -came near we saw the men inside, and understood what it was. So we -stood and watched it. Fortunately, we were out of sight ourselves, or I -am afraid to think what might have happened. - -Just opposite to us, on the very top of a pine-tree on the other bank, -an osprey which had been fishing was sitting and waiting for the boat -to go by. As the boat came alongside of us, one of the men, as he sat, -raised a thunder-stick and pointed it at the osprey, and the bird fell -dead, even before, as it seemed to us, the thunder-stick had spoken. - -Until then we had had no idea that the thunder-stick could kill up in -the air just as well as along the ground; indeed, we had always agreed -among ourselves that, in case we should meet a man with a thunder-stick -and not have time to get away, we would make for the nearest trees and -climb out of his reach. But what was the use of climbing a tree, when -we had just seen the osprey killed on the top of one much higher than -any that we could climb? This incident made man seem more awful than -before. - -We were now within one night's journey of the places that I knew so -well, and in a country where men were on all sides. We kept crossing -well-worn trails over the mountains, on which we sometimes saw men, -and often when we were lying up during the day we heard the noise of -mule-trains passing, the clangle-clangle-clang of the bell round the -neck of the leading mule, and the hoarse voices of the men as they -shouted at them. Now, also, many of the houses were like the one we had -seen by the pool at the beaver-dam, with clearings round them in which -cows lived and strange green things were growing. - -On the evening of the day on which the osprey had been shot we came to -one of these. I remembered the house from three years ago, but other -buildings had been added to it, and round it was a wide open space -full of stuff that looked like tall waving grass, which I now know was -wheat. There was a fence all round it, made of posts with barbed wire -stretched between, and it was the first time that we had seen barbed -wire. Wahka, with his inquisitiveness, was the first to find out what -the barbed wire was. He found out with his nose. When he had stopped -grumbling and rubbing his nose on the ground, and could explain what -was the matter, I tried it, more cautiously than he had done, but still -sufficiently to make my nose bleed. We walked nearly all round the -field, and everywhere was the horrid wire with its vicious spikes. But -we wanted to get into the field because we were sure that the long, -waving, yellowing wheat would be good to eat. At last an idea occurred -to Wooffa, who took the top of one of the posts in her two paws, and -throwing, her whole weight back, wrenched it clean out of the ground. -Still the wire held across, and I had to treat the next post in the -same way, and then the next. Both she and I left tufts of our hair on -the sharp points, but the wire was now lying on the ground where we -could step over it; so we waded shoulder-high into the wheat, and -before we left the field it was gray dawn, and we had each of us, I -think, eaten more than we had eaten before in all our lives. - -We had trampled all over the field munching and munching and munching -at the wheat-ears, which were full and sweet and just beginning to -ripen. Then we went down to the stream for a drink, and by the time -the sun was up we were three or four miles away in the mountains. -The children pleaded to be allowed to go there again next night, but -that was a point which we had settled that evening when we had caught -the pig. Never again would we go back to a place where we had taken -anything of man's which he could miss, and where he might be prepared -for a second visit. - -So we went cautiously onward the next evening, with the signs of man's -presence always around us. Almost half the trees had been chopped -down; there were trails over the mountains in all directions, and -houses everywhere by the streams, from which men's voices came to us -until late at night. Silently, in single file, we threaded our way, -I leading, and Wooffa bringing up the rear. Bears that had not our -experience would certainly have got into trouble; but I knew man, and -was not terrified at his smell or the sound of his voice, and knew, -too, that all that was needed was to keep out of his sight and move -quietly. Mile by mile we pushed on without mishap, but there were so -many men, and things had changed so much that, remembering the visit -to my first home, I doubted whether I should be able to recognise the -berry-patch when I came to it; when suddenly there it was in front of -me! - -The trees all round it had been cut down, so that it came into view -sooner than I had expected; but when I looked upon it I saw that it had -hardly changed. The moon was high overhead, and the patch glistened -in the light, as of old. Across the middle ran a hard brown roadway -which was not there in the old days; but otherwise all was the same. I -was standing almost on the spot from which we had watched Kahwa being -dragged away, and the scene was nearly as distinct to me as it had been -at that time. - -We did not go down into the patch. The trees around the edges had been -so much thinned out that it was less easy to approach in safety; so -we contented ourselves with wandering round and eating such fruit as -remained on the scattered bushes which grew among the trees on the -outskirts of the wood. It was already after midnight, and we only -stayed for an hour or so, and then I led the way back into the hills, -intending to go and see if our old lair, for which my father and mother -had had to fight in the former days, was still untouched by man and -would afford us safe shelter for the coming day. As I did so, my -thoughts went back to that morning, and I growled to myself; for I was -thinking of my old enemy, and wondering whether I should ever have -the opportunity of avenging the old injuries. And, lo! even as I was -wondering the opportunity came. - -Wahka had strayed from the path, and suddenly I heard him growling; -and a moment later he came running to my side, and out of the brush -behind him loomed the figure of another bear. I knew him in a moment, -and it was characteristic of him that he should have attacked a cub -like Wahka--not, of course, knowing that it was the grandchild of the -pair whom he had tried to dispossess of their home so long before. As -he saw the rest of us, he stopped in his pursuit of Wahka, and stood up -on his hind-legs growling angrily; and as I measured him with my eyes I -realized how much bigger I must be than my father, for this bear, who -had towered over my father, was not an inch taller or an ounce heavier -than I. We were as nearly matched as two bears could be; but I had no -doubt of my ability to punish him, for I had right on my side, and had -waited a long time for this moment, and would fight as one fights who -is filled with rage at old wrongs that are left to him to redress. - -And I did not leave him long in any doubt as to my intentions, but -walked straight towards him, telling him as I did so that I had been -looking for him, and that the time had come for the settling of old -scores. He understood who I was, and was just as ready to fight as I. - -I am not going to trouble you with an account of another fight. I -pursued my old plan, and he had been so used to have other bears make -way for him, and fight only under compulsion, that I think my first -rush surprised him so much that it gave me even more advantage than -usual. Big and strong as he was, the issue was never in doubt from the -start; for I felt within myself that my fury made me irresistible, and -from the moment that I threw myself on him he never had time to breathe -or to take the initiative. He was beaten in a few minutes, and he knew -it; but he fought desperately, and with a savageness that told me that -if he had won he would have been satisfied with nothing less than my -life. But he was not to win; and whimpering, growling, bleeding, and -mad with shame and rage, I drove him back, and it was only a question -of how far I chose to push my victory. - -[Illustration: FROM THE MOMENT I THREW MYSELF ON HIM HE NEVER HAD TIME -TO BREATHE.] - -I let him live; but he went away torn and crippled, with his spirit -broken and his fighting days over. Never again would he stand to face -a full-grown bear. For years he had made everything that he met move -aside from his path in the forest, and he had used his strength always -for evil, to domineer and to crush and to tyrannize. Thenceforward he -would know what it was to be made to stand aside for others, to yield -the right of way, and to whine and fawn on his fellows; for a bear once -broken in body and spirit, as I broke him, is broken for good. - -I was not hurt beyond a few flesh wounds, which Wooffa licked for me -before we slept; and it was with a curious sense of satisfaction and -completeness, as if the chief work of my life were now well done, that -I lay down in the old lair which had so many associations for me, with -my wife and well-grown children by me, and rested through the heat of -the following day. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII - -THE TRAP - - -The old neighbourhood was no place for us to stay in, however -satisfactory our brief visit to it had been. It was man's country -now, and there were no other bears in the vicinity. My enemy of the -night before, being old and cunning and solitary, had managed to live -there unscathed year after year, after the other bears had all gone -away or been killed; but for us, a family of four, of whom two were -inexperienced youngsters not yet two years old, it was different. Many -times during the day men passed not far from us, and the distant sounds -of their voices and the chopping of axes was in our ears all day. So -we remained under cover till well into the night, when man's eyes are -useless, and then we started out silently, and, as our custom was when -moving through dangerous country, in single file, with the cubs between -Wooffa and myself. - -The end of that summer was very hot, and partly for the coolness, -and partly, also, to get as far away from man as possible, we went -northward and up into higher ranges of the mountains than we usually -cared to visit. - -As we climbed upwards, the trees grew smaller and further apart, -until, just below the extreme top, they ceased altogether. Above the -tree-line rose what looked from below like the ordinary rounded summit -of a mountain with rocky sides, and even at this time of year small -patches of snow still lingered in the sheltered spots. As we came out -on the top, however, instead of the rounded summit which we expected, -the ground broke suddenly away before our feet, and below us, blue and -still and circular, lay a lake. The mountain was no more than a shell -or a gigantic cup, filled to within fifty feet of its rocky brim with -the clearest of water. I had seen a similar lake in the year when I -roamed alone before I met Wooffa, and my father had told me long ago -that there were many of these mountain lakes round us, though, of -course, we could not see them from below. - -Here on these lonely summits live the mountain-sheep and mountain-goat. -Round the edge of the water their feet had beaten a regular trail, and -in the rough crevices of the bark of the last of the trees, tufts -of white wool were sticking where the goats had rubbed themselves -against the trunks. As we stood on the edge of the thin lip of rock, a -sheep with its great curved horns that had been drinking at the lake -scrambled in alarm up the further side, and, standing for a minute -against the skyline opposite, disappeared over the edge; and though we -lived there for nearly two months, and smelled them often and heard -them every night, we never saw one again except clear across the whole -width of the lake. They were probably right in keeping away from us, -because a young mountain sheep--well, though I had never tasted one, it -somehow suggested thoughts of pig. - -At one side there was a break in the rocky wall or rim of the cup, and -through this the water trickled, to swell gradually, as it went on -down the mountain, into a stream, which, joining with other streams, -somewhere became, no doubt, a river. At the point where the water -flowed out of the lake, the hillside was strewn with huge boulders and -fragments of rock down to below the timber-line, and here among these -rocks, where the brush grew over them and the stream tumbled by, was -an ideal place to spend the remaining hot weather; and here we stayed. -Man, we were sure, had never been here, nor was he likely to come, and -we wandered carelessly and without a shadow of fear. - -Before the cold weather came our family broke up. We did not quarrel; -but it is in the course of nature that young bears, when they are able -to take care of themselves, should go out into the world. Wahka was no -longer a cub, and there is not room in one family for two full-grown -he-bears. On the other hand, Wooffa and Kahwa had not of late got on -well together. My wife, as is the way of women, was a little jealous -of my affection for Kahwa, and--well, sometimes I am bound to say that -I thought Wooffa spent rather too much time with Wahka and forgot my -existence. So on all accounts it was better that we should separate. I -had been driven away by my father when I was a year younger than Wahka -was now, but I do not blame him; for the disappearance of Kahwa--the -first Kahwa--and living away from home and nightly wanderings in the -town, had made a breach between us. Now, at the separation from my son, -there was no bad feeling, and one day by common consent he and Kahwa -went away not to return. I had no apprehension that they would not be -able to take care of themselves; and as for me, Wooffa was company -enough, and we were both glad to have each other all to ourselves again. - -Soon after the children had gone, the chill in the wind gave warning -that winter was not far away, and we began to move down towards the -lower levels; for on the mountain-tops it is too exposed and cold, and -the snow stays too long to make them a good winter home. As we looked -up a few days later to the peak which we had left, we saw it standing -out against the dull sky, not yellow-grey and rocky as we had left -it, but all gleaming white and snow-covered. For a day or two more we -followed the streams down to the lower country, and then made our dens -beneath the roots of two upturned trees close together. And again, as -two years before, Wooffa spent much time and great care over the lining -of hers, making it very snug and soft and warm. - -And next spring there were two more little ones--another woolly brown -Wahka, and another Kahwa, just as woolly and just as brown--to look -after and teach, and protect from porcupines and pumas and wolves, and -make fit for the struggle of life. - -I am not going to attempt to tell you any stories of the early days -of the new cubs, for the events of a bear's babyhood are always much -alike, and it is not easy, looking back, to distinguish one's later -children from one's first; and I should probably only tell over again -stories of the Wahka and Kahwa of two years before. They were healthy, -vigorous cubs, the new little ones, and they tumbled and played and -were smacked, and blundered their way along somehow. - -But it was a terrible year, with late snows long after spring ought to -have begun; and then it rained and rained all the summer. There was no -berry crop, insects of all kinds had been killed by the late cold and -were very scarce, every stream stayed in flood, so that the fish never -came up properly, and there was none of the usual hunting along the -exposed herbage as the streams went down in the summer heat. It was, as -I said, a terrible year, and food was hard to get for a whole family. -We were driven to all sorts of shifts, and then, to make matters worse, -long before the usual time for winter came, bitter frosts set in. -Driven by hunger and the necessity of finding food for the little ones -we did what we had thought never to do again, and once more went down -to the neighbourhood of man. - -We were not the only ones that did so, for the animals were nearly all -driven out of the mountains, and the bears, especially, congregated -about the settlements of man in search of food. Wherever we went we -found the same thing, the bears coming out at night to hunt round -the houses for food; and many stories we heard of their being shot -when greedily eating meat that had been placed out for them, or when -sniffing round a house or trying to take a pig. Now, too, man brought -a new weapon beside his thunder-stick--huge traps with steel jaws that -were baited with meat and covered with sticks and twigs and earth, so -that a bear could not see them; but when he went to take the meat the -great toothed jaws closed round his leg, and then he found that the -trap was chained to a neighbouring log which he had to drag round with -him till the men came out and killed him with their thunder-sticks. - -Having been told all about it, when we came one day to a large piece of -a young pig lying on the ground, I made the others stand away while I -scratched cautiously round and pushed sticks against the pig, carefully -keeping my own paws out of the way. Even as it was, when the steel jaws -came together with a snap that made the whole trap leap into the air as -if it was alive, they passed so near my nose that I shudder now when I -think of it. But we ate the pig. And that happened two or three times, -until the men took the trap away from that particular place. - -Another time I had a narrow escape on approaching a house at night. -We had been there several times, and usually picked up some scraps -of stuff that was good. I always went down first alone to see if all -was safe, leaving the others in the shelter of the woods, and on this -occasion I was creeping stealthily up to the house, when suddenly, -from behind a pile of chopped wood, a thunder-stick spoke and I felt a -sudden pain in my shoulder. I was only grazed, however, and scrambled -back to Wooffa and the cubs in safety. But we did not visit that house -any more, and I heard that a few days after another bear that went down -just as I had gone was killed by a thunder-stick from behind the same -pile of wood. - -In the long-run, however, a bear is no match for man. It was a -dangerous life that we were living, and we knew it; but both Wooffa -and I had had more than ordinary experience of man, and we believed -we could always escape him. Besides, what else were we to do? It is -doubtful if we could have lived in the mountains that winter, and we -had our cubs to look after. In the old days before man came, when, as -once in many years, the weather drove us from the mountains, we could -have gone down to the foot-hills and the plains, and found food there; -but man now barred our way, and the only thing that we could do was to -go where he was, and live on such food as we could get. Much of that -food was only what was thrown away, but much of it also we deliberately -stole. More than one cornfield we visited, and in the fenced enclosures -round his houses we found strange vegetables that were good to eat; but -we had to break down fences to get them. We stole pigs, too, and twice -when dogs attacked us we had to kill the dogs. Once we found half a -sheep, which had been killed by man, lying on the ground, as if man had -forgotten it. We ate it, and were all dreadfully ill afterwards. Then -we knew that it had been poisoned and put out for us; but, fortunately, -the poison was not enough to kill four of us, though, I suppose, if any -one of us had eaten the whole, that one would have died. After that we -never touched large pieces of meat which we found lying about. - -It was, as I have said, a dangerous life, and we knew it; but we were -driven to it, and we trusted to our experience, our cunning, and our -strength, to pull us through somehow. - -Winter came, and we ought to have gone to our dens, but we were not -fit for it. We were too poorly fed and thin, and hunger would probably -have driven us out in midwinter. It was better to stay out now. So we -stayed, keeping for the most part in the immediate neighbourhood of -a number of men's houses along a certain stream. It was not a town, -though there was one a few miles further down the stream; but for a -distance of a mile or more on both sides of the water there were houses -every hundred yards or so, and all day long men were at work digging -and working in the ground along by the water looking for gold. We had -kept all other bears away from the place, and, living in the mountains -during the day, we used to come down at night, never going near the -same house on two nights in succession, but being sometimes on one side -of the stream, which was easily crossed, and sometimes on the other, -and paying our visits wherever we thought we were least likely to be -expected. Some nights we would not go near the houses at all, but would -content ourselves with such food as we could find in the woods, though -now in the bitter cold it was hard to find anything. - -Early one morning, after one of these nights when we had kept away -from the houses, we came across a trap. It evidently was a trap, -because there was the bait put out temptingly in plain sight, not on -the ground this time, but about a foot from the ground, tied to a -stick. The curious thing about it was, however, that the whole affair -was inside some sort of a house; or, rather, there were the three walls -and roof of a small house, but there was no front to it--that was all -open; and there, well inside, was the bait. I did not know why men had -been at so much pains to build the house round the trap, but I had no -doubt that if I approached the bait with proper caution, and scratched -at it, the steel jaws would spring out as usual from somewhere, and -then we could eat the meat. And we were all four distressingly hungry. - -[Illustration: IT WAS EVIDENTLY A TRAP.] - -So I told the others to stay behind while I went into the house and -sprung the trap and brought the meat out to them. I went in, and began -to scratch about on the ground where I supposed the usual trap to be; -but there was nothing there but the hard, dry earth. This puzzled me, -but the lump of meat tied to the stake was an obvious fact; and I was -hungry. At last, since, scratch as I would, no steel jaws appeared -from anywhere, nor was there any place where they could be concealed, -nothing remained but to take the meat boldly. I reached for it with my -paw, but it was firmly tied; so I took it in my mouth and pulled. As I -did so I heard a sudden movement behind me. A log had fallen behind me, -almost blocking up the door. Well, I would move that away when I had -the meat, I thought, and, seizing it firmly in my mouth, I tore it from -its fastenings and turned to take it to the others waiting outside. -But the log across the door was bigger than I thought; it completely -blocked my passage, and when I gave it a push it did not yield. - -Still, I had no uneasiness. I pushed harder at the log, but it did not -move. I tried to pull it inward, but it remained unshaken. I sniffed -all along it and round it, and round the other walls of the small -house, and was puzzled as to what to do next. So I called to Wooffa, -who came outside and began sniffing round, too. Remembering how I had -released Kahwa from her pen, I told Wooffa to lift the latch; but there -was no latch, she said. This was growing tiresome, and then, all of a -sudden, it dawned on me. - -_This_ was the trap--this room! There was no steel thing with jaws; -no poisoned meat; nothing but this house, which itself was the trap, -left open at one side so that I might walk in, and so arranged that as -I pulled at the meat the heavy log dropped, shutting the open door, and -dropped in such a way that the strength of ten bears would not move it. -This was the trap, and I--I was caught! - -That I was really, hopelessly, and finally caught I could not, of -course, believe at first. There was some mistake--some way out of it. -I had outwitted man so often that it was not to be thought of that he -had won at last. And round and round the small space I went again and -again, always coming back to the cracks above the fallen log to scratch -and strain at them without the smallest result. Outside Wooffa was -doing the same. I was inclined to lose my temper with her at first, -believing that if I was outside in her place I could surely find some -way of making an opening; but I saw that she was trying as hard to let -me out as I was to get out myself. And then I heard the cubs beginning -to whimper, as they comprehended vaguely what had happened, and saw -their mother's fruitless efforts and her evident distress. - -Then I began to rage. I remember taking the meat in my mouth and, -without eating a morsel, rending it into small bits. I found the stick -to which it had been tied and broke it with my jaws into a hundred -pieces. I attacked the walls and the door furiously, beating them with -my paws blow after blow that would have broken a bear's neck, and -tearing at the logs with my teeth till my gums were cut so that my -mouth ran blood. And outside, as they heard me raging within, not the -cubs only but Wooffa also whimpered and tore the ground with teeth and -claws. - -We might as well have stormed at the sky or the mountains. The house -stood, none the worse, and I was as far from freedom as ever. By this -time the night had passed and dawn had come. I could smell it, and -see through the chinks that the air was lightening outside. And then -outside I heard a new sound, a sound that filled me with rage and -fear--the barking of a dog. - -Nearer it came and nearer, and I heard the voice of a man calling; -but the dog was much nearer than the man, evidently running ahead -of him, and evidently also coming straight for the trap. In another -minute the dog had caught sight of the bears outside, for I heard the -snarling rush of an angry dog, and with it Wahka growling as the dog -attacked him. The shouting of the man's voice grew nearer, and then, -mingled with the noise of the fight between Wahka and the dog, I heard -the angry 'wooffing' of Wooffa's voice. The dog's voice changed as it -turned to attack this more formidable enemy, but suddenly its barking -ended in a yelp, followed by another and another, which slowly faded -away into what I knew were its death-cries. What could any dog expect -who dared to face such a bear as Wooffa fighting for her children? - -But the last of the dog's death-cries were drowned by the most awful of -all sounds, the voice of the thunder-stick; and my heart leaped as I -heard Wahka cry out in what I knew was mortal agony. Then came Wooffa's -voice again, and in such tones that I pitied anyone who stood before -her. Again the thunder-stick spoke, and I heard what I knew was Wooffa -charging. I heard her growling in her throat in what was almost a roar, -and the crashing of bushes and the shouts of the man's voice, and more -crashing of bushes, which died away in the distance down the hillside. -Then all was silent except where somewhere in the rear of the house, -little Kahwa whimpered miserably to herself. - -All this I heard, and most of it I understood, standing motionless -and helpless inside the trap, powerless to help my wife and children -when in such desperate straits within a few yards of me. As the silence -fell and the tension was relaxed, I fell to raging again, with a fury -tenfold greater than before, tearing and beating at the walls, rending -great lumps of fur out of myself with my claws, biting my paws till the -blood ran, and filling the air with my cries of helpless anger. At last -through the noise that I was making I heard Wooffa's voice. She had -returned, and was speaking to me from outside. Brokenly--for she was -out of breath, and in pain--she told me the story. - -Wahka was dead, and the dog. The latter she had killed with her paw; -the former had been slain by the first stroke of the thunder-stick. -Then she had charged at the man, who, however, was a long way off. The -thunder-stick had spoken again, and had broken her leg. As she fell, -the man had turned to run; she had followed, but he had a start, and, -with her broken leg, she could not have caught him without chasing -him right up to his house. But he had thrown the thunder-stick away -as he ran, and that she had found and chewed into small pieces before -returning to me. And now her leg was utterly useless, here was Kahwa a -helpless cub: what was she to do? - -There was only one thing for her to do: to make good her own escape -with Kahwa if possible. But how about me? she asked. I must remain. -There was no alternative, and she could do no good by staying. With -her broken leg, she could not help me against the men, who would -undoubtedly return in force, and she would only be sacrificing Kahwa's -life and her own. She must go, and at once. - -She knew in her heart that it was the only thing, and very reluctantly, -for Kahwa's sake, she consented. There was no time for long farewells; -and there was no need of them, for we knew that we loved each other, -and, whatever came, each knew that the other would carry himself or -herself staunchly as a bear should. - -So she went, and I heard her stumbling along with her broken leg, and -Kahwa whining as she trotted by her mother's side. I knew that, even if -they escaped with their lives, I should in all probability never hear -of it. I listened till the last sound had died away and it was so still -outside that it seemed as if everything in the forest must be dead. My -rage had passed away, and in its place was an unspeakable loneliness -and despair; and I sat myself up in the furthest corner of the narrow -house, with my back against the wall and my face to the door, and, with -my muzzle buried in my chest, awaited the return of the enemy. - - - - -CHAPTER XIV - -IN THE HANDS OF MAN - - -It seemed to me that I waited a long time; but it cannot have been -really long, for it was not yet noon when I heard again the barking of -dogs, and the voices of men approaching. They walked round and round -the trap, and tried to peer through the crevices, and they let off -their thunder-sticks, presumably to make me give some sign that I was -inside. But I remained crouching in the corner silent. - -Then I heard them on the roof. A sudden ray of light pierced the -half-darkness, and in another moment one of the logs from the roof had -been lifted off, and thrown upon the ground outside, and the sunlight -poured in upon me. I heard a shout from one of the men, and, looking -up out of the corners of my eyes, I saw their heads appearing in the -opening above, one behind the other. But I did not move nor give any -sign that I was alive. - -The next thing I knew was that a rope dropped on me from above. It had -a loop at the end which fell across my head; and remembering Kahwa, and -how she had been dragged away with ropes about her, I raised a paw and -pushed the thing aside. Somehow, as I did so, the loop fell over my -paw, and when I tried to shake it off it slipped, and ran tight about -my wrist, and the men at the other end jerked it till it cut deep into -the flesh. Then I lost my temper, and when a second rope fell on me I -struck at it angrily with my free paw, but only with the same result. -Both my paws were now fast, the two ropes passing out through the -roof, one at one side and one at the other; and as the men pulled and -jerked on them inch by inch, in spite of all my strength, my arms were -gradually stretched out full spread on either side of me, and I was -helpless, held up on my hind-legs, unable to drop my fore-feet to the -floor, and unable to reach the rope on either side with my teeth. - -Then I lost all control of myself, and I remember nothing of the -struggle that followed, except that everything swam red around me, and -I raged blindly, furiously, impotently. In the end another rope was -fast to one of my hind-legs, and another round my neck. Then, I know -not how, they lifted the log, which Wooffa and I had been unable to -budge, away from the door, and, fighting desperately, I was dragged out -into the open, and so, yard by yard, down, down the mountain towards -their houses. - -I was utterly helpless. Four of the men walked, two on either side of -me, each having hold of the end of a rope, and all the ropes were kept -taut. If I stopped, the two dogs that they had with them fell upon my -heels and bit, and I could not turn or use a paw to reach them. If I -tried to charge at the men on either side, my feet were jerked from -under me before I could move a yard. And somewhere close behind me all -the while, I knew, walked the last man, with a thunder-stick in his -hand, which might speak at any minute. - -It was nearly evening by the time that they had dragged me the mile or -so to where their houses were. As we came near, other men joined us, -until there must have been thirty or more; but the original four still -held the ropes, and they dragged me into one of the buildings, several -times larger than the trap, and, making holes in the walls between the -logs, they passed the ends of the ropes through them and made them fast -outside, so that I was still held in the same position, with my two -arms stretched out on either side of me and the ropes cutting into the -flesh. So they left me. They left me for two days and two nights. Often -they came in and looked at me and spoke to me, and once the ropes were -slackened for a minute or two from the sides, and a large pail of water -was pushed within my reach. I think they saw that I was going mad from -thirst, as certainly I was. I plunged my face into the water and drank, -and as soon as I ceased the ropes were pulled tight and the pail was -taken away. It was not until the third day that I had a mouthful to -eat, when the same thing was repeated: the ropes were slackened for a -while, and both food and drink were pushed up to me. I was allowed a -longer time to make the meal, but, as soon as I had finished, the ropes -were tightened once more. Two days later I was given another meal; and -then two days and another. But I was never given as much food as I -wanted, but only enough to keep me alive. By this time I had come to -distinguish the men apart, and one I saw was the master of the others. -He it was who always brought me my food, and--I am ashamed to confess -it--I began to look forward to his coming. - -Kill him? Yes, gladly would I have killed him, had he put himself -within my reach; but I saw that he meant me no harm. The tone of his -voice when he spoke to me was not angry. Whenever he spoke he called -me 'Peter,' and I came to understand that this was the name he had -given me. When he came to the door and said 'Peter,' I knew that food -was coming. I hated him thoroughly; but it seemed that he was all that -stood between me and starvation, and, however much he made me suffer, -I understood that he did not intend to kill me or wish to let me die. -Then I remembered what Kahwa had said about the man who gave her food -and used to play with her, and I began to comprehend it. No one ever -attempted to play with me, or dared to put themselves within reach of -my paws; but after a while this man, the man whom I in my turn now -thought of as Peter, when my paws were safely bound and the ropes taut, -would come to me and lay his hand upon my head, taking care to keep -well away out of reach of my teeth. He rarely came to see me, at any -time of the day or night, without bringing me lumps of sugar, which he -held out to my mouth on the end of a piece of board so that I could -lick them off; and after a while he gave me meals every day, and I was -less hungry. - -Then one day another rope was slipped over my nose, so that I could -not bite, and, while all the ropes were stretched to their uttermost -and I could not move an inch, Peter put a heavy collar round my neck, -to which was fastened a chain that I could neither break nor gnaw. And -when that had been firmly fastened round one of the logs in the wall, -the ropes were all taken off. - -Wow-ugh! The relief of it! Both my wrists and one of my ankles where -the ropes had been were cut almost to the bone, and horribly painful; -but though it was at first excruciating agony to rest my weight on -my front-feet, the delight of being able to get on all fours again, -and to be able to move around to the full length of the chain, was -inexpressible. I had not counted the days, but it must have been over a -month since I was captured, and all that time I had been bound so that, -sleeping or waking, I was always in the same position, sitting on my -haunches, with the ropes always pulling at my outstretched arms. - -For another month and more I was kept in the same building, always -chained and with the collar round my neck, until one day they tried -to put the ropes on me again; but I was cunning now, and would not let -them do it. I simply lay down, keeping my nose and paws in the earth, -and, as long as a rope was anywhere near me, refused to move either -for food or drink. But a bear is no match for men. They appeared to -give up all attempts to put ropes on me, until a few days later they -brought a lump of wool on the end of a long stick, and pushed it into -my face till I bit at it and worried it. It was soaked in something the -smell of which choked me and made me dizzy, and when I could hardly -see, somehow they slipped a sack over my head that reeked with the -same smell, and the next thing I knew was that I must have been asleep -for an hour or more and the ropes were on all my legs again. When they -began to drag me out of the building, I resisted at first; but I soon -knew it was useless, so I made up my mind to go quietly, and they -took me away, down the stream and over mountains for several days and -nights, until one evening we came to a town and they dragged me into a -box nearly as big as a house, and bigger than the trap in which I had -been caught. And soon the box began to move. I know now that I was on -the railway. We travelled for days and days, out of the mountains into -the plains, where for three days there were no trees or hills, but only -the great stretch of flat yellow land. I had no idea that there was so -much of the world. - -From the railway I was put on a boat, and from the boat back on the -railway, and from that back on a boat again. For nearly a month we -were constantly moving, always as far as I could tell, in the same -direction; and yet we never came to the end of the world. During this -time Peter was always with me or close at hand. He gave me all my -meals, and when other men took the ropes to lead me from the railway to -the boat or back again, if I got angry, he spoke to me, and for some -reason, though I hardly know why myself, it calmed me. It was not until -I had been in the gardens here, in this same cage, for some days that -at last he went away and never came back. That was two years ago. When -he went away, the new Peter took charge of me, and he has been here -ever since. - -Two years! It is a long time to be shut up in a cage. But I mind it -less than I did at first. Why does man do it? I do not understand; nor -can I guess what I am wanted for. I stay here in the cage all the -time, and Peter brings me meals and cleans the cage, one half at a -time, when I am shut up in the other half; and crowds of people come -and walk past day after day, and look at me, and give me all sorts -of things to eat--some quite ridiculous things, like paper bags and -walnut-shells and pocket-handkerchiefs. Peter, I believe, means to -be kind to me always, and I think he is proud of me, from the way he -brings people to look at me. But how could you expect me to be friendly -to man after all that I have suffered at his hands? Even Peter, as I -have said, never comes into the same half of the cage with me. I have -often wondered what I would do if he did. Twice only have men come -within my reach when my paws have been free, and neither of them will -ever go too near a bear again. But I am not sure whether I would hurt -Peter or not. I like him to scratch my head through the bars. - -Twice since I have been here they have given me a she-bear as a -companion, and she has tried to make friends with me; but they had to -take her away again. Let them bring me Wooffa if they think I am lonely. - -And I am lonely at times--in spring and summer especially, when it is -hot and dusty, and I remember how Wooffa and I used to have the cool -forests to wander in at nights, and the thick, moist shade of the brush -by the water's edge to lie in during the day. Then I get sick for the -scent of the pines, and the touch of the wet bushes, and the feel of -the good soft earth under my claws. And sometimes in the heat of the -day I hear the scream of an eagle from somewhere round there to the -right (it is in a cage, I suppose, like myself, for it calls always -from the same place, and I never hear a mate answering), and it all -comes back to me--the winding streams and the beaver-dams, with the -kingfishers, black and white, darting over the water, and the osprey -sitting and screaming from its post on the pine-top. And at night -sometimes, when the wolves howl and the deer whistle, or the whine of -a puma reaches my ears--all caged, I suppose--the longing for the old -life becomes almost intolerable. I yearn for the long mountain-slopes, -with the cool night-wind blowing; and the stately rows of trees, -black-stemmed and silver-topped in the moonlight; and the noise of the -tumbling streams in one's ears, when all the world was mine to wander -in--mine and Wooffa's. - -Yes, I want freedom; but I want Wooffa most. And I do not even know, -and never shall know now, whether she and Kahwa escaped with their -lives that day, when I could not get to her even to lick the blood from -her broken leg. - -But, on the other hand, these thoughts only come when some external -sight or sound arouses them in me, and at ordinary times I am content. -I have enough to eat, which, after all, is the main thing in life, and -am saved the work of finding food for myself. I never know real hunger -now, as sometimes I knew it in the old days when the frost was on the -ground; and there is no need now to hibernate. My first winter here I -started, as a matter of habit, and scratched the sawdust and stuff into -a heap in that corner over there. But what was the use, when it never -got cold and my meals came every day? - -My claws are growing horribly long from lack of use, because there -is nothing here to dig for; and I know I am getting fat from want of -exercise. But it is pleasant enough lying and dreaming of the old days; -and, after all, perhaps I have lived my life. There is nothing that I -look back upon with shame. It was not my fault that my sister Kahwa -died; for I did my best to save her. Even if the later little Kahwa -perished, still, I sent one son and a daughter out into the world, fit -I think, to hold their own. Above all, I avenged the old insult to my -parents. What more could I have done had I had my freedom longer? - -It is all good to remember, and, except when I long for Wooffa, I am -content. - - -THE END - - -BILLING AND SONS, LTD., PRINTERS, GUILDFORD - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Life Story of a Black Bear, by -Harry Perry Robinson - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LIFE STORY OF A BLACK BEAR *** - -***** This file should be named 55583-8.txt or 55583-8.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/5/5/8/55583/ - -Produced by Mhairi Hindle and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images generously made available by The -Internet Archive) - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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Perry Robinson. - </title> - <link rel="coverpage" href="images/cover.jpg" /> - <style type="text/css"> - -/*headings and divisions*/ - -body { - margin-left: 10%; - margin-right: 10%; -} - - h1,h2 { - text-align: center; /* all headings centered */ - clear: both; -} - -h1 { - font-size: 1.3em; - text-align: center; - padding-top: 0.5em; - padding-bottom: 0.5em; - letter-spacing: 0.1em; - page-break-before: always; -} - -h2 {font-weight: bold; - text-align: center; - padding-bottom: 0.7em; - line-height: 1.5em; - font-size: 1em; -} - -div.chapter {page-break-before: always;} - -.stitle { font-weight: normal; - font-size: 0.7em; - letter-spacing: 0.1em; -} - -.htitle { padding-bottom: 1.2em; - font-size: 1.2em; -} - -.faux {visibility: hidden; - display: none; -} - -p { - margin-top: .51em; - text-align: justify; - margin-bottom: .49em; -} - -/*front and end matter*/ - -.end {font-weight: bold; - font-size: 0.7em; - padding-top: 2.5em; - text-align: center; -} - -.crightend {font-weight: bold; - text-align: center; - font-size: 0.7em; -} - -.crightfront {text-indent: 14em; - text-align: left; - font-size: 0.7em; -} - -.signed {text-align: right; - width: 95%; - font-size: 0.7em; -} - -.foreword {font-size: 0.9em; -} - -.title1 { - font-size: 1.3em; - text-align: center; - padding-top: 0.5em; - padding-bottom: 0.5em; - letter-spacing: 0.1em; - font-weight: bold; -} - -.title2 { - font-size: 2em; - text-align: center; - padding-top: 2.5em; - padding-bottom: 1.5em; - font-weight: bold; - -} - -.title3 { - font-size: 0.8em; - text-align: center; -} - -.title4 { - font-size: 1em; - text-align: center; - padding-bottom: 3em; -} - -.title5 { - font-size: 1em; - text-align: center; - font-weight: bold; -} - -/*breaks*/ -hr { - width: 33%; - margin-top: 2em; - margin-bottom: 2em; - margin-left: auto; - margin-right: auto; - clear: both; -} - -hr.chap {width: 65%; margin-left: 17.5%; margin-right: 17.5%;} -hr.tb {width: 25%; margin-left: 37.5%; margin-right: 37.5%;} - -@media handheld {hr { - visibility: hidden; - display: none; -} -} - -/* tables */ - -.toc { - max-width: 30em; - border-spacing: 1em; - font-size: 0.8em; -} - -.loi { - max-width: 30em; - border-spacing: 1em; - font-size: 0.8em; -} - -.chapref {text-decoration: none; - color: black; -} - -table { - margin-bottom: 1em; - width: 96%; - margin-left: auto; - margin-right: auto; -} - -.inblk { - text-indent: -1em; - padding-left: 1em; - text-align: justify; - display: block; -} - -.pagenum { /* uncomment the next line for invisible page numbers */ - /* visibility: hidden; */ - position: absolute; - left: 92%; - font-size: smaller; - text-align: right; -} /* page numbers */ - - -/*variants*/ -.smcap {font-variant: small-caps;} - -.small {font-size: 0.7em;} - -abbr { - text-decoration: none; - border-bottom: none; -} - -@media handheld { - abbr { - text-decoration: none; - border-bottom: none; - } -} - -/* Images */ -.figcenter { - margin: auto; - text-align: center; - page-break-before: always; -} - -.caption {text-align: left; - font-size: 0.8em; - margin-bottom: 1.0em; - page-break-after: always; -} - -.centerref {text-align: center; - -} - -@media handheld {.centerref {font-size: 0.01em; - display: none; - visibility: hidden; -} -} - -.ebookhide {text-align: justify; -} - -@media handheld {.ebookhide { - display: none; - visibility: hidden; -} -} - -/* Footnotes */ - -.footnote {margin-left: 10%; - margin-right: 10%; - font-size: 0.9em; - page-break-before: always; -} - -.footnote .label {position: absolute; right: 84%; text-align: right;} - -.fnanchor { - vertical-align: super; - font-size: .8em; - text-decoration: - none; -} - -/* Transcriber's notes */ -.transnote {background-color: #E6E6FA; - color: black; - font-size:smaller; - padding:0.5em; - margin-bottom:5em; - text-align:center; - font-size:0.9em;} - -.nobreak{ page-break-before: avoid; -} - - - - </style> - </head> -<body> - - -<pre> - -Project Gutenberg's The Life Story of a Black Bear, by Harry Perry Robinson - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license - - -Title: The Life Story of a Black Bear - -Author: Harry Perry Robinson - -Release Date: September 19, 2017 [EBook #55583] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LIFE STORY OF A BLACK BEAR *** - - - - -Produced by Mhairi Hindle and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images generously made available by The -Internet Archive) - - - - - - -</pre> - - -<div class="transnote"> -<p class="title5">Transcriber’s Note</p> -<p>Illustrations have been moved near to the text they illustrate -and linked to the List of Illustrations. Chapters have been linked to the Table -of Contents. <span class="ebookhide">Select “Enlarge†to access a larger version of the image.</span></p> - -<p>All variant spellings and variant hyphenation have been preserved. -However, punctuation has been corrected where necessary.</p> -</div> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<a name="image_1" id="image_1"></a> -<img src="images/cover.jpg" width="500" height="800" alt="Cover" /> -</div> -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<a name="image_2" id="image_2"></a> -<img src="images/i002.jpg" width="500" height="500" alt="" /> -<div class="caption"> -<p class="caption">HOW I TUMBLED DOWNHILL.</p> -</div> -<p class="centerref">[<a href="images/i002-l.jpg">Enlarge</a>]</p> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_i" id="Page_i">[i]</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"> -<img src="images/i003.jpg" width="400" height="600" alt="Title Page" /> -</div> -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h1>THE LIFE STORY OF <br /> -<span class="title2">A BLACK BEAR</span></h1> - -<p class="title3">BY</p> - -<p class="title4">H. PERRY ROBINSON</p> - -<p class="title5">LONDON</p> -<p class="title5">ADAM·&·CHARLES·BLACK</p> -<p class="title5">1913</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_ii" id="Page_ii">[ii]</a></span></p> - - - -<h2>FOREWORD</h2> - -<p class="foreword"><span class="smcap">There</span> is always tragedy when man invades the solitudes of the -earth, for his coming never fails to mean the destruction of the -wild things. But, surely, nowhere can the pathos be greater than -when, in the western part of North America, there is a discovery -of new gold-diggings. Then from all points of the compass men -come pouring into the mountains with axe and pick, gold-pan and -rifle, breaking paths through the forest wildernesses, killing and -driving before them the wild animals that have heretofore held -the mountains for their own.</p> - -<p class="foreword">Here in these rocky, tree-clad fastnesses the bears have kinged -it for centuries, ruling in right of descent for generation after -generation, holding careless dominion over the coyote and the -beaver, the wapiti, the white-tailed and the mule-eared deer. -Except for the occasional rebellion of a mutinous lieutenant of a -puma, there has been none to dispute their lordship from year to -year and century to century. Each winter they have laid themselves -down (or sat themselves up—for a bear does not lie down -when hibernating) to sleep through the bitter months, in easy -assurance that when they awoke they would find the sceptre still -by their side.</p> - -<p class="foreword">But a spring comes when they issue from their winter lairs -and new sounds are borne to them on the keen, resin-scented -mountain air. The hills ring to the chopping of axes; and the -voices of men—a new and terrible sound—reach their ears. The -earth, soft with the melting snows, shows unaccustomed prints of -heavy heels. The coyote and the deer and all the forest folk -have gone; the beaver-dams are broken, and the builders vanished.</p> - -<p class="foreword">Dimly wondering at the strangeness of it all, the bears go -forth, blundering and half awake, down the new-made pathways, -not angry, but curious and perplexed, and by the trail-side they -meet man—man with a rifle in his hand. And, still not angry, -still only wondering and fearing nothing—for are they not lords -of all the mountain-sides?—they die.</p> - - -<p class="signed">H. P. R.</p> - - - -<p class="crightfront"><i>First published September, 1905</i></p> - -<p class="crightfront"><i>Reissued Autumn, 1910; reprinted July, 1913</i></p> -<hr class="chap" /> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_iii" id="Page_iii">[iii]</a></span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<a name="contents" id="contents"></a><h2>CONTENTS</h2> -<table class="toc" summary="Contents"> - -<tr> -<td align="right"><span class="small">CHAPTER</span></td> -<td> </td> -<td align="right"><span class="small">PAGE</span></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td align="right"><abbr title="1">I.</abbr></td> -<td align="left">HOW I TUMBLED DOWNHILL</td> -<td align="right"> -<a href="#chap_1" title="Go to Chapter 1.">1</a> -</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td align="right"><abbr title="2">II.</abbr></td> -<td align="left">CUBHOOD DAYS</td> -<td align="right"> -<a href="#chap_2" title="Go to Chapter 2.">9</a> -</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td align="right"><abbr title="3">III.</abbr></td> -<td align="left">THE COMING OF MAN</td> -<td align="right"> -<a href="#chap_3" title="Go to Chapter 3.">25</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td align="right"><abbr title="4">IV.</abbr></td> -<td align="left">THE FOREST FIRE</td> -<td align="right"> -<a href="#chap_4" title="Go to Chepter 4.">39</a> -</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td align="right"><abbr title="5">V.</abbr></td> -<td align="left">I LOSE A SISTER</td> -<td align="right"> -<a href="#chap_5" title="Go to Chapter 5.">57</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td align="right"><abbr title="6">VI.</abbr></td> -<td align="left">LIFE IN CAMP</td> -<td align="right"> -<a href="#chap_6" title="Go to Chapter 6.">71</a> -</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td align="right"><abbr title="7">VII.</abbr></td> -<td align="left">THE PARTING OF THE WAYS</td> -<td align="right"> -<a href="#chap_7" title="Go to Chapter 7.">93</a> -</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td align="right"><abbr title="8">VIII.</abbr></td> -<td align="left">ALONE IN THE WORLD</td> -<td align="right"> -<a href="#chap_8" title="Go to Chapter 8.">105</a> -</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td align="right"><abbr title="9">IX.</abbr></td> -<td align="left">I FIND A COMPANION</td> -<td align="right"> -<a href="#chap_9" title="Go to Chapter 9.">120</a> -</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td align="right"><abbr title="10">X.</abbr></td> -<td align="left">A VISIT TO THE OLD HOME</td> -<td align="right"> -<a href="#chap_10" title="Go to Chapter 10.">134</a> -</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td align="right"><abbr title="11">XI.</abbr></td> -<td align="left">THE TROUBLES OF A FATHER</td> -<td align="right"> -<a href="#chap_11" title="Go to Chapter 11.">147</a> -</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td align="right"><abbr title="12">XII.</abbr></td> -<td align="left">WIPING OUT OLD SCORES</td> -<td align="right"> -<a href="#chap_12" title="Go to Chapter 12.">163</a> -</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td align="right"><abbr title="13">XIII.</abbr></td> -<td align="left">THE TRAP</td> -<td align="right"> -<a href="#chap_13" title="Go to Chapter 13.">176</a> -</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td align="right"><abbr title="14">XIV.</abbr></td> -<td align="left">IN THE HANDS OF MAN</td> -<td align="right"> -<a href="#chap_14" title="Go to Chapter 14.">194</a> -</td> -</tr> -</table> -<hr class="chap" /> -</div> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_iv" id="Page_iv">[iv]</a></span></p> - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2>LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS</h2> - -<table class="loi" summary="List of Illustrations"> - -<tr> -<td align="left" class="inblk">‘HOW I TUMBLED DOWNHILL’</td> -<td align="right"><a href="#image_2" title="Go to frontispiece."><i>Frontispiece</i></a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td align="left"> </td> -<td align="right"><span class="small">FACING PAGE</span></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td align="left" class="inblk">‘THE FATHER BEAR ASKED MY FATHER IF WE WERE NOT GOING TOO’</td> -<td align="right"><a href="#image_3" title="Go to page 49.">49</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td align="left" class="inblk">‘SLOWLY, YARD BY YARD, SHE WAS BEING DRAGGED AWAY FROM US’</td> -<td align="right"><a href="#image_4" title="Go to page 64.">64</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td align="left" class="inblk">‘AS I APPEARED THE YOUNG ONES RAN AND SNUGGLED UP TO HER’</td> -<td align="right"><a href="#image_5" title="Go to page 113.">113</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td align="left" class="inblk">‘SHE SAW ME, AND SAT UP AND LOOKED AT ME AMICABLY’</td> -<td align="right"><a href="#image_6" title="Go to page 128.">128</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td align="left" class="inblk">‘FROM THE MOMENT THAT I THREW MYSELF ON HIM HE NEVER HAD TIME TO BREATHE’</td> -<td align="right"><a href="#image_7" title="Go to page 177.">177</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td align="left" class="inblk">‘IT WAS EVIDENTLY A TRAP’</td> -<td align="right"><a href="#image_8" title="Go to page 192.">192</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td align="left" class="inblk">‘BY STANDING ON HER BACK I WAS ABLE TO SEE OVER’</td> -<td align="right"><a href="#image_1" title="Go to cover."><i>On cover</i></a></td> -</tr> -</table> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[1]</a></span></p> - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="htitle">THE BLACK BEAR</h2> - -<h2> -<a name="chap_1" id="chap_1"></a> -<a href="#contents" class="chapref" title="Return to Table of Contents.">CHAPTER <abbr title="1">I</abbr></a> <br /> - -<span class="stitle">HOW I TUMBLED DOWNHILL</span></h2> - - -<p><span class="smcap">It</span> is not easy for one to believe that he ever was -a cub. Of course, I know that I was, and as it was -only nine years ago I ought to remember it fairly -clearly. None the less, hundreds and hundreds of -times I have looked at my own cubs, and said -to myself: ‘Surely, I can never have been like -that!’</p> - -<p>It is not so much a mere matter of size, although -it is doubtful if any young bear realizes how small -he is. My father and mother seemed enormous to -me, but, on the other hand, my sister was smaller -than I, and perhaps the fact that I could always -box her ears when I wanted to, gave me an exaggerated -idea of my own importance. Not that -I did it very often, except when she used to bite -my hind-toes. Every bear, of course, likes to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[2]</a></span> -chew his own feet, for it is one of the most soothing -and comforting things in the world; but it is -horrid to have anyone else come up behind you, -when you are asleep, and begin to chew your feet -for you. And that was what Kahwa—that was -my sister, my name being Wahka—was always -doing, and I simply <em>had to</em> slap her well whenever -she did. It was the only way to stop her.</p> - -<p>But, as I said, cubhood is not a matter of size -only. As I look down at this glossy black coat of -mine, it is hard to believe that it was ever a dirty -light brown in colour, and all ridiculous wool and -fluff, as young cubs’ coats are. But I must have -been fluffy, because I remember how my mother, -after she had been licking me for any length of -time, used to be obliged to stop and wipe the fur -out of her mouth with the back of her paw, just as -my wife did later on when she licked our cubs. -Every time my mother had to wipe her mouth she -used to try to box my ears, so that when she -stopped licking me, I, knowing what was coming -next, would tuck my head down as far as it would -go between my legs, and keep it there till she -began licking again.</p> - -<p>Yes, when I stop to think, I know, from many -things, that I must have been just an ordinary cub.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[3]</a></span> -For instance, my very earliest recollection is of -tumbling downhill.</p> - -<p>Like all bears, I was born and lived on the -hillside. In the Rocky Mountains, where my -home was, there is nothing but hills, or mountains, -for miles and miles, so that you can wander on for -day after day, always going up one side of a hill -and down the other, and up and down again; and -at the bottom of almost every valley there is a -stream or river, which for most of the year swirls -along noisily and full of water. Towards the end -of summer, however, the streams nearly dry up, -just trickling along in places over their rocky -beds, and you can splash about in them almost -anywhere. The mountains are covered with trees—gorgeous -trees, such as I have never seen anywhere -else—with great straight trunks, splendid -for practising climbing, shooting away up into the -sky before the branches begin. Towards the summits -of the bigger mountains the trees become -smaller and grow wider apart, and if you go up -to one of these and look around you, you can see -nothing but a sea of dark-green tree-tops, rolling -down into the valley and up the opposite slopes on -all sides of you, with here and there the peaks -of the highest mountains standing against the sky<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[4]</a></span> -bare and rocky, with streaks and patches of snow -clinging to them all through the summer. Oh, it -was beautiful!</p> - -<p>In the winter the whole country is covered with -snow many feet deep, which, as it falls, slides off -the hillsides, and is drifted by the wind into the -valleys and hollows till the smaller ones are filled -up nearly to the tops of the trees. But bears do -not see much of that, for when the first snow -comes we get into our dens and go half asleep, -and stay hibernating till springtime. And you -have no idea how delightful hibernating is, nor -how excruciatingly stiff we are when we wake up, -and how hungry!</p> - -<p>The snow lies over everything for months, until -in the early spring the warm west winds begin to -blow, melting the snow from one side of the mountains. -Then the sun grows hotter and hotter day -by day, and helps to melt it until most of the -mountain slopes are clear; but in sheltered places -and in the bottoms of the little hollows the snow -stays in patches till far into the summer. We -bears come out from our winter sleep when the -snow is not quite gone, when the whole earth -everywhere is still wet with it, and the streams, -swollen with floods, are bubbling and boiling along<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[5]</a></span> -so that the air is filled with the noise of them by -night and day.</p> - -<p>Our home was well up one of the hillsides, -where two huge cedar-trees shot up side by side -close by a jutting mass of rock. In between the -roots of the trees and under the rock was as good -a house as a family of bears could want—roomy -enough for all four of us, perfectly sheltered, and -hidden and dry. Can you imagine how warm and -comfy it was when we were all snuggled in there, -with our arms round each other, and our faces -buried in each other’s fur? Anyone looking in -would have seen nothing but a huge ball of black -and brown fluff.</p> - -<p>It was from just outside the door that I tumbled -downhill.</p> - -<p>It must have been early in the year, because the -ground was still very wet and soft, and the gully -at the bottom full of snow. Of course, if I had -not been a cub I should never have fallen, for big -bears do not tumble downhill. If by any chance -anything did start one, and he found he could not -stop himself, he would know enough to tuck in his -head and paws out of harm’s way; but I only -knew that somehow, in romping with Kahwa, I -had lost my balance, and was going—goodness<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[6]</a></span> -knew where! I went all spread out like a squirrel, -first on my head, then on my back, then on -my tummy, clutching at everything that I passed, -slapping the ground with my outstretched paws, -and squealing for help. Bump! bang! slap! -bump! I went, hitting trees and thumping all the -wind out of me against the earth, and at last—souse -into the snow!</p> - -<p>Wow-ugh!<a name="Anchor-1" id="Anchor-1"></a><a href="#Footnote-1" class="fnanchor" title="Go to footnote 1.">[1]</a> -How cold and wet it was! And -it was deep—so deep, indeed, that I was buried -completely out of sight; and I doubt if I should -ever have got out alive had not my mother come -down and dug me out with her nose and paws. -Then she half pushed and half smacked me uphill -again, and when I got home I was the wettest, -coldest, sorest, wretchedest bear-cub in the Rocky -Mountains.</p> - -<p>Then, while I lay and whimpered, my mother -spent the rest of the day licking me into the semblance -of a respectable bearkin again. But I was -bruised and nervous for days afterwards.</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[7]</a></span></p> -<p>That tumble of mine gave us the idea of the -game which Kahwa and I used to play almost -every day after that. Kahwa would take her -stand with her back against the rock by our door, -just at the point where the hill went off most -steeply, and it was my business to come charging -up the hill at her and try to pull her down. What -fun it was! Sometimes I was the one to stand -against the rock, and Kahwa tried to pull me -down. She could not do it; but she was plucky, -and used to come at me so ferociously that I often -wondered for a minute whether it was only play or -whether she was really angry.</p> - -<p>Best of all was when mother used to play with -us. Then she put her back to the rock, and we -both attacked her at once from opposite sides, each -trying to get hold of a hind-leg just above the -foot. If she put her head down to pretend to bite -either of us, the other jumped for her ear. Sometimes -we would each get hold of an ear, and hang -on as hard as we could, while she pretended we -were hurting her dreadfully, growling and shaking -her head, and making as much fuss as she could; -but if in our excitement either of us did chance to -bite a little too hard, we always knew it. With a -couple of cuffs, hard enough to make us yelp, she<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[8]</a></span> -would throw us to one side and the other, and -there was no more play for that day. And mother -could hit hard when she liked. I have seen her -smack father in a way that would have broken all -the bones in a cub’s body, and killed any human -being outright.</p> - -<p>Father did not romp with us as much as mother. -He was more serious, but, on the other hand, he -did not lose his temper nearly so quickly. She -used to get angry with him over nothing, and I -think he was afraid of her. And it was just the -same later on with me and my wife. I always knew -that I could have eaten her up had I wanted to, -but, somehow, a bear cannot settle down in earnest -to fight his own wife. If she loses her temper, he -can pretend to be angry too, but in the end he surely -gets the worst of it. I do not know why it is, but -a she-bear does not seem to mind how hard she hits -her husband, but he always stops just short of hurting -her. Perhaps it is the same with human beings.</p> - -<p>But to Kahwa and me both father and mother -were very gentle and kind in those first helpless -days, and I suppose they never punished us unless -we deserved it. Later on my father and I had -differences, as you will hear. But in that first -summer our lives, if uneventful, were very happy.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> -</div> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[9]</a></span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2> -<a name="chap_2" id="chap_2"></a> -<a href="#contents" class="chapref" title="Return to Table of Contents.">CHAPTER <abbr title="2">II</abbr></a> -<br /> - -<span class="stitle">CUBHOOD DAYS</span></h2> - - -<p><span class="smcap">When</span> they are small, bear-cubs rarely go about -alone. The whole family usually keeps together, -or, if it separates, it is generally into couples—one -cub with each of the parents; or the father goes off -alone, leaving both cubs with the mother. A cub -toddling off alone in its own woolly, comfortable -ignorance would be sure to make all manner of -mistakes in what it ate, and it might find itself in -very serious trouble in other ways.</p> - -<p>Bears, when they live far enough away from man, -have absolutely nothing to be afraid of. There are, -of course, bigger bears—perhaps bigger ones of our -own kind, either black or brown (‘cinnamon,’ as -the brown members of our family are called), or, -especially, grizzly. But I never heard of a grizzly -bear hurting one of us. When I smell a grizzly in -the neighbourhood, I confess that it seems wiser to -go round the other side of the hill; but that is -probably inherited superstition more than anything<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[10]</a></span> -else. My father and mother did it, and so do I. -But I have known several of our cinnamon cousins -in my life, and have been friendly enough with -them—with the she-bears especially. Apart from -these, there lives nothing in the forest that a full-grown -black bear has any cause to fear. He goes -where he pleases and does what he likes, and -nobody ventures to dispute his rights. With a -cub, however, it is different.</p> - -<p>I had heard my father and mother speak of -pumas, or mountain lions, and I knew their smell -well enough—and did not like it. But I shall -never forget the first one that I saw.</p> - -<p>We were out together—father, mother, Kahwa, -and I—and it was getting well on in the morning. -The sun was up, and the day growing warm, and -I, wandering drowsily along with my nose to the -ground, had somehow strayed away from the rest, -when suddenly I smelled puma very strong. As I -threw myself up on my haunches, he came out from -behind a tree, and stood facing me only a few yards -away. I was simply paralyzed with fear—one of -the two or three times in my life when I have been -honestly and thoroughly frightened. As I looked -at him, wondering what would happen next, he -crouched down till he was almost flat along the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[11]</a></span> -ground, and I can see him now, his whole yellow -body almost hidden behind his head, his eyes -blazing, and his tail going slap, slap! from side to -side. How I wished that I had a tail!</p> - -<p>Then inch by inch he crept towards me, very -slowly, putting one foot forward and then the other. -I did not know what to do, and so did what proved -to be the best thing possible: I sat quite still, and -screamed for mother as loud as I could. She must -have known from my voice that something serious -was the matter, because in a second, just as the -puma’s muscles were growing tense for the final -spring, there was a sudden crash of broken boughs -behind me, a feeling as if a whirlwind was going -by, and my mother shot past me straight at the -puma. I had no idea that she could go so fast. -The puma was up on his hind-legs to meet her, but -her impetus was so terrific that it bore him backwards, -without seeming to check her speed in the -least, and away they went rolling over and over -down the hill.</p> - -<p>But it was not much of a fight. The puma, -willing enough to attack a little cub like me, knew -that he was no match for my mother, and while -they were still rolling he wrenched himself loose, -and was off among the trees like a shadow.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[12]</a></span></p> - -<p>When mother came back to me blood was running -over her face, where, at the moment of meeting, -the puma had managed to give her one wicked, -tearing claw down the side of her nose. So, as -soon as my father and Kahwa joined us, we all -went down to the stream, where mother bathed -her face, and kept it in the cold water for nearly -the whole day.</p> - -<p>It was probably in some measure to pay me out -for this scrape, and to give me another lesson in -the unwisdom of too much independence and -inquisitiveness in a youngster, that my parents, -soon after this, allowed me to get into trouble with -that porcupine.</p> - -<p>One evening my father had taken us to a place -where the ground was full of mountain lilies. It -was early in the year, when the green shoots were -just beginning to appear above the earth; and -wherever there was a shoot there was a bulb down -below. And a mountain lily bulb is one of the very -nicest things to eat that there is—so sweet, and -juicy, and crisp! The place was some distance -from our home, and after that first visit Kahwa and -I kept begging to be taken there again. At last -my father yielded, and we set out early one morning -just before day was breaking.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[13]</a></span></p> - -<p>We were not loitering on the way, but trotting -steadily along all together, and Kahwa and I, at -least, were full of expectation of the lily bulbs in -store, when, in a little open space among the trees, -we came upon an object unlike anything I had ever -seen before. As we came upon it, I could have -declared that it was moving—that it was an animal -which, at sight of us, had stopped stock still, and -tucked its head and toes in underneath it. But it -certainly was not moving now, and did not look as -if it ever could move again, so finally I concluded -that it must be a large fungus or a strange new -kind of hillock, with black and white grass growing -all over it. My father and mother had stopped -short when they saw it, and just sat up on their -haunches and looked at it; and Kahwa did the -same, snuggling up close to my mother’s side. -Was it an animal, or a fungus, or only a mound of -earth? The way to find out was to smell it. So, -without any idea of hurting it, I trotted up and -reached out my nose. As I did so it shrank a little -more into itself, and became rounder and more like -a fungus than ever; but the act of shrinking also -made the black and white grass stick out a little -further, so that my nose met it sooner than I -expected, and I found that, if it was grass, it was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[14]</a></span> -very sharp grass, and pricked horribly. I tried -again, and again it shrank up and pricked me worse -than ever. Then I heard my father chuckling to -himself.</p> - -<p>That made me angry, for I always have detested -being laughed at, and, without stopping to think, -I smacked the thing just as hard as I could. A -moment later I was hopping round on three legs -howling with pain, for a bunch of the quills had -gone right into my paw, where they were still -sticking, one coming out on the other side.</p> - -<p>My father laughed, but my mother drew out the -quills with her teeth, and that hurt worse than -anything; and all day, whenever she found a particularly -fat lily bulb, she gave it to me. For my -part, I could only dig for the bulbs with my left -paw, and it was ever so many days before I could -run on all four feet again.</p> - -<p>All these things must have happened when I -was very young—less than three months old—because -we were still living in the same place, -whereas when summer came we moved away, as -bears always do, and had no fixed home during the -hot months.</p> - -<p>Bear-cubs are born when the mother is still in -her winter den, and they are usually five or six<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[15]</a></span> -weeks old before they come out into the world at -all. Even then at first, when the cubs are very -young, the family stays close at home, and for -some time I imagine that the longest journey I -made was when I tumbled those fifty feet downhill. -Father or mother might wander away alone -in the early morning or evening for a while, but -for the most part we were all four at home by the -rock and the cedar-trees, with the bare brown tree-trunks -growing up all round out of the bare brown -mountain-sides, and Kahwa and I spending our -time lying sleepily cuddled up to mother, or -romping together and wishing we could catch -squirrels.</p> - -<p>There were a great many squirrels about—large -gray ones mostly; but living in a fir-tree close by -us was a black one with a deplorable temper.</p> - -<p>Every day he used to come and quarrel with us. -Whenever he had nothing particular to do, he -would say to himself, ‘I’ll go and tease those old -bears.’ And he did. His plan was to get on our -trees from behind, where we could not see him, -then to come round on our side about five or six -feet from the ground, just safely out of reach, and -there, hanging head downwards, call us every -name he could think of. Squirrels have an awful<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[16]</a></span> -vocabulary, but I never knew one that could talk -like Blacky. And every time he thought of something -new to say he waved his tail at us in a way -that was particularly aggravating. You have no -idea how other animals poke fun at us because we -have no tails, and how sensitive we really are on -the subject. They say that it was to hide our lack -of tail that we originally got into the habit of -sitting up on our haunches whenever we meet a -stranger.</p> - -<p>Kahwa and I used to make all sorts of plans to -catch Blacky, but we might as well have tried to -catch a moonbeam. He knew exactly how far we -could reach from the ground, and if we made a -rush for him he was always three inches too high. -Then we would run round on opposite sides of the -tree in the hope of cutting him off when he came -down. But when we did that he never did come -down, but just went up instead, till he reached -a place where the branches of our trees nearly -touched those of his own fir, and then jumped -across. We always hoped he would miss that -jump, and Kahwa and I waited down below with -our mouths open for him to drop in, but he -never did.</p> - -<p>We used to try and persuade mother to go up<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[17]</a></span> -his tree after him, but she knew very well that she -could neither catch him nor get out on the thin -branches where his nest was. There is only one -way in which a bear can catch squirrels, and that -is by pretending to be dead or asleep; for squirrels -are so idiotically inquisitive that sooner or later -they are certain to come right up to you if you do -this, and sit on your nose. Some bears, I believe, -are fond of squirrels, but I confess I never cared -for them. There is so much fluff and stringy stuff -in them, and so little to eat.</p> - -<p>Chipmunks<a name="Anchor-2" id="Anchor-2"></a><a href="#Footnote-2" class="fnanchor" title="Go to footnote 2.">[2]</a> are different. Though smaller -than squirrels, they are much less fluffy in proportion, -and taste almost as nice as mice.</p> - -<p>Next to Blacky, our most frequent visitor was -Rat-tat, the woodpecker. The air in the mountains -is very still, so that you can hear sounds a long -way, and all day long from every direction the -‘rat-tat-tat-tat!’ of the woodpeckers was ringing -through the woods. In the evening when the sun -was going down, they used to sit on the very tops -of the trees, and call to each other from hill to hill—just -two long whistles, ‘whee-whoo, whee-whoo.’ -It was a sad noise, but I liked Rat-tat. He was so -jauntily gay in his suit of black and white, with his -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[18]</a></span>bright red crest, and always so immensely busy. -Starting near the bottom of a tree, he worked -steadily up it—rat-tat-tat-tat! and up—rat-tat-tat-tat! -till he got to the top; then down like a flash to -another, to begin all over again. Grubs he was -after, and nothing else mattered. Grubs—rat-tat-tat-tat! -rat-tat-tat-tat! grubs! and up and up he -went.</p> - -<p>One of our cedars was dead at the top, and Rat-tat -used to come there nearly every day. Little -chips and splinters of wood would come floating -down to us, and once a lovely fat beetle grub that -he had somehow overlooked came plump down -under my very nose. If that was the kind of thing -that he found up there, I was not surprised that he -was fond of our tree. I would have gone up too, -if I could; but the dead part would never have -been safe for me.</p> - -<p>Very soon we began to be taken out on long -excursions, going all four together, as I have said, -and then we began to learn how much that is nice -to eat there is in the world.</p> - -<p>You have probably no idea, for instance, how -many good things there may be under one rotting -log. Even if you do not get a mouse or a chipmunk, -you are sure of a fringe of greenstuff which,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[19]</a></span> -from lack of sunlight, has grown white and juicy, -and almost as sure of some mushrooms or other -fungi, most of which are delicious. But before you -can touch them you have to look after the insects. -Mushrooms will wait, but the sooner you catch -beetles, and earwigs, and ants, and grubs, the -better. It is always worth while to roll a log -over, if you can, no matter how much trouble -it costs; and a big stone is sometimes nearly as -good.</p> - -<p>Insects, of course, are small, and it would take a -lot of ants, or even beetles, to make a meal for a -bear; but they are good, and they help out. Some -wild animals, especially those which prey upon -others, eat a lot at one time, and then starve till -they can kill again. A bear, on the other hand, is -wandering about for more than half of the twenty-four -hours, except in the very heat of summer, and -he is eating most of the while that he wanders. The -greater part of his food, of course, is greenstuff—lily -bulbs, white camas roots, wild-onions, and -young shoots and leaves. As he walks he browses -a mouthful of young leaves here, scratches up a -root there, tears the bark off a decaying tree and -eats the insects underneath, lifts a stone and finds -a mouse or a lizard beneath, or loiters for twenty<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[20]</a></span> -minutes over an ant-hill. With plenty of time, he -is never in a hurry, and every little counts.</p> - -<p>But most of all in summer I used to love to go -down to the stream. In warm weather, during the -heat of the day, bears stay in the shelter of thickets, -among the brush by the water or under the shade of a -fallen tree. As the sun sank we would move down -to the stream, and lie all through the long evening -in the shallows, where the cold water rippled -against one’s sides. And along the water there -was always something good to eat—not merely the -herbage and the roots of the water-plants, but frogs -and insects of all sorts among the grass. Our -favourite bathing-place was just above a wide pool -made by a beaver-dam. The pool itself was -deep in places, but before the river came to it, it -flowed for a hundred yards and more over a level -gravel bottom, so shallow that even as a cub I -could walk from shore to shore without the water -being above my shoulders. At the edge of the -pool the same black and white kingfisher was -always sitting on the same branch when we came -down, and he disliked our coming, and <em>chirred</em> at us -to go away. I used to love to pretend not to -understand him, and to walk solemnly through the -water underneath and all round his branch. It<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[21]</a></span> -made him furious, and sent him <em>chirring</em> upstream -to find another place to fish, where there were no -idiotic bear-cubs who did not know any better than -to walk about among his fish.</p> - -<p>Here, too, my father and mother taught us to -fish; but it was a long time before I managed to -catch a trout for myself. It takes such a dreadful -lot of sitting still. Having found where a fish is -lying, probably under an overhanging branch or -beneath the grass jutting out from the bank, you -lie down silently as close to the edge of the water -as you can get, and slip one paw in, ever so -gradually, behind the fish, and move it towards -him gently—gently. If he takes fright and darts -away, you leave your paw where it is, or move it -as close to the spot where he was lying as you -can reach, and wait. Sooner or later he will come -back, swimming downstream and then swinging -round to take his station almost exactly in the -same spot as before. If you leave your paw -absolutely still, he does not mind it, and may -even, on his return, come and lie right up against -it. If so, you strike at once. More probably he -will stop a few inches or a foot away. If you -have already reached as far as you can towards -him, then is the time that you need all your<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[22]</a></span> -patience. Again and again he darts out to take -a fly from the surface of the water or swallow -something that is floated down to him by the -current, and each time that he comes back he -may shift his position an inch or two. At last -he comes to where you can actually crook your -claws under his tail. Ever so cautiously you -move your paw gently halfway up towards his -head, and then, when your claws are almost -touching him, you strike—strike, once and hard, -with a hooking blow that sends him whirling like -a bar of silver far out on the bank behind you. -And trout is good—the plump, dark, pink-banded -trout of the mountain streams. But you must -not strike one fraction of a second too soon, for -if your paw has more than an inch to travel before -the claws touch him he is gone, and all you feel -is the flip of a tail upon the inner side of the paw, -and all your time is wasted.</p> - -<p>It is hard to learn to wait long enough, and I -know that at first I used to strike at fish that were -a foot away, with no more chance of catching them -than of making supper off a waterfall. But father -and mother used to catch a fish apiece for us almost -every evening, and gradually Kahwa and I began -to take them for ourselves.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[23]</a></span></p> - -<p>Then, as the daylight faded, the beavers came -out upon their dam and played about in the pool, -swimming and diving and slapping the surface -with their tails with a noise like that of an osprey -when he strikes the water in diving for a fish. -But though they had time for play, they were busy -folk, the beavers. Some of them were constantly -patching and tinkering at the dam, and some -always at work, except when the sun was up, -one relieving another, gnawing their way with -little tiny bites steadily through one of the great -trees that stood by the water’s edge, and always -gnawing it so that when, after weeks of labour, -it fell, it never failed to fall across the stream -precisely where they wanted it. If an enemy -appeared—at the least sign or smell of wolf or -puma—there would be a loud ringing slap from -one of the tails upon the water, and in an instant -every beaver had vanished under water and was -safe inside the house among the logs of the dam, -the door of which was down below the surface.</p> - -<p>Us bears they were used to and did not mind; -but they never let us come too near. Sitting -safely on the top of their piled logs, or twenty -feet away in the water, they would talk to us -pleasantly enough; but—well, my father told me<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[24]</a></span> -that young, very young, beaver was good eating, -and I imagine that the beavers knew that we -thought so, and were afraid, perhaps, that we might -not be too particular about the age.</p> - -<p>As the dusk changed to darkness we would -leave the water and roam over the hillsides, -sometimes sleeping through the middle hours of -the night, but in summer more often roaming -on, to come back to the stream for a while just -before the sun was up, and then turning in to sleep -till he went down again.</p> - -<p>Those long rambles in the summer moonlight, -or in the early dawn when everything reeked -with dew, how good they were! And when the -afternoon of a broiling day brought a thunderstorm, -the delight of the smell of the moist earth -and the almost overpowering scent of the pines! -And when the berries were ripe—blueberries, -cranberries, wild-raspberries, and, later in the -year, elderberries—no fruit, nor anything else to -eat, has ever tasted as they did then in that first -summer when I was a cub.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[25]</a></span></p> - -</div> - - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2> -<a name="chap_3" id="chap_3"></a> -<a href="#contents" class="chapref" title="Return to Table of Contents.">CHAPTER <abbr title="3">III</abbr></a> -<br /> - -<span class="stitle">THE COMING OF MAN</span></h2> - - -<p><span class="smcap">Summer</span> was far advanced. We had had a week -or two of hot, dry weather, during which we had -wandered abroad, spending the heat of the days -asleep in the shadow of cool brushwood down by -the streams, and in the nights and early mornings -roaming where we would. Ultimately we worked -round to the neighbourhood of our home, and -went to see if all was right there, and to spend one -day in the familiar place.</p> - -<p>It was in the very middle of the day—a sultry -day, when the sun was blazing hot—that we were -awakened by the sound of somebody coming -through the bushes. The wind was blowing towards -us, so that long before he came in sight -we knew that it was a bear like ourselves. But -what was a bear doing abroad at high noon of -such a day, and crashing through the bushes in -that headlong fashion? Something extraordinary<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[26]</a></span> -must have happened to him, and we soon learned -that indeed something had.</p> - -<p>Coming plunging downhill with the wind behind -him, he was right on us before he knew we were -there. He was one of our brown cousins—a -cinnamon—and we saw at once that he was hurt, -for he was going on three legs, holding his left -fore-paw off the ground. It was covered with -blood and hung limply, showing that the bone -was broken. He was so nervous that at sight of -us he threw himself up on his haunches and prepared -to fight; but we all felt sorry for him, and -he soon quieted down.</p> - -<p>‘Whatever has happened to you?’ asked my -father, while we others sat and listened.</p> - -<p>‘Man!’ replied Cinnamon, with a growl that -made my blood run cold.</p> - -<p>Man! Father had told us of man, but he had -never seen him; nor had his father or his grandfather -before him. Man had never visited our -part of the mountains, as far as we knew, but -stories of him we had heard in plenty. They had -been handed down in our family from generation -to generation, from the days when our ancestors -lived far away from our present abiding-place; and -every year, too, the animals that left the mountains<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[27]</a></span> -when the snow came brought us back stories of -man in the spring. The coyotes knew him and -feared him; the deer knew him and trembled at -his very name; the pumas knew him and both -feared and hated him. Everyone who knew him -seemed to fear him, and we had caught the fear -from them, and feared him, too, and had blessed -ourselves that he did not come near us.</p> - -<p>And now he was here! And poor Cinnamon’s -shattered leg was evidence that his evil reputation -was not unjustified.</p> - -<p>Then Cinnamon told us his story.</p> - -<p>He had lived, like his father and grandfather -before him, some miles away on the other side of -the high range of mountains behind us; and there -he had considered himself as safe from man as we -on our side had supposed ourselves to be. But -that spring when he awoke he found that during -the winter the men had come. They were few in -the beginning, he said, and he had first heard of -them as being some miles away. But more came, -and ever more; and as they came they pushed -further and further into the mountains. What -they were doing he did not know, but they kept -for the most part along by the streams, where they -dug holes everywhere. No, they did not live in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[28]</a></span> -the holes. They built themselves places to live in -out of trees which they cut down and chopped into -lengths and piled together. Why they did that, -when it was so much easier to dig comfortable -holes in the hillside, he did not know; but they -did. And they did not cut down the trees with -their teeth like beavers, but took sticks in their -hands and beat them till they fell!</p> - -<p>Yes, it was true about the fires they made. -They made them every day and all the time, usually -just outside the houses that they built of the -chopped trees. The fires were terrible to look at, -but the men did not seem to be afraid of them. -They stood quite close to them, especially in the -evenings, and burned their food in them before -they ate it.</p> - -<p>We had heard this before, but had not believed -it. And it was true, after all! What was still -more wonderful, Cinnamon said that he had gone -down at night, when the men were all asleep in -their chopped-tree houses, and, sniffing round, had -found pieces of this burnt food lying about, and eaten -them, and—they were very good! So good were -they that, incredible as it might seem, Cinnamon -had gone again and again, night after night, to -look for scraps that had been left lying about.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[29]</a></span></p> - -<p>On the previous night he had gone down as -usual after the men, as he supposed, were all -asleep, but he was arrested before he got to the -houses themselves by a strong smell of the burnt -food somewhere close by him. The men, he explained, -had cut down the trees nearest to the -stream to build their houses with, so that between -the edge of the forest and the water there was an -open space dotted with the stumps of the trees -that had been felled, which stuck up as high as -a bear’s shoulder from the ground. It was just -at the edge of this open space that he smelled the -burnt food, and, sure enough, on one of the nearest -stumps there was a bigger lump of it than any he -had ever seen. Naturally, he went straight up -to it.</p> - -<p>Just as he got to it he heard a movement between -him and the houses, and, looking round, -he saw a man lying flat on the ground in such -a way that he had hitherto been hidden by another -stump. As Cinnamon looked he saw the man point -something at him (yes, unquestionably, the dreadful -thing we had heard of—the thunder-stick—with -which man kills at long distances), and in -a moment there was a flash of flame and a noise -like a big tree breaking in the wind, and something<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[30]</a></span> -hit his leg and smashed it, as we could see. It -hurt horribly, and Cinnamon turned at once and -plunged into the wood. As he did so there was a -second flash and roar, and something hit a tree-trunk -within a foot of his head, and sent splinters -flying in every direction.</p> - -<p>Since then Cinnamon had been trying only to -get away. His foot hurt him so that he had been -obliged to be down for a few hours in the bushes -during the morning; but now he was pushing on -again, only anxious to go somewhere as far away -from man as possible.</p> - -<p>While he was talking, my mother had been licking -his wounded foot, while father sat up on his -haunches, with his nose buried in the fur of his -chest, grumbling and growling to himself, as his -way was when he was very much annoyed. I -have the same trick, which I suppose I inherited -from him. We cubs sat shivering and whimpering, -and listening terror-stricken to the awful -story.</p> - -<p>What was to be done now? That was the -question. How far away, we asked, were the -men? Well, it was about midnight when Cinnamon -was wounded, and now it was noon. -Except the three or four hours that he had lain<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[31]</a></span> -in the bushes, he had been travelling in a straight -line all the time, as fast as he could with his broken -leg. And did men travel fast? No; they moved -very slowly, and always on their hind-legs. Cinnamon -had never seen one go on all fours, though -that seemed to him as ridiculous as their building -houses of chopped trees instead of making holes in -the ground. They very rarely went about at night, -and Cinnamon did not believe any of them had -followed him, so there was probably no immediate -danger. Moreover, Cinnamon explained, they -seldom moved far away from the streams, and -they made a great deal of noise wherever they -went, so that it was easy to hear them. Besides -which, you could smell them a long way off. It -did not matter if you had never smelled it before: -any bear would know the man-smell by the first -whiff he got of it.</p> - -<p>All this was somewhat consoling. It made the -danger a little more remote, and, especially, it -reduced the chance of our being taken by surprise. -Still, the situation was bad enough as it stood, for -the news changed the whole colour and current -of our lives. Hitherto we had gone without fear -where we would, careless of anything but our own -inclinations. Now a sudden terror had arisen, that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[32]</a></span> -threw a shadow over every minute of the day and -night. Man was near—man, who seemed to love -to kill, and who <em>could</em> kill; not by his strength, but -by virtue of some cunning which we could neither -combat nor understand. Thereafter, though perhaps -man’s name might not be mentioned between -us from one day to another, I do not think there -was a minute when we were not all more or less on -the alert, with ears and nostrils open for an indication -of his dreaded presence.</p> - -<p>Though Cinnamon thought we could safely stay -where we were, he proposed himself to push on, -further away from the neighbourhood of the hated -human beings. In any emergency he would be -sadly crippled by his broken leg, and—at least till -that was healed—he preferred to be as remote from -danger as possible.</p> - -<p>After he was gone my father and mother held -council. There was no more sleep for us that day, -and in the evening, when we started out on our -regular search for food, it was very cautiously, and -with nerves all on the jump. It was a trying -night. We went warily, with our heads ever -turned up-wind, hardly daring to dig for a root -lest the sound of our digging should fill our ears -so that we would not hear man’s approach; and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[33]</a></span> -when I stripped a bit of bark from a fallen log -to look for beetles underneath, and it crackled -noisily as it came away, my father growled angrily -at me and mother cuffed me from behind.</p> - -<p>I remember, though, that they shared the beetles -between them.</p> - -<p>I need not dwell on the days of anxiety that -followed. I do not remember them much myself, -except that they were very long and nerve-racking. -I will tell you at once how it was that we first -actually came in contact with man himself.</p> - -<p>In the course of my life I have reached the conclusion -that nearly all the troubles that come to -animals are the result of one of two things—either -of their greediness or their curiosity. It -was curiosity which led me into the difficulty with -Porcupine. It was Cinnamon’s greediness that -got his leg broken for him. Our first coming in -contact with man was the result, I am afraid, of -both—but chiefly of our curiosity.</p> - -<p>During the days that followed our meeting -with Cinnamon, while we were moving about so -cautiously, we were also all the time (and, though -we never mentioned the fact, we all knew that we -were) gradually working nearer to the place where -Cinnamon had told us that man was. I knew what<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[34]</a></span> -was happening, but would not have mentioned it -for worlds, lest if we talked about it we should -change our direction. And I wanted—yes, in -spite of his terrors—I <em>wanted</em> to see man just -once. Also—I may as well confess it—there were -memories of what Cinnamon had said of that -wonderful burnt food.</p> - -<p>Some ten or twelve days must have passed in -this way, when one morning, after we had been -abroad for three or four hours, and the sun was just -getting up, we heard a noise such as we had never -heard before. Chuck! chuck! chuck! chuck! -It came at regular intervals for a while, then -stopped and began again. What could it be? -It was not the noise of a woodpecker, nor that -which a beaver makes with its tail. Chuck! -chuck! chuck! chuck! It was not the clucking -of a grouse, though perhaps more like that than -anything else, but different, somehow, in quality. -Chuck! chuck! chuck! chuck! I think we all -knew in our hearts that it had something to do -with man.</p> - -<p>The noise came from not far away, but the wind -was blowing across us. So we made a circle till -it blew from the noise to us; and suddenly in -one whiff we all knew that it was man. I felt my<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[35]</a></span> -skin crawling up my spine, and I saw my father’s -nose go down into his chest, while the hair on his -neck and shoulders stood out as it only could do in -moments of intense excitement.</p> - -<p>Slowly, very slowly, we moved towards the noise, -until at last we were so close that the smell grew -almost overpowering. But still we could not see -him, because of the brushwood. Then we came to -a fallen log and, carefully and silently we stepped -on to it—my father and mother first, then I, then -Kahwa. Now, by standing up on our hind-feet, -our heads—even mine and Kahwa’s—were clear of -the bushes, and there, not fifty yards away from us, -was man. He was chopping down a tree, and that -was the noise that we had heard. He did not see -us, being too intent on his work. Chuck! chuck! -chuck! chuck! He was striking steadily at the -tree with what I now know was an axe, but which -at the time we all supposed to be a thunder-stick, -and at each blow the splinters of wood flew just as -Cinnamon had told us. After a while he stopped, -and stooped to pick something off the ground. -This hid him from my sight, and from Kahwa’s -also, so she strained up on her tiptoes to get another -look at him. In doing so her feet slipped on the -bark of the log, and down she came with a crash<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[36]</a></span> -that could have been heard at twice his distance -from us, even if the shock had not knocked a -loud ‘Wooff!’ out of her as she fell. The man -instantly stood up and turned round, and, of -course, found himself staring straight into our -three faces.</p> - -<p>He did not hesitate a moment, but dropped his -axe and ran. I think he ran as fast as he could, -but what Cinnamon said was true: he went, of -course, on his hind-legs, and did <em>not</em> travel fast. It -was downhill, and running on your hind-legs for -any distance downhill is an awkward performance -at best.</p> - -<p>We, of course, followed our impulse, and went -after him. We did not want him in the least. -We would not have known what to do with him if -we had him. But you know how impossible it is -to resist chasing anything that runs away from you. -We could easily have caught him had we wished -to, but why should we? Besides, he might still -have another thunder-stick concealed about him. -So we just ran fast enough to keep him running. -And as we ran, crashing through the bushes, -galloping down the hill, with his head rising and -falling as he leaped along ahead of us, the absurdity -of it got hold of me, and I yelped with excitement<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[37]</a></span> -and delight. To be chasing man, of all things -living—man—like this! And I could hear my -father ‘wooffing’ to himself at each gallop with -amusement and satisfaction.</p> - -<p>Very soon, however, we smelled more men. -Then we slowed down, and presently there came -in sight what we knew must be one of the chopped-tree -houses. So we stood and watched, while the -man, still running as if we were at his very heels, -tore up to the house, and out from behind it -came three or four others. We could see them -brandishing their arms and talking very excitedly. -Then two of them plunged into the house, and -came out with—yes, there could be no doubt of -it; these were the real things—the dreaded thunder-sticks -themselves.</p> - -<p>Then we knew that it was our turn to run; -and we ran.</p> - -<p>Back up the hill we went, much faster than we -had come down; for we were running for our own -lives now, and bears like running uphill best. On -and on we went, as fast as we could go. We had -no idea at how long a distance man could hit us -with the thunder-sticks, but we preferred to be on -the safe side, and it must have been at least two -hours before we stopped for a moment to take<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[38]</a></span> -breath. And when a bear is in a hurry, two -hours, even for a cub, mean more than twenty -miles.</p> - -<p>So it was that we first met man. And how -absurdly different from what in our terrified -imaginations we had pictured it!</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> -</div> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[39]</a></span></p> - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2> -<a name="chap_4" id="chap_4"></a> -<a href="#contents" class="chapref" title="Return to Table of Contents.">CHAPTER <abbr title="4">IV</abbr></a> <br /> - -<span class="stitle">THE FOREST FIRE</span></h2> - - -<p><span class="smcap">Though</span> we had come off so happily from our first -encounter with man, none the less we had no -desire to see him again. On the contrary, we -determined to keep as far away from him as possible. -For my part, I confess that thoughts of him -were always with me, and every thought made the -skin crawl up my back. At nights I dreamed of -him—dreamed that he was chasing me endlessly -over the mountains. I would get away from him, -and, thinking myself safe, crawl into a thicket to -sleep; but before I could shut my eyes he was on -me again, and the dreadful thunder-stick would -speak, and showers of chips flew off the tree-trunks -all round me, and off I would have to go again. -And all the time my fore-leg was broken, like Cinnamon’s, -and I never dared to stop long enough to -wash it in the streams. It seemed to me that the -chase lasted for days and days, over hills and across -valleys, and always, apparently, in a circle, because<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[40]</a></span> -I never managed to get any distance away from -home. Then, just as man was going to catch me, -and the thunder-stick was roaring, and the chips -flying off the trees in bewildering showers about -me, my mother would slap me, and wake me up -because she could not sleep for the noise that I was -making. And I was very glad that she did.</p> - -<p>Nor was I the only one of the family who was -nervous. Father and mother had become so -changed that they were gruff and bad-tempered; -and all the pleasure and light-heartedness seemed -to have gone out of our long rambles. There was -no more romping and rolling together down the -hillsides. If Kahwa and I grew noisy in our -play, we were certain to be stopped with a ‘Woof, -children! be quiet.’ The fear of man was always -with us, and his presence seemed to pervade the -whole of the mountains.</p> - -<p>Soon, however, a thing happened which for a -time at least drove man and everything else out of -our minds.</p> - -<p>We still lingered around the neighbourhood of -our home, because, I think, we felt safer there, -where we knew every inch of the hills and every -bush, and tree, and stone. It had been very hot -for weeks, so that the earth was parched dry, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[41]</a></span> -the streams had shrunk till, in places where -torrents were pouring but a few weeks ago, there -was now no more than a dribble of water going -over the stones. During the day we hardly went -about at all, but from soon after sunrise to an hour -or so before sunset we kept in the shadow of the -brushwood along the water’s edge.</p> - -<p>One evening the sun did not seem to be able to -finish setting, but after it had gone down the red -glow still stayed in the sky to westward, and -instead of fading it glowed visibly brighter as the -night went on. All night my father was uneasy, -growling and grumbling to himself and continually -sniffing the air to westward; but the atmosphere -was stagnant and hot and dead all night, with not -a breath of wind moving. When daylight came -the glow died out of the western sky, but in place -of it a heavy gray cloud hung over the further -mountains and hid their tops from sight. We went -to bed that morning feeling very uncomfortable and -restless, and by mid-day we were up again. And -now we knew what the matter was.</p> - -<p>A breeze had sprung up from the west, and -when I woke after a few hours’ sleep—sleep which -had been one long nightmare of man and thunder-sticks -and broken leg—the air was full of a new<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[42]</a></span> -smell, very sharp and pungent; and not only was -there the smell, but with the breeze the cloud from -the west had been rolling towards us, and the -whole mountain-side was covered with a thin haze, -like a mist, only different from any mist that I had -seen. And it was this haze that smelled so strongly. -Instead of clearing away, as mist ought to do when -the sun grows hot, this one became denser as the -day went on, half veiling the sun itself. And we -soon found that things—unusual things—were -going on in the mountains. The birds were flying -excitedly about, and the squirrels chattering, and -everything was travelling from west to east, and -on all sides we heard the same thing.</p> - -<p>‘The world’s on fire! quick, quick, quick, quick!’ -screamed the squirrels as they raced along the -ground or jumped from tree to tree overhead. -‘Fire! fire!’ called the myrtle-robin as it passed. -‘Firrrrrre!’ shouted the blue jay. A coyote came -limping by, yelping that the end of the world was -at hand. Pumas passed snarling and growling -angrily, first at us, and then over their shoulders at -the smoke that rolled behind. Deer plunged up to -us, stood for a minute quivering with terror, and -plunged on again into the brush. Overhead and -along the ground was an almost constant stream of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[43]</a></span> -birds and animals, all hurrying in the same direction.</p> - -<p>Presently there came along another family of -bears, the parents and two cubs just about the size -of Kahwa and myself, the cubs whimpering and -whining as they ran. The father bear asked my -father if we were not going, too; but my father -thought not. He was older and bigger than the -other bear, and had seen a forest fire when he was a -cub, and his father then had saved them by taking -to the water.</p> - -<p>‘If a strong wind gets up,’ he said, ‘you cannot -escape by running away from the fire, because it will -travel faster than you. It may drive you before -it for days, until you are worn out, and there’s no -knowing where it will drive you. It may drive -you unexpectedly straight into man. I shall try -the water.’</p> - -<p>The others listened to what he had to say, but -they were too frightened to pay much attention, -and soon went on again, leaving us to face the fire. -And I confess that I wished that father would let -us go, too.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile the smoke had been growing thicker -and thicker. It made eyes and throat smart, and -poor little Kahwa was crying with discomfort and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[44]</a></span> -terror. Before sunset the air was so thick that we -could not see a hundred yards in any direction, and -as the twilight deepened the whole western half of -the sky, from north to south and almost overhead, -seemed to be aflame. Now, too, we could -hear the roaring of the fire in the distance, like the -noise the wind makes in the pine-trees before a -thunderstorm. Then my father began to move, -not away from the fire, however, but down the -stream, and the stream ran almost due west straight -towards it. What a terrible trip that was! The -fire was, of course, much further away than it -looked; the smoke had been carried with the wind -many miles ahead of the fire itself, and we could -not yet see the flames, but only the awful glare in -the sky. But, in my inexperience, I thought it was -close upon us, and, with the dreadful roaring growing -louder and louder in my ears, every minute -was an agony.</p> - -<p>But my father and mother went steadily on, -and there was nothing to do but to follow them. -Sometimes we left the stream for a little to make a -short-cut, but we soon came back to it, and for the -most part we kept in the middle of the water, or -wading along by the bank where it was deep. All -the time the noise of the roaring of the flames grew<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[45]</a></span> -louder and the light in the sky brighter, until, as -we went forward, everything in front of us looked -black against it, and if we looked behind us everything -was glowing, even in the haze of smoke, as if -in strong red sunshine. Now, too, at intervals the -gusts of wind came stiflingly hot, laden with the -breath of the fire itself, and we were glad to plunge -our faces down into the cool water until the gusts -went by.</p> - -<p>At last we reached our pool above the beaver-dam, -and here, feeling his way cautiously well out -into the middle, till he found a place where it was -just deep enough for Kahwa and me to be able to -lift our heads above the water, father stopped. By -this time the air was so hot that it was hard to -breathe without dipping one’s mouth constantly in -the water, and for the roaring of the flames I could -not hear Kahwa whimpering at my side, or the -rush of the stream below the dam. And we soon -found that we were not alone in the pool. My -friend the kingfisher was not there, but close -beside us were old Grey Wolf and his wife, and, -as I remembered that Grey Wolf was considered -the wisest animal in the mountains, I began to feel -more comfortable, and was glad that we had not -run away with the others. The beavers—what a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[46]</a></span> -lot of them there were!—were in a state of great -excitement, climbing out on to the top of the dam -and slapping the logs and the water with their -tails, then plunging into the water, only to climb -out again and plunge in once more. Once a small -herd of deer, seven or eight of them, came rushing -into the water, evidently intending to stay there, -but their courage failed them. Whether it was -the proximity of Grey Wolf or whether it was -mere nervousness I do not know, but after they -had settled down in the water one of them was -suddenly panic-stricken, and plunged for the bank -and off into the woods, followed by all the rest.</p> - -<p>When we reached the pool there was still one -ridge or spur of the mountains between us and the -fire, making a black wall in front of us, above -which was nothing but a furnace of swirling smoke -and red-hot air. It seemed as if we waited a long -time for the flames to top that wall, because, I -suppose, they travelled slowly down in the valley -beyond, where they did not get the full force of -the wind. Then we saw the sky just above the -top of the wall glowing brighter from red to -yellow; then came a few scattered, tossing bits of -flame against the glow and the swirling smoke; -and then, with one roar, it was upon us. In an<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[47]</a></span> -instant the whole line of the mountain ridge was a -mass of flame, the noise redoubled till it was -almost deafening, and, as the wind now caught it, -the fire leaped from tree to tree, not pausing at -one before it swallowed the next, but in one steady -rush, without check or interruption, it swept over -the hill-top and down the nearer slope, and instantaneously, -as it seemed, we were in the middle -of it.</p> - -<p>I remember recalling then what my father had -said to the other bears about not being able to -run away from the fire if the wind were blowing -strongly.</p> - -<p>Had we not been out in the middle of the pool, -we must have perished. The fire was on both -sides of the stream—indeed, as we learned later, -it reached for many miles on both sides, and where -there was only the usual width of water the flames -joined hands across it and swept up the stream in -one solid wall. Where we were was the whole -width of the pool, while, besides, the beavers had -cut down the larger trees immediately near the -water, so there was less for the fire to feed upon. -But even so I did not believe that we could come -through alive. It was impossible to open my eyes -above water, and the hot air scorched my throat.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[48]</a></span> -There was nothing for it but to keep my head -under water and hold my breath as long as I -could, then put my nose out just enough to -breathe once, and plunge it in again. How long -that went on I do not know, but it seemed to me -ages; though the worst of it can only have lasted -for minutes. But at the end of those minutes all -the water in that huge pool was hot.</p> - -<p>I saw my father raising his head and shoulders -slowly out of the water and beginning to look -about him. That gave me courage, and I did the -same. The first thing that I realized was that the -roaring was less loud, and then, though it was -still almost intolerably hot, I found that it was -possible to keep one’s head in the open air and -one’s eyes open. Looking back, I saw that the -line of flame had already swept far away, and was -even now surmounting the top of the next high -ridge; and it was, I knew, at that moment devouring -the familiar cedars by our home, just as it had -devoured the trees on either side of the beavers’ -pool. On all sides of us the bigger trees were still -in flames, and from everywhere thick white smoke -was rising, and over all the mountain-side, right -down to the water’s edge, there was not one green -leaf or twig. Everything was black. The brushwood -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[49]</a></span>was completely gone. The trees were no -more than bare trunks, some of them still partially -wreathed in flames. The whole earth was black, -and from every side rose columns and jets and -streams of smoke. It seemed incredible that such -a change could have been wrought so instantaneously. -It was awful. Just a few minutes, -and what had been a mountain-side clothed in -splendid trees, making one dense shield of green, -sloping down to the bottom-land by the stream, -with its thickets of undergrowth, and all the long -cool green herbage by the water, had been swept -away, and in its place was only a black and -smoking wilderness. And what we saw before -our eyes was the same for miles and miles to north -and south of us, for a hundred miles to the west -from which the fire had come; and every few -minutes, as long as the wind held, carried desolation -another mile to eastward.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<a name="image_3" id="image_3"></a> -<img src="images/i056.jpg" width="500" height="500" alt="" /> -<div class="caption"> -<p class="caption">THE FATHER BEAR ASKED MY FATHER -IF WE WERE NOT GOING TOO.</p> -</div> -<p class="centerref">[<a href="images/i056-l.jpg">Enlarge</a>]</p> -</div> - - -<p>And what of all the living things that had died? -Had the animals and birds that had passed us -earlier in the day escaped? The deer which had -fled from the pool at the last moment—they, I -knew, must have been overtaken in that first -terrible rush of the flames; and I wondered what -the chances were that the bears who had declined<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[50]</a></span> -to stay with us, the squirrels, the coyote, the -pumas, and the hosts of birds that had been -hurrying eastward all day, would be able to keep -moving long enough to save themselves. And what -of all the insects and smaller things that must -be perishing by millions every minute? I do not -know whether I was more frightened at the -thought of what we had escaped or grateful to my -father for the course he had taken.</p> - -<p>It is improbable that I thought of all this at the -time, but I know I was dreadfully frightened; and -it makes me laugh now to think what a long time -it was before we could persuade Kahwa to put her -head above water and look about her. Our eyes -and throats were horribly sore, but otherwise none -of us was hurt. But though we were alive, life -did not look very bright for us. Where should -we go? That was the first question. And what -should we find to eat in all this smoking wilderness? -While we sat in the middle of the pool -wondering what we could do or whether it would -be safe to do anything, we saw Grey Wolf start to -go away. He climbed out on the bank while his -wife sat in the water and watched him. He got -out safely, and then put his nose down to snuff at -the ground. The instant his nose touched the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[51]</a></span> -earth he gave a yelp, and plunged back into the -water again. He had burnt the tip of his nose, -for the ground was baking hot, as we soon discovered -for ourselves. When we first stepped out -on shore, our feet were so wet that we did not feel -the heat, but in a few seconds they began to dry, -and then the sooner we scrambled back into the -water again, the better.</p> - -<p>How long it would have taken the earth to cool -again I do not know. It was covered with a layer -of burned stuff, ashes, and charred wood, which -everywhere continued smouldering underneath, and -all through the morning of the next day little -spirals of smoke were rising from the ground in -every direction. Fortunately, at mid-day came a -thunderstorm which lasted well on towards evening, -and when the rain stopped the ground had ceased -smoking. Many of the trees still smouldered and -burned inside. Sometimes the flame would eat -its way out again to the surface, so that the tree -would go on burning in the middle of the wet -forest until it was consumed; and for days afterwards, -on scratching away the stuff on the surface, -we would come to a layer of half-burned sticks that -was still too hot to touch. And nothing more -desolate than the landscape can be imagined.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[52]</a></span> -Wherever we looked there was not a speck of -green to be seen—nothing but blackness. The -earth everywhere was black, and out of it in long -rows in every direction stood up the black trees. -In many cases only the branches were burnt, -leaving the whole straight shaft of the trunk going -up like a mast into the sky. In others the trees -were destroyed, trunk and all, to within a foot or -two of the ground, leaving nothing but a ragged -and charred stump standing. Sometimes the fire -had eaten through the tree halfway up, so that -the top had broken off, and what remained was -only a column, ten, twenty, or thirty feet high. -And everything was black, black, black—like -ourselves.</p> - -<p>We of course kept to the stream. There along -the edges we found food, for the rushes and grass -and plants of all kinds had burned to the water-line, -but below that the stems and roots remained -fresh and good. But it was impossible to avoid -getting the black dust into one’s nose and mouth, -and our throats and nostrils were still full of the -smell of the smoke. No amount of water would -wash it out. The effect of the thunderstorm soon -passed off, and by the next day everything was as -dry as ever, and the least puff of wind filled the air<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[53]</a></span> -with clouds of black powder which made us sneeze, -and, getting into our eyes, kept them red and sore. -I do not think that in all my life I have spent -such a miserable time as during those days while -we were trying to escape from the region of the -fire.</p> - -<p>Of course, we did not know that there was any -escape. Perhaps the whole world had burned. -But my father was sure that we should get out of -it some time or other if we only kept straight -on. And keep on we did, hardly ever leaving the -water, but travelling on and on up the stream as -it got smaller and smaller, until finally there was -no stream at all, but only a spring bubbling out of -the mountain-side. So we crossed over the burnt -ground until we came to the beginning of another -stream on the other side, and followed that down -just as we had followed the first one up. And -perhaps the most dreadful thing all the time was -the utter silence of the woods. As a rule, both -day and night, they were full of the noises of other -animals and birds, but now there was not a sound -in all the mountains. We seemed to be the only -living things left.</p> - -<p>The stream which we now followed was that -on which the men whom we had seen were<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[54]</a></span> -camping, and presently we came to the place -where they had been. The chopped-log house -was a pile of ashes and half-burnt wood. About -the ruins we found all sorts of curious things that -were new to us—among them, things which I now -know were kettles and frying-pans; and we came -across lumps of their food, but it was all too much -covered with the black powder to be eatable. -There we stayed for the best part of a day, and -then we went on without having seen a sign of -man himself, and wondering what had become of -him. We had no cause to love him; but I -remember hoping that he had not been burned. -And the thought that even man himself had been -as helpless as we made it all seem more terrible -and hopeless.</p> - -<p>Seven or eight days had passed since the fire, -when, the day after we passed the place where -man had lived, we came to a beaver-dam across -the stream, and the beavers told us that, some -hours before the fire reached there, they had -seen the men hurrying downstream, but they did -not know whether they had succeeded in escaping -or not. And now other life began to reappear. -We met badgers and woodchucks and rats which -had taken refuge in their holes, and had at first<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[55]</a></span> -been unable to force their way out again through -the mass of burnt stuff which covered the ground -and choked up their burrows. The air, too, began -to be full of insects, which had been safe underground -or in the hearts of trees, and were now -hatching out. And then we met birds—woodpeckers -first, and afterwards jays, which were -working back into the burnt district, and from -them it was that we first learned for certain that -it was only a burnt district, and that there was -part of the world which had escaped. So we -pushed on, until one morning, when daylight -came, we saw in the distance a hill-top on which -the trees still stood with all their leaves unconsumed. -And how good and cool it looked!</p> - -<p>We did not stop to sleep, but travelled on all -through the day, going as fast as we could along -the rocky edges of the stream, which was now -almost wide enough to be a river, when suddenly -we heard strange noises ahead of us, and we knew -what the noises were, and that they meant man -again. Men were coming towards us along the -bank of the stream, so we had to leave it and -hurry into the woods. There, though there was -no shelter but the burnt tree-stumps, we were -safe; for everything around us was of the same<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[56]</a></span> -colour as ourselves, and all we had to do was to -squat perfectly still, and it was impossible even -for us, at a little distance, to distinguish each other -from burnt tree-stumps. So we sat and watched -the men pass. There were five of them, each -carrying a bundle nearly as big as himself on his -back, and they laughed and talked noisily as they -passed, without a suspicion that four bears were -looking at them from less than a hundred yards -away.</p> - -<p>As soon as they had passed, we went on again, -and before evening we came to places where the -trees were only partly burned; here and there -one had escaped altogether. Then, close by the -stream, a patch of willows was as green and fresh -as if there had been no fire; and at last we had -left the burnt country behind us. How good it -was—the smell of the dry pine-needles and the -good, soft brown earth underneath, and the delight -of the taste of food that was once more free from -smoke, and the glory of that first roll in the green -grass among the fresh, juicy undergrowth by the -water!</p> - -<p>That next day we slept—really slept—for the -first time since the night in the beavers’ pool.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> -</div> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[57]</a></span></p> - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2> -<a name="chap_5" id="chap_5"></a> -<a href="#contents" class="chapref" title="Return to Table of Contents.">CHAPTER <abbr title="5">V</abbr></a> <br /> - -<span class="stitle">I LOSE A SISTER</span></h2> - - -<p><span class="smcap">We</span> soon found that the country which we were -now in was simply full of animals. Of course it -had had its share of inhabitants before the fire, -and, in addition, all those that fled before the -flames had crowded into it; besides which the -beasts of prey from all directions were drawn -towards the same place by the abundance of food -which was easy to get. We heard terrible stories -of sufferings and narrow escapes, and the poor -deer especially, when they had at last won to a -place of safety from the flames, were generally so -tired and so bewildered that they fell an easy prey -to the pumas and wolves. All night long the -forest was full of the yelping of the coyotes -revelling over the bodies of animals that the -larger beasts had killed and only partly eaten, -and every creature seemed to be quarrelling with -those of its kind, the former inhabitants of the -neighbourhood resenting the intrusion of the newcomers.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[58]</a></span> -For ourselves, nobody attacked us. We -found two other families of bears quite close to us, -but though we did not make friends at first, they -did not quarrel with us. We were glad enough to -live in peace, and to be able to devote ourselves to -learning something about the new country.</p> - -<p>In general it was very much like the place that -we had left—the same succession of mountain after -mountain, all densely covered with trees, and with -the streams winding down through gulch and -valley. The stream that we had followed was -now a river, broader all along its course than the -beavers’ pool which had saved our lives, and at -one place, about two miles beyond the end of the -burned region, it passed through a valley, wider than -any that I had seen, with an expanse of level land -on either side. Here it was, on this level bottom-land, -that I first tasted what are, I think, next to -honey, of all wild things the greatest treat that a -bear knows—ripe blueberries. But this ‘berry-patch,’ -as we called it, was to play a very important -part in my life, and I must explain.</p> - -<p>We had soon learned that we were now almost -in the middle of men. There was the party which -had passed us going up the stream into the burned -country. There were two more log-houses about<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[59]</a></span> -a mile from the edge of the burned country, and -therefore also behind us. There were others -further down the stream, and almost every day -men passed either up or down the river, going from -one set of houses to another. Finally we heard, -and, before we had been there a week, saw with our -own eyes, that only some ten miles further on, -where our stream joined another and made a -mighty river, there was a town, which had all -sprung up since last winter, in which hundreds of -men lived together. This was the great drawback -of our new home. But if we went further on, -the chances were that we should only come to more -and more men; and for the present, by lying up -most of the day, and only going out at night in the -direction of their houses, there was no difficulty in -keeping away from them.</p> - -<p>Familiarity with them indeed had lessened our -terror. We certainly had no desire to hurt them, -and they, as they passed up and down or went -about their work digging in the ground along the -side of the river or chopping down trees, appeared -to give no thought to us; and with that fear -removed, even though we kept constantly on the -alert, lest they should unexpectedly come too near -us, our life was happy and free from care. Father<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[60]</a></span> -and mother grew to be like their old selves again, -less gruff and nervous than they had been since the -memorable day when we saw Cinnamon with his -broken leg; and as for Kahwa and me, though we -romped less than we used to do—for we were -seven months old now, and at seven months a -bear is getting to be a big and serious animal—we -were as happy as two young bears could be. -After a long hot day, during which we had been -sleeping in the shade, what could be more delightful -than to go and lie in the cool stream, where it -flowed only a foot or so deep, and as clear as the air -itself, over a firm sandy bottom? There were frogs, -and snails, and beetles of all sorts, along the water’s -edge, and the juicy stems of the reeds and water-plants. -Then, in the night we wandered abroad -finding lily roots, and the sweet ferns, and camas, -and mushrooms, with another visit to the river in -the early morning, and perhaps a trout to wind up -with before the sun drove us under cover again.</p> - -<p>And above all there was the berry-patch.</p> - -<p>The mere smell of a berry-patch at the end of -summer, when the sun has been beating down all -day, so that the air is heavy with the scent of the -cooking fruit, is delicious enough, but it is nothing -to the sweetness of the berries themselves.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[61]</a></span></p> - -<p>It was in the evening, after our dip in the river, -when twilight was shading into night, that we used -to visit the patch. It was a great open space in -a bend of the river, half a mile long and nearly -as wide, without a tree on it, and nothing but just -the blue-berry bushes growing close together all -over it, reaching about up to one’s chest as one -walked through, and every bush loaded with -berries. Not only we, but every bear in the -neighbourhood, used to go there each evening—the -two other families of whom I have spoken, and also -two other single he-bears who had no families. -One of these was the only animal in the neighbourhood—except -the porcupines, which every bear -hates—whom I disliked and feared. He was -a bad-tempered beast, bigger than father, with -whom at our first meeting he wanted to pick a -quarrel, while making friends with mother. She, -however, would not have anything to say to him. -When he was getting ready to fight my father—walking -sideways at him and snarling, while my -father, I am bound to confess, backed away—mother -did not say a word, but went straight at -him as she had rushed at the puma that day -when she saved my life. Then father jumped at -him also, and between them they bundled him<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[62]</a></span> -along till he fairly took to his heels and ran. But -whenever we met him after that—and we saw him -every evening at the patch—he snarled viciously -at us, and I, at least, was careful to keep father -and mother between him and me. If he had -caught any one of us alone, I believe he would -have killed us; so we took care that he never -should.</p> - -<p>I can see the berry-patch now, lying white and -shining in the moonlight, with here and there -round the edges, and even sometimes pretty well -out into the middle, if the night was not too light, -the black spots showing where the bears were -feeding. We enjoyed our feasts in silence, and -beyond an occasional snapping of a twig, or the cry -of some animal from the forest, or the screech of a -passing owl, there was not a sound but that of our -own eating. One night, however, there came an -interruption.</p> - -<p>It was bright moonlight, and we were revelling -in our enjoyment of the fruit, but father was -curiously restless. The air was very still, but in a -little gust of wind early in the evening father -declared that he had smelled man. As an hour -passed and there was no further sign of him, however, -we forgot him in the delight of the ripe<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[63]</a></span> -berries. Suddenly from the other side of the patch, -nearly half a mile away from us, rang out the awful -voice of the thunder-stick. We did not wait to see -what was happening, but made at all speed for the -shelter of the trees, and tore on up the mountain -slope. There was no further sound, but we did -not dare to go back to the patch that night, nor -did we see any of the other bears; so that it was -not until some days afterwards that we heard that -the thunder-stick had very nearly killed the mother -of one of the other families. It had cut a deep -wound in her neck, and she had saved herself only -by plunging into the woods. If we had known all -this at the time, I doubt if we should have gone -back to the berry-patch as we did on the very -next night.</p> - -<p>On our way to the patch we met the bad-tempered -bear coming away from it. That was -curious, and if it had been anybody else we should -undoubtedly have asked him why he was leaving -the feast at that time in the evening. Had we -done so, it might have saved a lot of trouble. As -it was, we only snarled back at him as he passed -snarling by us, and went on our way. We were -very careful, however, and took a long time to -make our way out of the trees down to the edge<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[64]</a></span> -of the bushes; but there was no sound to make us -uneasy, nor any smell of man in such wind as blew. -Of course we took care to approach the patch at -the furthest point from where we had heard the -thunder-stick on the night before. It was a cloudy -night, and the moon shone only at intervals. -Taking advantage of a passing cloud, we slipped -out from the cover of the trees into the berry-bushes. -We could see no other bears, but they -might be hidden by the clouds. In a minute, -however, the moon shone out, and had there been -any others there—at least, as far out from the edge -as ourselves—we must have been able to see them. -Certainly, alas! we were seen, for even as I was -looking round the patch in the first ray of the -moonlight to see if any of our friends were there, -the thunder-stick rang out again, and once more we -plunged for the trees. But this time the sound -was much nearer, and there was a second report -before we were well into the shadow, and then a -third. So terrified were we that there was no -thought of stopping, but after we got into the -woods we kept straight on as fast as we could go, -father and mother in front, I next, and Kahwa -behind; and none of us looked back, for we heard -the shouts of men and the crashing of branches as -they ran, and again and again the thunder-stick -spoke.</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[65]</a></span></p> -<p>Suddenly I became aware that Kahwa was not -behind me. I stopped and looked round, but she -was nowhere to be seen. I remembered having -heard her give a sudden squeal, as if she had -trodden on something sharp, but I had paid no -attention to it at the time. Now I became -frightened, and called to father and mother to -stop. They were a long way ahead, and it was -some time before I could get near enough to -attract their attention and tell them that Kahwa -was missing.</p> - -<p>Mother wished to charge straight down the hill -again at the men, thunder-sticks or no thunder-sticks; -but father dissuaded her, and at last we -began to retrace our steps cautiously, keeping our -ears and noses open for any sign either of Kahwa -or of man. As we came near the edge of the -wood, noises reached us—shouts and stamping; -and then, mixed with the other sounds, I clearly -heard Kahwa’s voice. She was crying in anger -and pain, as if she was fighting, and fighting -desperately. A minute later we were near enough -to see, and a miserable sight it was that we saw.</p> - -<p>Out in the middle of the berry-patch, in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[66]</a></span> -brilliant moonlight, was poor Kahwa with four -men. They had fastened ropes around her, and -two of them at the end of one rope on one side, -and two at the end of one on the other, were -dragging her across the middle of the patch. She -was fighting every inch of the way, but her -struggles against four men were useless, and -slowly, yard by yard, she was being dragged away -from us.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<a name="image_4" id="image_4"></a> -<img src="images/i073.jpg" width="500" height="500" alt="" /> -<div class="caption"> -<p class="caption">SLOWLY, YARD BY YARD, SHE WAS -BEING DRAGGED AWAY FROM US.</p> -</div> -<p class="centerref">[<a href="images/i073-l.jpg">Enlarge</a>]</p> -</div> - -<p>But if she could not fight four men, could not -we? There were four of us, and I said so to my -father. But he only grunted, and reminded me of -the thunder-sticks. It was only too true. Without -the thunder-sticks we should have had no difficulty -in meeting them, but with those weapons in their -hands it would only be sacrificing our lives in vain -to attempt a rescue. So there we had to stand -and watch, my mother all the time whimpering, -and my father growling, and sitting up on his -haunches and rubbing his nose in his chest. We -dared not show ourselves in the open, so we -followed the edge of the patch, keeping alongside -of the men, but in the shadow of the trees. They -pulled Kahwa across the middle of the patch into -the woods on the other side, and down to the river-bank, -where, we knew, there began an open path<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[67]</a></span> -which the men had beaten in going to and from -their houses half a mile further on. Here there -were several houses in a bunch together. Inside -one of these they shut her, and then all went in -to another house themselves. We stayed around, -and two or three times later on we saw one or -more of the men come out and stand for awhile at -Kahwa’s door listening; but at last they came out -no more, and we saw the lights go out in their -house, and we knew that the men had gone to -sleep.</p> - -<p>Then we crept down cautiously till we could -hear Kahwa whimpering and growling through the -walls. My mother spoke to her, and there was -silence for a moment, and then, when mother -spoke again, the poor little thing recognised her -voice and squealed with delight. But what could -we do? We talked to her for awhile, and tried to -scratch away the earth from round the wall, in the -hope of getting at her; but it was all useless, and -as the day began to dawn nothing remained but to -make off before the men arose, and to crawl away -to hide ourselves in the woods again.</p> - -<p>What a wretched night that was! Hitherto I -do not think that I had thought much of Kahwa. -I had taken her as a matter of course, played<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[68]</a></span> -with her and quarrelled with her by turns, without -stopping to think what life might be without her. -But now I thought of it, and as I lay awake -through the morning I realized how much she had -been to me, and wondered what the men would do -with her. Most of all I wondered why they should -have wanted to catch her at all. We had no wish -to do them any harm. We were nobody’s enemy; -least of all was little Kahwa. Why could not men -live in peace with us as we were willing to live in -peace with them?</p> - -<p>Long before it was dusk next evening we were -in the woods as near to the men’s houses as we -dared to go, but we could hear no sound of my -sister’s voice. There appeared to be only one -man about the place, and he was at work chopping -wood, until just at sunset, when the other three -men came back from down the stream, and we -noticed that they carried long ropes slung over -their arms. Were those the ropes with which they -had dragged Kahwa the night before? If so, had -they again, while we slept, dragged her off somewhere -else? We feared it must be so.</p> - -<p>Impatiently we waited until it was dark enough -to trust ourselves in the open near the houses, and -then we soon knew that our fears were justified.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[69]</a></span> -The door of the house in which Kahwa had been -shut was open; the men went in and out of it, and -evidently Kahwa was not there. Nor was there -any trace of her about the buildings. So under -my father’s guidance we started on the path down -the stream by which the three men had returned, -and it was not long before we found the marks of -where she had struggled against her captors, and in -places the scent of her trail was still perceptible, in -spite of the strong man-smell which pervaded the -beaten path.</p> - -<p>So we followed the trail down until we came to -more houses; then made a circuit and followed on -again, still finding evidence that she had passed. -Soon we came to more houses, at ever shortening -intervals, until the bank of the stream on both -sides was either continuously occupied by houses -or showed traces of men being constantly at work -there. And beyond was the town itself. It was of -no use for us to go further. In the town we could -see lights streaming from many of the buildings, -and the shouting of men’s voices came to our ears. -We wandered round the outskirts of the town till -it was daylight, and then drew back into the hills -and lay down again, very sad and hungry—for -we had hardly thought of food—and very lonesome.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[70]</a></span></p> - -<p>Kahwa, we felt sure, was somewhere among -those houses in the town. But that was little -comfort to us. And all the time we wondered -what man wanted with her, and why he could -not have left us to be happy, as we had been -before he came.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> -</div> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[71]</a></span></p> - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2> -<a name="chap_6" id="chap_6"></a> -<a href="#contents" class="chapref" title="Return to Table of Contents.">CHAPTER <abbr title="6">VI</abbr></a><br /> - -<span class="stitle">LIFE IN CAMP</span></h2> - - -<p><span class="smcap">One</span> of the results of Kahwa’s disappearance was -to make me much more solitary than I had ever -been before, not merely because I did not have her -to play with, but now, for the first time, I took to -wandering on excursions by myself. And these -excursions all had one object:—to find Kahwa.</p> - -<p>For some days after her capture we waited about -the outskirts of the town nearly all night long; but -on the third or fourth morning father made up his -mind that it was useless, and, though mother persuaded -him not to abandon the search for another -night or two, he insisted after that on giving up -and returning to the neighbourhood where we had -been living since the fire. So we turned our backs -upon the town, and, for my part very reluctantly, -went home.</p> - -<p>The moon was not yet much past the full, and -I can remember now how the berry-patch looked -that night as we passed it, lying white and shining<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[72]</a></span> -in the moonlight. We saw no other bears at it, -and did not stop, but kept under the trees round -the edges, and went on to our favourite resting-place, -where, a few hundred yards from the river, -a couple of huge trees had at some time been -blown down. Round their great trunks as they -lay on the ground, young trees and a mass of elder-bushes -and other brushwood had sprung up, making -a dense thicket. The two logs lay side by side, and -in between them, with the tangle of bushes all -round and the branches of the other trees overhead, -there was a complete and impenetrable -shelter.</p> - -<p>We had used this place so much that a regular -path was worn to it through the bushes. This -night as we came near we saw recent prints of a -bear’s feet on the path, and the bear that made -them was evidently a big one. From the way father -growled when he saw them, I think he guessed at -once whose feet they were. I know that I had -my suspicions—suspicions which soon proved to -be correct.</p> - -<p>During our absence our enemy, the surly bear -that I have spoken of, had taken it into his head -that he would occupy our home. Of course he -had lived in this district much longer than we,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[73]</a></span> -and, had this been his home when we first came, -we should never have thought of disputing -possession with him. But it had been our home -now, so far as we had any regular home at this -time of year, ever since our arrival after the fire, -while he had lived half a mile away. Now, however, -there he was, standing obstinately in the -pathway, swinging his head from side to side, and -evidently intending to fight rather than go away. -We all stopped, my father in front, my mother -next, and I behind. I have said that the stranger -was bigger than my father, and in an ordinary -meeting in the forest I do not think my father -would have attempted to stand up to him; but -this was different. It was our home, and we all -felt that he had no right there, but that, on the -contrary, he was behaving as he was out of pure -bad temper and a desire to bully us and make -himself unpleasant. Moreover, the events of the -last few days had rendered my father and mother -irritable, and they were in no mood to be polite to -anybody.</p> - -<p>Usually it takes a long time to make two bears -fight. We begin slowly, growling and walking sideways -towards each other, and only getting nearer -inch by inch. But on this occasion there was not<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[74]</a></span> -much room in the path, and father was thoroughly -exasperated. He hardly waited at all, but just -stood sniffling with his nose up for a minute to -see if the other showed any sign of going away, -and then, without further warning, threw himself -at him. I had never seen my father in a real -fight, and now he was simply splendid. Before -the stranger had time to realize what was happening, -he was flung back on his haunches, and in a -moment they were rolling over and over in one -mass in the bushes. At first it was impossible to -see what was going on, but, in spite of the ferocity -of my father’s rush, it soon became evident that -in the end the bigger bear must win. My father’s -face was buried in the other’s left shoulder, and he -had evidently got a good grip there; but he was -almost on his back, for the stranger had worked -himself uppermost, and we could see that he was -trying to get his teeth round my father’s fore leg. -Had he once got hold, nothing could have saved -the leg, bone and all, from being crushed to pieces, -and father, if not killed, would certainly have been -beaten, and probably crippled for life. And sooner -or later it seemed certain that the stranger would -get his hold.</p> - -<p>Then it was that my mother interfered. Hurling<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[75]</a></span> -herself at him, she threw her whole weight into one -swinging blow on the side of the big bear’s head, and -in another second had plunged her teeth into the -back of his neck. My father’s grip in the fleshy part -of the shoulder, however painful it might be, had -little real effect; but where my mother had attacked, -behind the right ear, was a different matter. The -stranger was obliged to leave my father’s leg alone -and to turn and defend himself against this new -onslaught; but, big as he was, he now had more -on his hands than he could manage. As soon as he -turned his attention to my mother, my father let -go of his shoulder, and in his turn tried to grip -the other’s fore-leg. There was nothing for the -stranger to do now but to get out of it as fast as -he could; and even I could not help admiring -his strength as he lifted himself up and shook -mother off as lightly as she would have shaken me. -She escaped the wicked blow that he aimed at her, -and dodged out of his reach, and my father, letting -go his hold of the fore-leg, did the same. The -stranger, with one on either side of him, backed -himself against one of the fallen logs and waited -for them to attack him. But that they had no wish -to do. All that they wanted was that he should -go away, and they told him so. They moved aside<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[76]</a></span> -from the path on either hand to give him space to -go, and slowly and surlily he began to move.</p> - -<p>I was still standing in the pathway. Suddenly -he made a movement as if to rush at me, but my -father and mother jumped towards him simultaneously, -while I plunged into the bushes, and he -was compelled to turn and defend himself against -my parents again. But they did not attack him, -though they followed him slowly along the path. -Every step or two he stopped to make an ugly -start back at one or the other, but he knew that -he was overmatched, and yard by yard he made off, -my father and mother following him as far as the -edge of the thicket, and standing to watch him out -of sight. And I was glad when he was safely gone -and they came back to me.</p> - -<p>It was not a pleasant home-coming, and we were -all restless and nervous for days afterwards; and -then it was that I vowed to myself that, if I ever -grew up and the opportunity came, I would wreak -vengeance on that bear.</p> - -<p>If we were all nervous, I was the worst, and in -my restlessness took to going off by myself. Up -to this time I do not think I had ever been a -hundred yards away from one or other of my -parents, and now, when I started out alone, it was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[77]</a></span> -always in horrible fear of meeting the big bear -when there was no one to stand by me. Gradually, -however, I acquired confidence in myself, making -each night a longer trip alone, and each night -going in the direction of the town. At last, one -night, I found myself at the edge of the town -itself, and now when I was alone I did not stop -at the first building that I came to, but very -cautiously—for the man-smell was thick around -me, and terrified me in spite of myself—very -cautiously I began to thread my way in between the -buildings.<a name="Anchor-3" id="Anchor-3"></a><a href="#Footnote-3" class="fnanchor" title="Go to footnote 3.">[3]</a> As I snuffed round each building, I -found all sorts of new things to eat, with strange -tastes, but most of them were good. That the men -were not all asleep was plain from the shouts and -noises which reached me at times from the centre -of the big town, where, as I could see by occasional -glimpses which I caught through the nearer buildings, -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[78]</a></span>many of the houses had bright lights streaming -from them all night. Avoiding these, I -wandered on, picking up things to eat, and all the -while keeping ears and nose open for a sign of -Kahwa.</p> - -<p>I stayed thus, moving in and out among the -buildings, till dawn. Once a dog inside a house -barked furiously as I came near, and I heard a -man’s voice speaking to it, and I hurried on. As -the sky began to lighten, I made my way out into -the woods again, and rejoined my father and mother -before the sun was up. When I joined them, -my father growled at me because I smelled of -man.</p> - -<p>The next night found me down in the town -again. I began to know my way about. I -learned which houses contained dogs, and avoided -them. Other animals besides myself, I discovered, -came into the town at night for the sake of the -food which they found lying about—coyotes and -wood-rats, and polecats; but though bears would -occasionally visit the buildings nearest to the woods, -no other penetrated into the heart of the town as -I did. It had a curious fascination for me, and -gradually I grew so much at home, that even when -a man came through the buildings towards me, I<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[79]</a></span> -only slipped out of his way round a corner, and—for -man’s sight and smell are both miserably bad -compared with ours—he never had a suspicion that -I was near.</p> - -<p>On the third or fourth night I had gone nearer -to the lighted buildings than I had ever been -before, when I heard a sound that made me stop -dead and throw myself up on my haunches to -listen. Yes, there could be no doubt of it! It was -Kahwa’s voice. Anyone who did not know her -might have thought that she was angry, but I -knew better. She was making exactly the noise -that she used to make when romping with me, and -I knew that she was not angry, but only pretending, -and that she must be playing with someone. I -suppose I ought to have been glad that she was -alive and happy enough to be able to play, but -it only enraged me and made me wonder who her -playmates might be. Then gradually the truth, -the incredible truth, dawned upon me. Truly -incredible it seemed at first, but there could be -no doubt of it. <em>She was playing with man.</em></p> - -<p>I could hear men’s voices speaking to her as if -in anger, and then I heard her voice and theirs in -turn again, and at last I recognised that their anger -was no more real than hers. The sounds came<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[80]</a></span> -from where the lights were brightest, and it was -long before I could make up my mind to go near -enough to be able to see. At last, however, I -crept to a place from which I could look out -between two buildings, keeping in the deep shade -myself, and I can see now every detail of what -met my eyes as plainly as if it was all before me -at this minute.</p> - -<p>There was a building larger than those around -it, with a big door wide open, and from the door and -from the windows on either side poured streams -of light out into the night. In the middle of the -light, and almost in front of the door, was a group -of five or six men, and in the centre of the group -was Kahwa, tied to a post by a chain which was -fastened to a collar round her neck. I saw a man -stoop down and hold something out to her—presumably -something to eat—and then, as she -came to take it from the hand which he held -out, he suddenly drew it away and hit her on the -side of the head with his other hand. He did not -hit hard enough to hurt her, and it was evidently -done in play, because as he did it she got up on -her hind-legs and slapped at him, first with one -hand and then with the other, growling all the -time in angry make-believe. Sometimes the man<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[81]</a></span> -came too near, and Kahwa would hit him, and -the other men all burst out laughing. Then I saw -him walk deliberately right up to her, and they took -hold of each other and wrestled, just as Kahwa -and I used to do by the old place under the cedar-trees -when we were little cubs. I could see, too, -that now and then she was not doing her best, -and did not want to hurt him, and he certainly -did not hurt her.</p> - -<p>At last the men went into the building, leaving -Kahwa alone outside; but other men were continually -coming out of, or going into, the open -door, and I was afraid to approach her, or even to -make any noise to tell her of my presence. So I -sat in the shade of the buildings and watched. -Nearly every man who passed stopped for a -minute and spoke to her, but none except the -man whom I had first seen tried to play with her -or went within her reach. The whole thing -seemed to me incredible, but there it was under -my eyes, and, somehow, it made me feel terribly -lonely—all the lonelier, I think, because she had -these new friends; for as friends she undoubtedly -regarded them, while I could not even go near -enough to speak to her.</p> - -<p>At last so many men came out of the building<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[82]</a></span> -that I was afraid to stay. Some of them went one -way, and some another, and I had to keep constantly -moving my position to avoid being seen. -In doing so I found myself further and further -away from the centre of the town, and nearer to -the outskirts. The men shouted and laughed, and -made so much noise that I did not dare to go back, -but made my way out into the woods. And for -the first time I did not go home to my father and -mother, but stayed by myself in the brush.</p> - -<p>The next evening I again made my way into -the town, and once more saw the same sights as on -the preceding night. This evening, however, there -was a wind blowing, and it blew directly from me, -as I stood in the same place, to Kahwa in front of -the lighted door. Suddenly, while she was in the -middle of her play, I saw her stop and begin to -snuff up the wind with every sign of excitement. -Then she called to me. Answer I dared not, but -I knew that she had recognised me and would -understand why I did not speak. While she was -still calling to me, the man with whom she had -been playing—the same man as on the night before—came -up and gave her a cuff on the head, and -she lost her temper in earnest. She hit at him -angrily, but he jumped out of her way (how I<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[83]</a></span> -wished she had caught him!), and, after trying for -awhile to tempt her to play again, he and the -other men left her and went into the building. -Then she gave all her time to me, and at last, -when nobody was near, I spoke just loud enough -for her to hear. She simply danced with excitement, -running to the end of her chain toward me -until it threw her back on to her hind-legs, circling -round and round the stump to which she was -fastened, and then charging out to the end of her -chain again, all the time whimpering and calling -to me in a way which made me long to go to her.</p> - -<p>I did not dare to show myself, however, but -waited until, as on the night before, just as it was -beginning to get light, the men all came out of the -building and scattered in different directions. This -time, however, I did not go back to the woods, -but merely shifted out of the men’s way behind -the dark corners of the buildings, hoping that -somehow I would find an opportunity of getting -to speak to Kahwa. At last the building was -quiet, and only the man who had played with -Kahwa seemed to be left, and I saw the lights -inside begin to grow less. I hoped that then the -door would be shut, and the man inside would go -to sleep, as I knew that men did in other houses<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[84]</a></span> -when the lights disappeared at night; but while -there was still some light issuing from door and -windows the man came out and went up to -Kahwa, and, unfastening the chain from the stump, -proceeded to lead her away somewhere to the rear -of the building. She struggled and tried to pull -away from him, but he jerked her along with the -chain, and I could see that she was afraid of him, -and did not dare to fight him in earnest, and bit -by bit he dragged her along. I followed and saw -him go to a sort of pen, or a small enclosure -of high walls without any roof, in which he left -her, and then went in to his own building. And -soon I saw the last lights go out inside and everything -was quiet.</p> - -<p>I stole round to the pen and spoke to Kahwa -through the walls. She was crazy at the sound -of my voice, and I could hear her running round -and round inside, dragging the chain after her. -Could she not climb out? I asked her. No; the -walls were made of straight, smooth boards with -nothing that she could get her claws into, and -much too high to jump. But we found a crack -close to the ground through which our noses -would almost touch, and that was some consolation.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[85]</a></span></p> - -<p>I stayed there as long as I dared, and told her -all that had happened since she was taken away—of -the fight with the strange bear, and how I had -been in the town alone looking for her night after -night; and she told me her story, parts of which I -could not believe at the time, though now I can -understand them better.</p> - -<p>What puzzled me, and at the time made me -thoroughly angry, was the way in which she -spoke of the man whom I had seen playing with -her, and who had dragged her into the pen. She -was afraid of him in a curious way—in much the -same way as she was afraid of father or mother. -The idea that she could feel any affection for him I -would have scouted as preposterous; but after the -experiences of the last few nights nothing seemed -too wonderful to be true, and it was plain that all -her thoughts centred in him and he represented -everything in life to her. Without him she would -have no food, but as it was she had plenty. He -never came to her without bringing things to eat, -delightful things sometimes; and in particular she -told me of pieces of white stuff, square and rough -like small stones, but sweeter and more delicious -than honey. Of course, I know now that it was -sugar; but as she told me about it then, and how<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[86]</a></span> -good it was, and how the man always had pieces of -it in his pockets, which he gave her while they were -playing together, I found myself envying her, and -even wishing that the man would take me to play -with, too.</p> - -<p>But as we talked the day was getting lighter, -and, promising to come again next night, I slipped -away in the dawn into the woods.</p> - -<p>Night after night I used to go and speak to -Kahwa. Sometimes I did not go until it was -nearly daylight, and she was already in her pen. -Sometimes I went earlier, and watched her with -the men before the door of the building, and often -I saw the man who was her master playing with -her and giving her lumps of sugar, and I could tell -from the way in which she ate it how good it was. -Many times I had narrow escapes of being seen, -for I grew careless, and trotted among the houses -as if I were in the middle of the forest. More -than once I came close to a man unexpectedly, for -the man-smell was so strong everywhere that a -single man more or less in my neighbourhood -made no difference, and I had to trust to my eyes -and ears entirely. Somehow, however, I managed -always to keep out of their way, and during this -time I used to eat very little wild food, living<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[87]</a></span> -almost altogether on the things that I picked up in -the town. And during all these days and nights -I never saw my father or my mother.</p> - -<p>Then one evening an eventful thing happened.</p> - -<p>The door of Kahwa’s pen closed with a latch -from the outside—a large piece of iron which -lifted and fell, and was then kept in place by a -block of wood. I had spent a great deal of time -at that latch, lifting it with my nose, and biting -and worrying it, in the hopes of breaking it off -or opening the door; but when I did that I was -always standing on my hind-legs, so as to reach up -to it, with my fore-feet on the door, and, of course, -my weight kept the door shut. But that never -occurred to me. One evening, however, I happened -to be standing up and sniffing at the latch, -with my fore-feet not on the door itself, but on the -wall beside the door. It happened that, just as I -lifted the latch with my nose, Kahwa put her -fore-feet against the door on the inside. To my -astonishment, the door swung open into my face, -and Kahwa came rolling out. If we had only -thought it out, we could just as well have done that -on the first night, instead of trying to reach each -other for nearly two weeks through a narrow crack<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[88]</a></span> -in the wall until nearly all the skin was rubbed off -our noses.</p> - -<p>However, it was done at last, and we were so -glad that we thought of nothing else. Now we -were free to go back into the woods and take up -our old life again with father and mother. Would -it not be glorious, I asked? Yes, she said, it would -be glorious. To go off into the woods, and never, -never, never, I said, see or think of man again.</p> - -<p>Yes—yes, she said, but——Of course it would -be very glorious, but——Well, there was the -white stuff—the sugar—she could come back once -in a while—just once in a while—couldn’t she, to -see the man and get a lump or two?</p> - -<p>I am afraid I lost my temper. Here was what -ought to have been a moment of complete happiness -spoiled by her greediness. Of course she -could not come back, I told her. If she did she -would never get away a second time. We would -go to father and mother and persuade them to -move just as far away from man as they could. -Instead of being delighted, the prospect only made -her gloomy and thoughtful. Of course she wanted -to see father and mother, but—but—but——There -was always that ‘but’—and the thought of -the man and the sugar.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[89]</a></span></p> - -<p>While we were arguing, the time came when -I usually left the town for the day, and the immediate -thing to be done was to get her away from -that place and out into the woods. Then, I -thought, I could prevent her going back into the -town; so by pointing out to her that, if she wanted -to, she could come back at any time, I persuaded -her to move, and we started off through the buildings -on the road that I usually took back to the -forest. But at the first step we were reminded of -her chain, which was still attached to her collar, -and dragged along the ground as she walked. It -was a nuisance, but there was no way to get it off -at the moment. Perhaps, when we were safe away -and had plenty of time, we could find some way -of loosening it, but at present the first thing was to -get clear of the town.</p> - -<p>So we started, but the path was new to Kahwa, -who, of course, had never been away from the -pen and the door of the building where her -master lived, and had seen nothing of the town -except as she was being dragged in by the men -who had caught her, and then she had been too -busy fighting to pay any attention to her surroundings. -So at almost every step she must needs stop -to smell something. Meanwhile it was getting<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[90]</a></span> -lighter, and we began to hear noises of men moving -about inside the buildings. Once a door opened, -and I only just had time to dodge back and keep -Kahwa behind as a man stepped out into the air. -But we succeeded in reaching the very edge of the -town before anything serious happened.</p> - -<p>The houses were all made of wood, those in the -middle, like that where Kahwa had lived, being of -boards nailed together, and those on the outskirts -of logs laid upon each other whole, with the bark -still on, like the first houses that we had seen up -the river. There was one of this last kind in -particular, which stood away from all the others -almost inside the forest. It was the first house -that I came to each evening on approaching the -town, and the last one that I passed on leaving it; -but I always gave it a wide berth, because there -was a dog there—a small dog, it is true, but a -noisy one—and the first time that I came that way -he had seen me, and made such a fuss that I had to -bolt back into the forest and wait a long time before -I dared to go on again.</p> - -<p>Now, however, Kahwa insisted on going up to -snuff around this house. I warned her of the dog, -but the truth was that she had grown accustomed -to dogs, and I think had really lost her fear of men.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[91]</a></span> -So she went close up to the house, and began -smelling round the walls to see if there was anything -good to eat, while I stood back under the -trees fretting and impatient of her delay.</p> - -<p>Having sniffed all along one side of the house, -she passed round the corner to the back. In turning -the corner she came right upon the dog, who -flew at her at once, though he was not much bigger -than her head. Whether she was accustomed to -dogs or not, the sudden attack startled her, and -she turned round to run back to me. In doing so -she just grazed the corner of the house, and the -next instant she was rolling head over heels on the -ground. The end of her chain had caught in the -crack between the ends of two of the logs at the -corner, and she was held as firmly as if she had -been tied to her stump in front of the door. As -she rolled over, the dog jumped upon her, small as -he was, yelping all the time, and barking furiously. -I thought it would only be a momentary delay, -but the chain held fast, and all the while the dog’s -attacks made it impossible for her to give her attention -to trying to tear it free.</p> - -<p>A minute later, and the door of the house burst -open, and a man came running out, carrying, to -my horror, a thunder-stick in his hand. Kahwa<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[92]</a></span> -and the dog were all mixed up together on the -ground, and I saw the man stop and stand still -a moment and point the thunder-stick at her. And -then came that terrible noise of the thunder-stick -speaking.</p> - -<p>Too frightened to see what happened, I took to -my heels, and plunged into the wood as fast as -I could, without the man or the dog having seen -me. I ran on for some distance till I felt safe -enough to stop and listen, but there was not a -sound, and no sign of Kahwa coming after me. I -waited and waited until the sun came up, and still -there was no sign of Kahwa, until at last I summoned -up courage to steal slowly back again. As -I came near I heard the dog barking at intervals, -and then the voices of men. Very cautiously I -crept near enough to get a view of the house from -behind, and as I came in sight of the corner where -Kahwa had fallen I saw her for the second time—just -as on that wretched evening at the berry-patch—surrounded -by a group of three or four -men. But this time they had no ropes round her, -and were not trying to drag her away; only they -stood talking and looking down at her, while she -lay dead on the ground before them.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[93]</a></span></p> -</div> - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2> -<a name="chap_7" id="chap_7"></a> -<a href="#contents" class="chapref" title="Return to Table of Contents.">CHAPTER <abbr title="7">VII</abbr></a> <br /> - -<span class="stitle">THE PARTING OF THE WAYS</span></h2> - - -<p><span class="smcap">Now</span> indeed I was truly lonely. During the -three or four weeks that had passed since I had -seen my father or mother, I had in a measure -learned to rely upon myself; nor had I so far felt -the separation keenly, because I knew that every -evening I should see Kahwa. Now she was gone -for ever. There was no longer any object in going -into the town, and the terror of that last scene was -still so vivid in my mind that I wished never to -see man again.</p> - -<p>It was true that I had feared man instinctively -from the first, but familiarity with him had for a -while overcome that fear. Now it returned, and -with the fear was mingled another feeling—a feeling -of definite hatred. Originally, though afraid of -him, I had borne man no ill-will whatever, and -would have been entirely content to go on living -beside him in peace and friendliness, just as we -lived with the deer and the beaver. Man himself<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[94]</a></span> -made that impossible, and now I no longer wished -it. I hated him—hated him thoroughly. Had it -not been for dread of the thunder-sticks, I should -have gone down into the town and attacked the -first man that I met. I would have persuaded -other bears to go with me to rage through the -buildings, destroying every man that we could find; -and though this was impossible, I made up my -mind that it would be a bad day for any man -whom I might meet alone, when unprotected by -the weapon that gave him so great an advantage.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile my present business was, somehow -and somewhere, to go on living. On that first -evening, amid my conflict of emotions, it was some -time before I could bring myself to turn my back -definitely upon the town; for it was difficult to -realize at once that there was in truth no longer -any Kahwa there, nor any reason for my going -again among the buildings, and it was late in the -night before I finally started to look for my father -and mother. I went, of course, to the place where -I had left them, and where the fight with the -stranger had taken place.</p> - -<p>They were not there when I arrived, but I saw -that they had spent the preceding day at home, -and would, in all probability, be back soon after it<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[95]</a></span> -was light. So I stayed in the immediate neighbourhood, -and before sunrise they returned. My mother -was glad to see me, but I do not think I can say -as much for my father. I told them where I had -been, and of my visits to the town, and of poor -Kahwa’s death; and though at the time father did -not seem to pay much attention to what I said, -next day he suggested that we should move further -away from the neighbourhood of men.</p> - -<p>The following afternoon we started, making our -way back along the stream by which we had descended, -and soon finding ourselves once more in -the region that had been swept by the fire. It was -still desolate, but the two months that had passed -had made a wonderful difference. It was covered -by the bright red flowers of a tall plant, standing -nearly as high as a bear’s head, which shoots up all -over the charred soil whenever a tract of forest is -burned. Other undergrowth may come up in the -following spring, but for the first year nothing -appears except the red ‘fireweed,’ and that grows -so thickly that the burnt wood is a blaze of colour, -out of which the blackened trunks of the old trees -stand up naked and gaunt.</p> - -<p>We passed several houses of men by the waterside, -and gave them a wide berth. We learned<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[96]</a></span> -from the beavers and the ospreys that a number -of men had gone up the stream during the summer, -and few had come back, so that now there must -be many more of them in the district swept by -the fire than there had been before. We did not -wish to live in the burnt country, however, because -there was little food to be found there, and under -the fireweed the ground was still covered with a -layer of the bitter black stuff, which, on being disturbed, -got into one’s throat and eyes and nostrils. -So we turned southwards along the edge of the -track of the fire, and soon found ourselves in a -country that was entirely new to us, though differing -little in general appearance from the other -places with which we were familiar—the same -unbroken succession of hills and gulches covered -with the dense growth of good forest trees. It -was, in fact, bears’ country; and in it we felt at -home.</p> - -<p>For the most part we travelled in the morning -and evening; but the summer was gone now, and -on the higher mountains it was sometimes bitterly -cold, so we often kept on moving all day. We -were not going anywhere in particular: only endeavouring -to get away from man, and, if possible, -to find a region where he had never been. But it<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[97]</a></span> -seemed as if man now was pushing in everywhere. -We did not see him, but continually we came across -the traces of him along the banks of the streams. -The beavers, and the kingfishers, and the ospreys, -of course, know everything that goes on along the -rivers. Nothing can pass upstream or down without -going by the beaver-dams, and the beavers are -always on the watch. You might linger about a -beaver-dam all day, and except for the smell, which -a man would not notice, you would not believe -there was a beaver near. But they are watching -you from the cracks and holes in their homes, and -in the evening, if they are not afraid of you, you -will be astonished to see twenty or thirty beavers -come out to play about what you thought was -an empty house. We never passed a dam without -asking about man, and always it was the same tale. -Men had been there a week ago, or the day before, -or when the moon last was full. And the kingfishers -and the ospreys told us the same things. -So we kept on our way southward.</p> - -<p>As the days went on I grew to think less of -Kahwa; the memory of those nights spent in the -town, with the lights, and the strange noises, and -the warm man-smell all about me, began to fade -until they all seemed more like incidents of a dream<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[98]</a></span> -than scenes which I had actually lived through only -a few weeks before. I began to feel more as I used -to feel in the good old days before the fire, and -came again to be a part of the wild, wholesome -life of the woods. Moreover, I was growing; my -mother said that I was growing fast. No puma -would have dared to touch me now, and my unusual -experiences about the town had bred in me -a spirit of independence and self-reliance, so that -other cubs of my own age whom we met, and who, -of course, had lived always with their parents, always -seemed to me younger than I; and certainly I was -bigger and stronger than any first-year bear that I -saw. On the whole, I would have been fairly contented -with life had it not been for the estrangement -which was somehow growing up between my -father and myself. I could not help feeling that, -though I knew not why, he would have been glad -to have me go away again. So I kept out of his -way as much as possible, seldom speaking to him, -and, of course, not venturing to share any food that -he found. On the first evening after my return he -had rolled over an old log, and mother and I went -up as a matter of course to see what was there; -but he growled at me in a way that made me -stand off while he and mother finished the fungi<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[99]</a></span> -and the beetles. After that I kept my distance. -It did not matter much, for I was well able to -forage for myself. But I would have preferred to -have him kinder. His unkindness, however, did -not prevent him from taking for himself anything -which he wanted that I had found. One day I -came across some honey, from which he promptly -drove me away, and I had to look on while he and -mother shared the feast between them.</p> - -<p>At last we came to a stream where the beavers -told us that no man had been seen in the time of -any member of their colony then living. The -stream, which was here wide enough to be a river, -came from the west, and for two or three days -we followed it down eastwards, and found no trace -or news of man; so we turned back up it again—back -past the place where we had first struck it—and -on along its course for another day’s journey -into the mountains. It was, perhaps, too much -to hope that we had lighted on a place where man -would never come; but at least we knew that for -a distance of a week’s travelling in all directions -he never yet had been, and it might be many years -before he came. Meanwhile we should have a -chance to live our lives in peace.</p> - -<p>Here we stayed, moving about very little, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[100]</a></span> -feeding as much as we could; for winter was -coming on, and a bear likes to be fat and well fed -before his long sleep. It rained a good deal now, -as it always does in the mountains in the late -autumn, and as a general rule the woods were -full of mist all day, in which we went about -tearing the roots out of the soft earth, eating -the late blueberries where we could find them, -and the cranberries and the elderberries, which -were ripe on the bushes, now and then coming -across a clump of nut-trees, and once in a while, -the greatest of all treats, revelling in a feast of -honey.</p> - -<p>One morning, after a cold and stormy night, we -saw that the tops of the highest mountains were -covered with snow. It might be a week or two -yet before the snow fell over the country as a -whole, or it might be only a day or two; for the -wind was blowing from the north, biting cold, and -making us feel numb and drowsy. So my father -decided that it was time to make our homes for -the winter. He had already fixed upon a spot -where a tree had fallen and torn out its roots, -making a cave well shut in on two sides, and -blocked on a third by another fallen log; and here, -without thinking, I had taken it as a matter of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[101]</a></span> -course that we should somehow all make our -winter homes together. But when that morning -he started out, with mother after him, and I -attempted to follow, he drove me away. I -followed yet for a while, but he kept turning -back and growling at me, and at last told me -bluntly that I must go and shift for myself. I -took it philosophically, I think, but it was with -a heavy heart that I turned away to seek a winter -home for myself.</p> - -<p>It did not take me long to decide on the spot. -At the head of a narrow gully, where at some -time or other a stream must have run, there was -a tree half fallen, and leaning against the hillside. -A little digging behind the tree would make as -snug and sheltered a den as I could want. So I -set to work, and in the course of a few hours I -had made a sufficiently large hollow, and into it -I scraped all the leaves and pine-needles in the -neighbourhood, and, by working about inside and -turning round and round, I piled them up on all -sides until I had a nest where I was perfectly -sheltered, with only an opening in front large -enough to go in and out of. This opening I -would almost close when the time came, but for -the present I left it open and lived inside, sleeping<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[102]</a></span> -much of the time, but still continuing for a week -or ten days to go out in the mornings and evenings -for food. But it was getting colder and colder, -and the woods had become strangely silent. The -deer had gone down to the lower ground at the -first sign of coming winter, and the coyotes and the -wolves had followed to spend the cold months in -the foot-hills and on the plains about the haunts -of man. The woodchucks were already asleep -below-ground, and of the birds only the woodpeckers -and the crossbills, and some smaller birds -fluttering among the pine-branches, remained. -There was a fringe of ice along the edges of the -streams, and the kingfishers and the ospreys had -both flown to where the waters would remain open -throughout the year. The beavers had been very -busy for some time, but now, if one went to the -nearest dam in the evening, there was not a sign -of life.</p> - -<p>At last the winter came. It had been very cold -and gray for a day or two, and I felt dull and -torpid. And then, one morning towards mid-day, -the white flakes began to fall. There had been a -few little flurries of snow before, lasting only for -a minute or two; but this was different. The -great flakes fell slowly and softly, and soon the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[103]</a></span> -whole landscape began to grow white. Through -the opening in my den I watched the snow falling -for some time, but did not venture out; and as -the afternoon wore on, and it only fell faster and -faster, I saw that it would soon pile up and close -the door upon me.</p> - -<p>There was no danger of its coming in, for I had -taken care that the roof overhung far enough to -prevent anything falling in from above, and the den -was too well sheltered for the wind to drift the -snow inside. So I burrowed down into my leaves -and pine-needles, and worked them up on both -sides till only a narrow slit of an opening remained, -and through this slit, sitting back on my haunches -against the rear of the little cave, I watched the -white wall rising outside. All that night and all -next day it snowed, and by the second evening -there was hardly a ray of light coming in. I -remember feeling a certain pride in being all alone, -in the warm nest made by myself, for the first time -in my life; and I sat back and mumbled at my -paw, and grew gradually drowsier and drowsier, -till I hardly knew when the morning came, for -I was very sleepy and the daylight scarcely pierced -the wall of snow outside. And before another -night fell I was asleep, while outside the white<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[104]</a></span> -covering which was to shut me in for the next -four months at least, was growing thicker until it -was many feet deep all around, and under it I was -as safe and snug up there in the heart of the -mountains as ever a man could be in any house -that he might build.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> -</div> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[105]</a></span></p> - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2> -<a name="chap_8" id="chap_8"></a> -<a href="#contents" class="chapref" title="Return to Table of Contents.">CHAPTER <abbr title="8">VIII</abbr></a> <br /> - -<span class="stitle">ALONE IN THE WORLD</span></h2> - - - -<p><span class="smcap">Have</span> you any idea how frightfully stiff one is -after nearly five months’ consecutive sleep? Of -course, a bear is not actually asleep for the greater -part of the time, but in a deliciously drowsy condition -that is halfway between sleeping and waking. -It is very good. Of course, you lose all count and -thought of time; days and weeks and months are -all the same. You only know that, having been -asleep, you are partly awake again. There is no -light, but you can see the wall of your den in front -of you, and dimly you know that, while all the -world outside is snow-covered and swept with -bitter winds, and the earth is gripped solid in the -frost, you are very warm and comfortable. Changes -of temperature do not reach you, and you sit and -croon to yourself and mumble your paws, and all -sorts of thoughts and tangled scraps of dreams go -swimming through your head until, before you<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[106]</a></span> -know it, you have forgotten everything and are -asleep again.</p> - -<p>Then again you find yourself awake. Is it hours -or days or weeks since you were last awake? You -do not know, and it does not matter. So you croon, -and mumble, and dream, and sleep again; and -wake, and croon, and mumble, and dream. Sometimes -you are conscious of feeling stiff, and think -you will change your position; but, after all, it -does not matter. Nothing matters; for you are -already floating off again, the wall of your den -grows indistinct, and you are away in dreams once -more for an hour, or a day, or a week.</p> - -<p>At last a day comes when you wake into something -more like complete consciousness than you -have known since you shut yourself up. There is -a new feeling in the air; a sense of moisture and -fresh smells are mingling with the warm dry scent -of your den. And you are aware that you have -not changed your position for more than a quarter -of a year, but have been squatting on your heels, -with your back against the wall and your nose -folded into your paws across your breast; and you -want to stretch your hind-legs dreadfully. But -you do not do it. It is still too comfortable where -you are. You may move a little, and have a vague<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[107]</a></span> -idea that it might be rather nice outside. But you -do not go to see; you only take the other paw into -your mouth, and, still crooning to yourself, you are -asleep again.</p> - -<p>This happens again and again, and each time the -change in the feeling of the air is more marked, and -the scents of the new year outside grow stronger -and more pungent. At last one day comes daylight, -where the snow has melted from the opening -in front of you, and with the daylight come the -notes of birds and the ringing of the woodpecker—rat-tat-tat-tat! -rat-tat-tat-tat!—from a tree near -by. But even these signs that the spring is at hand -again would not tempt you out if it were not for -another feeling that begins to assert itself, and -will not let you rest. You find you are hungry, -horribly hungry. It is of no use to say to yourself -that you are perfectly snug and contented -where you are, and that there is all the spring -and summer to get up in. You are no longer -contented. It is nearly five months since you -had your last meal, and you will not have another -till you go out for yourself and get it. Mumbling -your paws will not satisfy you. There is really -nothing for it but to get up.</p> - -<p>But, oh, what a business it is, that getting up!<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[108]</a></span> -Your shoulders are cramped and your back is stiff; -and as for your legs underneath you, you wonder -if they will really ever get supple and strong again. -First you lift your head from your breast and try -moving your neck about, and sniff at the walls of -your den. Then you unfold your arms, and—ooch!—how -they crack, first one and then the -other! At last you begin to roll from one side -to the other, and try to stretch each hind-leg in -turn; then, cautiously letting yourself drop on all -fours, you give a step, and before you know it you -have staggered out into the open air.</p> - -<p>It is very early in the morning, and the day is -just breaking, and all the mountain-side is covered -with a clinging pearly mist; but to your eyes the -light seems very strong, and the smell of the new -moist earth and the resinous scent of the pines -almost hurt your nostrils. One side of the gully -in front of you is brown and bare, but in the -bottom, and clinging to the other side, are patches -of moist and half-melted snow, and on all sides -you hear the drip of falling moisture and the -ripple of little streams of water which are running -away to swell the creeks and rivers in every valley -bottom.</p> - -<p>You are shockingly unsteady on your feet, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[109]</a></span> -feel very dazed and feeble; but you are also -hungrier than ever now, with the keen morning -air whetting your appetite, and the immediate -business ahead of you is to find food. So you -turn to the bank at your side and begin to -grub; and as you grub you wander on, eating -the roots that you scratch up and the young -shoots of plants that are appearing here and there. -And all the time the day is growing, and the sensation -is coming back to your limbs, and your hunger -is getting satisfied, and you are wider and wider -awake. And, thoroughly interested in what you -are about, before you are aware of it, you are -fairly started on another year of life.</p> - -<p>That is how a bear begins each spring. It may -be a few days later or a few days earlier when -one comes out; but the sensations are the same. -You are always just as stiff, and the smells are as -pungent, and the light is as strong, and the hunger -as great. For the first few days you really think -of nothing but of finding enough to eat. As soon -as you have eaten, and eaten until you think you -are satisfied, you are hungry again; and so you -wander round looking for food, and going back to -your den to sleep.</p> - -<p>That spring when I came out it was very much<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[110]</a></span> -as it had been the spring before, when I was a little -cub. The squirrels were chattering in the trees (I -wondered whether old Blacky had been burned in -the fire), and the woodpecker was as busy as ever—rat-tat-tat-tat! -rat-tat-tat-tat!—overhead. There -were several woodchucks—fat, waddling things—living -in the same gully with me, and they had -been abroad for some days when I woke up. On -my way down to the stream on that first morning, -I found a porcupine in my path, but did not stop -to slap it. By the river’s bank the little brown-coated -minks were hunting among the grass, and -by the dam the beavers were hard at work protecting -and strengthening their house against the spring -floods, which were already rising.</p> - -<p>It was only a couple of hundred yards or so -from my den to the stream, and for the first few -days I hardly went further than that. But it was -impossible that I should not all the time—that is, -as soon as I could think of anything except my -hunger—be contrasting this spring with the spring -before, when Kahwa and I had played about the -rock and the cedar-trees, and I had tumbled down -the hill. And the more I thought of it, the less -I liked being alone. And my father and mother, -I knew, must be somewhere close by me—for I<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[111]</a></span> -presumed they had spent the winter in the spot -that they had chosen—so I made up my mind to go -and join them again.</p> - -<p>It was in the early evening that I went, about a -week after I had come out of my winter-quarters, -and I had no trouble in finding the place; but when -I did find it I also found things that I did not -expect.</p> - -<p>‘Surely,’ I said to myself as I came near, ‘that is -little Kahwa’s voice!’ There could be no doubt of -it. She was squealing just as she used to do when -she tried to pull me away from the rock by my -hind-foot. So I hurried on to see what it could -mean, and suddenly the truth dawned upon me.</p> - -<p>My parents had two new children. I had never -thought of that possibility. I heard my mother’s -voice warning the cubs that someone was coming, -and as I appeared the young ones ran and snuggled -up to her, and stared at me as if I was a stranger -and they were afraid of me, as I suppose they were. -It made me feel awkward, and almost as if my -mother was a stranger, too; but after standing still -a little time and watching them I walked up. -Mother met me kindly, but, somehow, not like a -mother meeting her own cub, but like a she-bear -meeting any he-bear in the forest. The cubs kept<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[112]</a></span> -behind her and out of the way. I spoke to mother -and rubbed noses with her, and told her that I was -glad to see her. She evidently thought well of me, -and I was rather surprised, when standing beside -her, to find that she was not nearly so much bigger -than I as I had supposed.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<a name="image_5" id="image_5"></a> -<img src="images/i124.jpg" width="500" height="500" alt="" /> -<div class="caption"> -<p class="caption">AS I APPEARED THE YOUNG ONES RAN AND SNUGGLED UP TO HER.</p> -</div> -<p class="centerref">[<a href="images/i124-l.jpg">Enlarge</a>]</p> -</div> - -<p>But before I had been there more than a minute -mother gave me warning that father was coming, -and, turning, I saw him walking down the hillside -towards us. He saw me at the same time, and -stopped and growled. At first, I think, not knowing -who I was, he was astonished to see my mother -talking to a strange bear. When he did recognise -me, however, I might still have been a stranger, for -any friendliness that he showed. He sat up on his -haunches and growled, and then came on slowly, -swinging his head, and obviously not at all disposed -to welcome me. Again I was surprised, to -see that he was not as big as I had thought, and -for a moment wild ideas of fighting him, if that -was what he wanted, came into my head. I -wished to stay with mother, and even though he was -my father, I did not see why I should go away alone -and leave her. But, tall though I was getting, I -had not anything like my father’s weight, and, -however bitterly I might wish to rebel, rebellion -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[113]</a></span>was useless. Besides, my mother, though she was -kind to me, would undoubtedly have taken my -father’s part, as it was right that she should do.</p> - -<p>So I moved slowly away as my father came up, -and as I did so even the little cubs growled at -me, siding, of course, with their father against the -stranger whom they had never seen. Father did -not try to attack me, but walked up to mother and -began licking her, to show that she belonged to -him. I disliked going away, and thought that -perhaps he would relent; but when I sat down, as -if I was intending to stay, he growled and told me -that I was not wanted.</p> - -<p>I ought by this time to have grown accustomed -to being alone, and to have been incapable of -letting myself be made miserable by a snub, even -from my father. But I was not; I was wretched. -I do not think that even on the first night after -Kahwa was caught, or on that morning when I -saw her dead, that I felt as completely forlorn as -I did that day when I turned away from my -mother, and went down the mountain-side back -to my own place alone. The squirrels chattered -at me, and the woodpecker rat-tat-tat-ed, and -the woodchucks scurried away, and I hated -them all. What company were they to me? I<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[114]</a></span> -was lonely, and I craved the companionship of my -own kind.</p> - -<p>But it was to be a long time before I found it. -I was now a solitary bear, with my own life to live -and my own way to make in the world, with no -one to look to for guidance and no one to help me -if I needed help; but many regarded me as an -enemy, and would have rejoiced if I were killed.</p> - -<p>In those first days I thought of the surly solitary -bear who had taken our home while we were away, -and whom I had vowed some day to punish; and I -began to understand in some measure why he was -so bad-tempered. If we had met then, I almost -believe I would have tried to make friends -with him.</p> - -<p>I have said that many animals would have rejoiced -had I been killed. This is not because bears -are the enemies of other wild things, for we really -kill very little except beetles and other insects, -frogs and lizards, and little things like mice and -chipmunks. We are not as the wolves, the -coyotes, the pumas, or the weasels, which live on -the lives of other animals, and which every other -thing in the woods regards as its sworn foe. Still, -smaller animals are mostly afraid of us, and the -carcase of a dead bear means a feast for a number<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[115]</a></span> -of hungry things. If a bear cannot defend his -own life, he will have no friends to do it for him; -and while, as I have said before, a full-grown bear -in the mountains has no need to fear any living -thing, man always excepted, in stand-up fight, it -is none the less necessary to be always on one’s -guard.</p> - -<p>In my case fear had nothing to do with my -hatred of loneliness. Even the thought of man -himself gave me no uneasiness. I was sure that -no human beings were as yet within many miles -of my home, and I knew that I should always -have abundant warning of their coming. Moreover, -I already knew man. He was not to me the thing -of terror and mystery that he had been a year -ago, or that he still was to most of the forest folk. -I had cause enough, it is true, to know how -dangerous and how savagely cruel he was, and for -that I hated him. But I had also seen enough of -him to have a contempt for his blindness and his -lack of the sense of scent. Had I not again and -again, when in the town, dodged round the corner -of a building, and waited while he passed a few -yards away, or stood immovable in the dark shadow -of a building, and looked straight at him while -he went by utterly unconscious that I was near?<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[116]</a></span> -Nothing could live in the forest for a week with no -more eyesight, scent, or hearing than a man -possesses, and without his thunder-stick he would -be as helpless as a lame deer. All this I understood, -and was not afraid that, if our paths should -cross again, I should not be well able to take care -of myself.</p> - -<p>But while there was no fear added to my loneliness, -the loneliness itself was bad enough. Having none -to provide for except myself, I had no difficulty in -finding food. For the first few weeks, I think, I did -nothing but wander aimlessly about and sleep, still -using my winter den for that purpose. As the summer -came on, however, I began to rove, roaming usually -along the streams, and sleeping there in the cool -herbage by the water’s edge during the heat of the -day. My chief pleasure, I think, was in fishing, -and I was glad my mother had shown me how to -do it. No bear, when hungry, could afford to fish -for his food, for it takes too long; but I had all -my time to myself, and nearly every morning and -evening I used to get my trout for breakfast or for -supper. At the end of a long hot day, I know -nothing pleasanter than, after lying a while in the -cold running water, to stretch one’s self out along -the river’s edge, under the shadow of a bush, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[117]</a></span> -wait, paw in water, till the trout comes gliding -within striking distance; and then the sudden -stroke, and afterwards the comfortable meal off -the cool juicy fish in the soft night air. I became -very skilful at fishing, and, from days and days of -practice, it was seldom indeed that I lost my fish if -once I struck.</p> - -<p>Time, too, I had for honey-hunting, but I was -never sure that it was worth the trouble and pain. -In nine cases out of ten the honey was too deeply -buried in a tree for me to be able to reach it, and -in trying I was certain to get well stung for my -pains. Once in a while, however, I came across a -comb that was easy to reach, and the chance of -one of those occasional finds made me spend, not -hours only, but whole days at a time, looking for -the bees’ nests.</p> - -<p>Along by the streams were many blueberry-patches, -though none so large as that which had -cost Kahwa her life; but during the season I could -always find berries enough. And so, fishing and -bee-hunting, eating berries and digging for roots, I -wandered on all through the summer. I had no -one place that I could think of as a home more -than any other. I preferred not to stay near -my father and mother, and so let myself wander,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[118]</a></span> -heading for the most part westward, and further -into the mountains as the summer grew, and then -in the autumn turning south again. I must have -wandered over many hundred miles of mountain, -but when the returning chill in the air told me that -winter was not very far away, I worked round so -as to get back into somewhat the same neighbourhood -as I had been in last winter, not more, perhaps, -than ten miles away.</p> - -<p>On the whole, it was an uneventful year. Two -or three times I met a grizzly, and always got -out of the way as fast as I could. Once only I -found myself in the neighbourhood of man, and I -gave him a wide berth. Many times, of course—in -fact, nearly every day—I met other bears like -myself, and sometimes I made friends with them, -and stayed in their company for the better part of -a day, perhaps at a berry-patch or in the wide -shallows of a stream. But there was no place for -me—a strong, growing he-bear, getting on for two -years old—in any of the families that I came -across. Parents with young cubs did not want -me. Young bears in their second year were usually -in couples. The solitary bears that I met were -generally he-bears older than I, and, though we -were friendly on meeting, neither cared for the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[119]</a></span> -other’s companionship. Again and again in these -meetings I was struck by the fact that I was unusually -big and strong for my age, the result, I -suppose, as I have already said, of the accident that -threw me on my own resources so young. I never -met young bears of my own age that did not seem -like cubs to me. Many times I came across bears -who were one and even two years older than -myself, but who had certainly no advantage of me -in height, and, I think, none in weight. But I had -no occasion to test my strength in earnest that -summer, and when winter came, and the mountain-peaks -in the neighbourhood showed white again -against the dull gray sky, I was still a solitary -animal, and acutely conscious of my loneliness.</p> - -<p>That year I made my den in a cave which I -found high up on a mountain-side, and which had -evidently been used by bears at some time or other, -though not for the last year or two. There I made -my nest with less trouble than the year before, -and at the first serious snowfall I shut myself up -for another long sleep.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> -</div> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[120]</a></span></p> - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2> -<a name="chap_9" id="chap_9"></a> -<a href="#contents" class="chapref" title="Return to Table of Contents.">CHAPTER <abbr title="9">IX</abbr></a> <br /> - -<span class="stitle">I FIND A COMPANION</span></h2> - - -<p><span class="smcap">The</span> next spring was late. We had a return of -cold weather long after winter ought to have been -over, and for a month or more after I moved out -it was no easy matter to find food enough. The -snow had been unusually deep, and had only half -melted when the cold returned, so that the remaining -half stayed on the ground a long while, and -sometimes it took me all my time, grubbing up -camas roots, turning over stones and logs, and -ripping the bark off fallen trees, to find enough to -eat to keep me even moderately satisfied. Besides -the mice and chipmunks which I caught, I was -forced by hunger to dig woodchucks out of their -holes, and eat the young ones, though hitherto I -had never eaten any animal so large.</p> - -<p>Somehow, in one way and another, I got along, -and when spring really came I felt that I was a -full-grown bear, and no longer a youngster who -had to make way for his elders when he met them<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[121]</a></span> -in the path. Nor was it long before I had an -opportunity of seeing that other bears also regarded -me no longer as a cub.</p> - -<p>I had found a bees’ nest about ten feet up in a -big tree, and of course climbed up to it; but it -was one of those cases of which I have spoken, -when the game was not worth the trouble. The -nest was in a cleft in the tree too narrow for me -to get my arm into, and I could smell the honey -a foot or so away from my nose without being -able to reach it—than which I know nothing more -aggravating. And while you are hanging on to -a tree with three paws, and trying to squeeze the -fourth into a hole, the bees have you most unpleasantly -at their mercy. I was horribly stung -about my face, both my eyes and my nose were -smarting abominably, and at last I could stand it -no longer, but slid down to the ground again.</p> - -<p>When I reached the ground, there was another -bear standing a few yards away looking at me. -He had a perfect right to look at me, and he was -doing me no sort of harm; but the stings of the -bees made me furious, and I think I was glad to -have anybody or anything to vent my wrath upon. -So as soon as I saw the other bear I charged him. -He was an older bear than I, and about my size;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[122]</a></span> -and, as it was the first real fight that I had ever -had, he probably had more experience. But I -had the advantage of being thoroughly angry and -wanting to hurt someone, without caring whether -I was hurt myself or not, while he was feeling -entirely peaceable, and not in the least anxious to -hurt me or anybody else. The consequence was -that the impetuosity of my first rush was more -than he could stand. Of course he was up to -meet me, and I expect that under my coat my skin -on the left shoulder still carries the marks of his -claws where he caught me as we came together.</p> - -<p>But I was simply not to be denied, and, while -my first blow must have almost broken his -neck, in less than a minute I had him rolling over -and over and yelling for mercy. I really believe -that, if he had not managed to get to his feet, and -then taken to his heels as fast as he could, I would -have killed him. Meanwhile the bees were having -fun with us both.</p> - -<p>It was of no use, however angry I might be, to -stop to try and fight them; so as soon as the other -bear had escaped I made my own way as fast as I -could out of the reach of their stings, and down to -the stream to cool my smarting face. As I lay in the -water, I remember looking back with astonishment<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[123]</a></span> -to the whole proceeding. Five minutes before I -had had no intention of fighting anybody, and had -had no reason whatever for fighting that particular -bear. Had I met him in the ordinary way, we -should have been friendly, and I am not at all sure -that, if I had had to make up my mind to it in cold -blood, I should have dared to stand up to him, -unless something very important depended on it. -Yet all of a sudden the thing had happened. I -had had my first serious fight with a bear older -than myself, and had beaten him. Moreover, I -had learned the enormous advantage of being the -aggressor in a fight, and of throwing yourself into -it with your whole soul. As it was, though I -was astonished at the entire affair and surprised -at myself, and although the bee-stings still hurt -horribly, I was pretty well satisfied and rather -proud.</p> - -<p>Perhaps it was as well that I had that fight -then, for the time was not far distant when I was -to go through the fight of my life. A bear may -have much fighting in the course of his existence, -or he may have comparatively little, depending -chiefly on his own disposition; but at least once -he is sure to have one fight on which almost the -whole course of his life depends. And that is when<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[124]</a></span> -he fights for his wife. Of course he may be beaten, -and then he has to try again. Some bears never -succeed in winning a wife at all. Some may win -one and then have her taken from them, and have -to seek another; but I do not believe that any -bear chooses to live alone. Every one will once at -least make an effort to win a companion who will -be the mother of his children. The crisis came -with me that summer, though many bears, I -believe, prefer to run alone until a year, or even -two years, later.</p> - -<p>The summer had passed like the former one, -rather uneventfully after the episode of the bees. -I wandered abroad, roaming over a wide tract of -country, fishing, honey-hunting, and finding my -share of roots and beetles and berries, sheltering -during the heat of the day, and going wherever I -felt inclined in the cool of the night and morning. -I think I was disposed to be rather surly and -quarrelsome, and more than once took upon -myself to dispute the path with other bears; but -they always gave way to me, and I felt that I -pretty well had the mountains and the forests for -my own. But I was still lonely, and that summer -I felt it more than ever.</p> - -<p>The late spring had ruined a large part of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[125]</a></span> -berry crop, and the consequence was that, wherever -there was a patch with any fruit on it, bears -were sure to find it out. There was one small -sheltered patch which I knew, where the fruit -had nearly all survived the frosts. I was there -one evening, when, not far from me, out of the -woods came another bear of about my size. I -was inclined to resent it at first, but then I saw -that it was a she-bear, and I liked her the moment -I obtained a good view of her. She saw me, and -sat up and looked at me amicably.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<a name="image_6" id="image_6"></a> -<img src="images/i141.jpg" width="500" height="500" alt="" /> -<div class="caption"> -<p class="caption">SHE SAW ME, AND SAT UP -AND LOOKED AT ME AMICABLY.</p> -</div> -<p class="centerref">[<a href="images/i141-l.jpg">Enlarge</a>]</p> -</div> - -<p>I had never tried to make love before, but -I knew what was the right thing to do; -so I approached her slowly, walking sideways, -rubbing my nose on the ground, and mumbling -into the grass to tell her how much I admired -her. She responded in the correct way, by rolling -on the ground. So I continued to approach her, -and I cannot have been more than five or six yards -away, when out of the bushes behind her, to my -astonishment, came another he-bear. He growled -at me, and began to sniff around at the bushes, to -show that he was entirely ready to fight if I wanted -to. And of course I wanted to. I probably -should have wanted to in any circumstances, -but when the she-bear showed that she liked<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[126]</a></span> -me better than him, by growling at him, I would -not have gone away, without fighting for her, for -all the berries and honey in the world. One of -the most momentous crises in my life had come, -and, as all such things do, had come quite unexpectedly.</p> - -<p>He was as much in earnest as I, and for a -minute we sidled round growling over our shoulders, -and each measuring the other. There was little -to choose between us, for, if I was a shade the -taller, he was a year older than I, and undoubtedly -the heavier and thicker. In fighting all other -animals except those of his kind, a bear’s natural -weapons are his paws, with one blow of which he -can crush a small animal, and either stun or break -the neck of a larger one. But he cannot do -any one of these three things to another bear as -big as himself, and only if one bear is markedly -bigger than the other can he hope to reach his -head, so as either to tear his face or give him -such a blow as will daze him and render him -incapable of going on fighting. A very much -larger bear can beat down the smaller one’s arms, -and rain such a shower of blows upon him as will -convince him at once that he is overmatched, and -make him turn tail and run. When two are<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[127]</a></span> -evenly matched, however, the first interchange -of blows with the paws is not likely to have much -effect either way, and the fight will have to be -settled by closing, by the use of teeth and main -strength. But, as I had learned in my fight that day -when I had been stung by the bees, the moral effect -of the first rush may be great, and it was in that -that my slight advantage in height and reach was -likely to be useful, whereas if we came to close -quarters slowly the thicker and stockier animal -would have the advantage. So I determined to -force the fighting with all the fury that I could; -and I did.</p> - -<p>It was he who gave the first blow. As we -sidled up close to one another, he let out at me -wickedly with his left paw, a blow which, if it -had caught me, would undoubtedly have torn off -one of my ears. Most bears would have replied -to that with a similar swinging blow when they -got an opening, and the interchange of single -blows at arms’ length would have gone on indefinitely -until one or the other lost his temper -and closed. I did not wait for that. The instant -the first blow whistled past my head I threw -myself on my hind-quarters and launched myself -bodily at him, hitting as hard as I could and as fast,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[128]</a></span> -first with one paw and then with the other, without -giving him time to recover his wits or get in -a blow himself. I felt him giving way as the -other bear had done, and when we closed he was -on his back on the ground, and I was on the top -of him.</p> - -<p>The fight, however, had only begun. I had -gained a certain moral effect by the ferocity of -my attack, but a bear, when he is fighting in -earnest, is not beaten by a single rush, nor, indeed, -until he is absolutely unable to fight longer. -Altogether we must have fought for over an hour. -Two or three times we were compelled to stop and -draw apart, because neither of us had strength left -to use either claws or jaw. And each time when -we closed again I followed the same tactics, rushing -in and beating him down and doing my best to -cow him before we gripped; and each time, I think, -it had some effect—at least to the extent that it -gave me a feeling of confidence, as if I was fighting -a winning fight.</p> - -<p>The deadliest grip that one bear can get on -another is with his jaws across the other’s muzzle, -when he can crush the whole face in. Once he -very nearly got me so, and this scar on the side of -my nose is the mark of his tooth; but he just -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[129]</a></span>failed to close his jaws in time. And, as it proved -then, it is a dangerous game to play, for it leaves -you exposed if you miss your grip, and in this case -it gave me the opportunity that I wanted, to get -my teeth into his right paw just above the wrist. -My teeth sank through the flesh and tendons -and closed upon the bone. In time, if I could hold -my grip, I would crush it. His only hope lay in -being able to compel me to let go, by getting his -teeth in behind my ear; and this we both knew, -and it was my business with my right paw to keep -his muzzle away.</p> - -<p>A moment like that is terrible—and splendid. -I have never found myself in his position, but I -can imagine what it must be. We swayed and -fell together, and rolled over and over—now he -uppermost, and now I; but never for a second -did I relax my hold. Whatever position we were -in, my teeth were slowly grinding into the bone -of his arm, and again and again I felt his teeth -grating and slipping on my skull as I clawed and -pushed blindly at his face to keep him away. -More and more desperate he grew, and still I hung -on; and while I clung to him in dead silence he -was growling and snarling frantically, and I could -hear his tone getting higher and higher till, just<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[130]</a></span> -as I felt the bone giving between my teeth, the -growling broke and changed to a whine, and I -knew that I had won.</p> - -<p>One more wrench with my teeth, and I felt his -arm limp and useless in my mouth. Then I let -go, and as he cowered back on three legs I reared -up and fell upon him again, hitting blow after -blow with my paws, buffeting, biting, beating, -driving him before me. Even now he had fight -left in him; but with all his pluck he was helpless -with his crippled limb, and slowly I bore him back -out of the open patch where we had been fighting -into the woods, and yard by yard up the hill, until -at last it was useless for him to pretend to fight -any longer, and he turned and, as best he could, -limping on three legs, ran.</p> - -<p>During the whole of the fight the she-bear had -not said a word, but sat on the ground watching -and awaiting the result. While the battle was -going on I had no time to look at her; but in the -intervals when we were taking breath, whenever -I turned in her direction, she avoided my eye and -pretended not to know that I was there or that -anything that interested her was passing. She -looked at the sky and the trees, and washed herself, -or did whatever would best show her indifference.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[131]</a></span> -All of which only told me that she was -not indifferent at all.</p> - -<p>Now, when I came back to her, she still pretended -not to see me until I was close up to her, -and when I held out my nose to hers she growled -as if a stranger had no right to behave in that -way. But I knew she did not mean it; and I was -very tired and sore, with blood running from me -in a dozen places. So I walked a few yards away -from her and lay down. In a minute she came -over to me and rubbed her nose against mine, and -told me how sorry she was for having snubbed me, -and then began to lick my wounds.</p> - -<p>She told me how splendidly I had fought; and, -mauled though I was, I was very proud and happy. -She in turn told me all about herself. She was -older than I by two years, and the bear that I had -beaten was a year older than myself. She had -known him for some three weeks only, having -met him a few days after her husband and her -two children, the first she had ever had, had been -killed by a thunder-stick. That was a long way off -over there—pointing eastward—and she had been -moving away from the neighbourhood of man ever -since.</p> - -<p>That gave us a new bond of sympathy; and I<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[132]</a></span> -told her about Kahwa and myself, and how lonely -I had been for the last two summers. Now, with -her help, I proposed not to be lonely any more. -She saw that I was well able to take care of myself -and of her, even though I was only three years old. -If I filled out in proportion to my height and the -size of my bones, there would not be a bear in the -forest that would be able to stand up to me by -the end of next summer. She told me that she -had liked me the moment we met, and had hoped -every minute of the fight that I would win, -though, of course, it would not have been proper -for her to show it. Altogether I was happier than -I had been since the old days before Kahwa was -caught.</p> - -<p>As soon as I was fairly rested, we got up and -made our way in the bright moonlight down to -the river, so that I could wash the blood off myself -and get the water into my wounds. We stayed -there for a while, and then returned to the patch -and made a supper off the berries, and later -wandered into the woods side by side. She was -very kind to me, and every caress and every loving -thing she did or said was a delight. It was all so -wonderfully new. And when at last we lay down -under the stars, so that I could sleep after the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[133]</a></span> -strain that I had been through, and I knew that -she was by me, and that when I woke up I -should not be lonely any more, it all seemed -almost too good to be true. It was as if I had -suddenly come into a new world and I was a new -bear.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> -</div> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[134]</a></span></p> - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2> -<a name="chap_10" id="chap_10"></a> -<a href="#contents" class="chapref" title="Return to Table of Contents.">CHAPTER <abbr title="10">X</abbr></a> <br /> - -<span class="stitle">A VISIT TO THE OLD HOME</span></h2> - - -<p><span class="smcap">When</span> I awoke I found that it was indeed all true, -but I was so frightfully stiff that it was not easy to -be very happy all at once. I slept straight on all -through the morning until late in the afternoon. -My new companion had been awake, and had -wandered round a little in the early morning, but -without awaking me. When I awoke in the -afternoon she was asleep by my side. I tried to -stand up, but every bone in my body hurt, every -muscle ached, and every joint was so stiff that -I could almost hear it creak. The fuss that I made -in trying to get on to my feet disturbed her, and -she helped me up. Somehow I managed to stagger -along, and we went off for a short ramble in search -of food. I could hardly dig at all, but she shared -with me the roots she found, and with a few -berries we made a sort of a meal; and then I was -so tired that we lay down again, and I slept right -on till daybreak the following morning.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[135]</a></span></p> - -<p>After that I felt myself again. It was days -before all the stiffness wore off, and weeks before -my wounds were entirely healed; while, as you -can see, I carry some of the scars to this day.</p> - -<p>For some days the bear that I had beaten hung -about, in the hope of tempting Wooffa (that was -what I called my wife, it being my mother’s name) -to go back to him. But he was a pitiable object, -limping about with his broken leg, and I never -even offered to fight him again. There was no -need for it. Wooffa did not wish to have anything -to say to him, and she ignored him for the most -part unless he came too near, when she growled at -him in a way that was not to be misunderstood. -I really felt sorry for him, remembering my own -loneliness, and realizing that it was probably worse -to lose her and have to go off alone, while she -belonged to somebody else, than never to have -known her at all. After a while he recognised -that it was hopeless, and we saw him no more. -We ourselves, indeed, did not stay in the same -place, but as long as the summer lasted we wandered -where we pleased.</p> - -<p>We suited each other admirably, Wooffa and I. -We had much the same tastes, with equal cause to -hate man and to wish to keep away from his neighbourhood,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[136]</a></span> -and we were very nearly of the same size -and strength. I never knew a bear that had a -keener scent, and she was a marvel at finding -honey. In many ways it is a great advantage for -two bears to be together, for they have two noses -and two sets of eyes and ears, and two can turn -over a log or a stone that is too heavy for one. -Altogether, I now lived better and was much -more free from care than I had been; while above -all was the great fact of companionship—the mere -not being alone. In small ways she used to tyrannize -over me, just as mother did over father; but I -liked it, and neither of us ever found any tit-bit -which was large enough to share without being -willing to go halves with the other.</p> - -<p>The rest of that summer we spent together, and -all the next, and I think she was as contented as I. -What I had hoped came true, for I increased in -weight so much that I do not think there was -a bear that we saw that could have held his own -against me in fair fight. Certainly there was no -pair that could have stood up against Wooffa and -me together; for though not quite so high at the -shoulder as I, she was splendidly built and magnificently -strong. On her chest she had a white -spot or streak, of which she was very proud, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[137]</a></span> -which she kept always beautifully white and well -combed.</p> - -<p>Early in the summer of the year after I had met -her, I took her to visit my childhood home. It -needed a week’s steady travelling to get there, and -when we arrived in the neighbourhood we found -the whole place so changed that I could hardly find -my way. It was more than three years since I -had seen it, and man had now taken possession -of the whole country. For the last day or two -of our journey we had to go very carefully, for -men’s houses were scattered along the banks of -every stream, and wherever two streams of any -size came together there had grown up a small -town. In the burnt district many of the blackened -trees were still standing, but the ground was -carpeted with brush again, and young trees were -shooting up in every direction. The beaver-dams -were most of them broken, and those which -remained were deserted. On all sides were the -marks of man’s handiwork.</p> - -<p>At last we came to the beaver-dam, the pool -of which had saved my life in the fire. There -were houses close beside the pool, and a large -clearing which had been made in the forest was -now a grass-field, and in that field for the first time<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[138]</a></span> -I saw cows. We had already passed several strings -of mules and ponies on the mountain-paths which -the men had made, each animal carrying a huge -bundle lashed on its back; and now we met horses -dragging carts along the wide road which had been -made along the border of the stream. Of course, -we did not venture near the road during the day, -but stayed hidden well up on the mountain-side, -where we could hear the noise of people passing, -and in the evening we made our way down.</p> - -<p>Just as we arrived at the road, going very -cautiously, a pair of horses dragging a waggon -came along. Curious to see it, we stayed close by, -and peered out from behind the trees; but as they -came abreast of us a gust of wind blew the scent -of us to the horses, and they took fright and -seemed to go mad in one instant. Plunging and -rearing, they tried to turn round, backing the -waggon off the road into a tree. Then, putting -their heads down, they started blindly thundering -up the road, with the waggon swaying and rocking -behind them. The man shouted and pulled and -thrashed them with his whip, but the horses were -too mad with terror to listen to him. On they -dashed until there came a turn in the road, when -with a crash the waggon collided with a tree.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[139]</a></span> -Precisely what happened we could not see. Bits -of the waggon were strewn about the road, while -the horses plunged on with what was left of it -dangling behind them. But in what was left there -was no man.</p> - -<p>We made our way along the edge of the road to -where the crash had taken place, and there among -the broken wheels and splinters of the waggon we -found the man lying, half on the road and half -in the forest, dead. It was some time before we -could make up our minds to approach him, but -at last I touched him with my nose, and then we -turned him over with our paws. We were still -inspecting him, when we heard the sound of other -men and horses approaching, and before they came -in sight we slipped off into the wood. We saw the -new horses shy just as the former ones had done, -but whether at the smell of ourselves or of the -dead man in the road we did not know. The men -managed to quiet them, however, and got out of the -waggon, and after standing over the dead man for a -while they lifted him and took him away with them.</p> - -<p>We loitered about until it was dark, and then -tried to make our way on to where my old -home had been. It could not be half a mile -away, but that half-mile was beset with houses,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[140]</a></span> -and as we drew nearer the houses became thicker, -until I saw that it would be useless to go on, for -where the cedar-trees used to grow, where the hill-slope -was that I had tumbled down, where Blacky -the squirrel and Rat-tat used to live, was now the -middle of a town. At the first sign of dawn we -made our way back to the beaver-pool, and, crossing -the dam again, turned our backs for ever on the -neighbourhood where I had spent my childhood. -It was no longer bears’ country.</p> - -<p>Now for the first time I understood what the -coming of man meant to the people of the forest -and the mountains. I had, indeed, seen a man-town -before, and the men coming and going up -and down the streams, but, somehow, it had not -occurred to me that where they came they never -went away again. These men here, however, with -their houses, their roads and cows and horses—they -would never go away. They were wiping -out the forest: the animals that lived in it had -vanished: the very face of the mountains was -changed, so that I could not tell the spots that -I knew best; and I was sure that we could never -drive them out again. I was sorry that I had come -to see the old home, and we were a gloomy couple -as we started on our return journey southwards.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[141]</a></span></p> - -<p>For a long time yet we would have to go -cautiously, for man was all around us. Along -the streams he had been digging, digging, digging, -endlessly digging, but what he gained by it we -could not comprehend; for we often watched him -at work, and he seemed to take nothing out of the -ground, nor to eat anything as he dug. When he -was not digging, he was chopping trees, either to -build more houses, to make dams across the streams, -or to break the wood up into pieces to burn. So -wherever he came the forest disappeared, and the -rivers were disfigured with holes and ditches and -piles of gravel on which no green thing grew, and -nothing lived that was good to eat.</p> - -<p>In travelling we kept away from the streams as -much as possible, moving along the hillsides, and -only coming down to the water when we wished -to cross. We had been travelling in this way for -some two or three nights, when one morning very -early we came down to a stream at a point close by -a clump of buildings. The wind was blowing from -them to us, and suddenly Wooffa threw herself up -on her haunches and gasped one word—‘Pig!’</p> - -<p>I had heard of pig before, and Wooffa had eaten -it to her cost; and in spite of the cost she agreed -with everyone in saying that young pig is the very<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[142]</a></span> -best thing there is to eat in all the world. I had -often wondered whether some of the best scraps -that I had picked up about the houses in the town -in the old days might not be pig, and now I know -that they were. But they were cooked and salted -pig, and not the fresh young pig newly killed, -which is the joy of joys to a bear. This it was that -Wooffa now smelled, and as the scent came to my -nostrils I knew that it was something new to me -and something very good.</p> - -<p>The smell came from a sort of pen at one side -of the biggest building, not unlike that in which -Kahwa had been shut up, only the walls were not -so high. They were too high to look over, however, -and there was no way of climbing up until -Wooffa helped me, and by standing on her back I -was able to see over. It was a small square pen, -the floor deep in mud, and at one end was a covered -place something like the boxes that men keep dogs -in; and in the door of this covered place I could see, -asleep, a large black-and-white sow and five little -pigs.</p> - -<p>If I got inside, I saw that I could climb on the -roof of the covered part and get out again; so I -did not hesitate, but with one scramble I was over -and down in the middle of the family. Wouff!<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[143]</a></span> -what a noise they made! But with one smack -of my paw I had killed the nearest little one, and -grabbed it in my mouth, and in a minute I was up -on the covered roof and out with Wooffa on the -grass outside.</p> - -<p>We did not stop to eat the pig there, for the -others were still squealing as if they were all being -killed, and we were afraid that they would wake -the men; so we made off as fast as we could into -the wood, taking the pig with us. It was as well -that we did, for we had not gone far before we -heard a door bang and a dog barking, and then -the voices of men shouting to each other. We -kept on for a mile or so before we stopped, down -by the side of a little stream. Then we divided -the pig fairly, and nothing that I had heard about -his goodness had been exaggerated. No; there -are many good things in the world—honey and -berries and sugar and cooked things; but pig is -above all others.</p> - -<p>So good was he that, if I had been by myself, I -think I should have stayed there, and gone down -again next night for another, and probably been -shot for my pains. But, as Wooffa had told me -long ago, it was in doing just that very thing that -her husband and two children had lost their lives.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[144]</a></span> -They had found some pigs kept by men just as we -had, and had taken three the first night. The next -night they went and got two more; the third -night the men were waiting for them, and only -Wooffa escaped. The smell of the pig when it came -to her again after two years had for the moment -overcome all her fears; but she told me that she -had been terrified all the time that I was in the -sty, and nothing on earth would tempt her to risk -a second visit.</p> - -<p>I have said before that greediness is the undoing -of nearly all wild animals, and, however much I -longed for another taste of pig, I knew that she -was right. It was better to go without pig and -keep alive. So we set our faces resolutely in the -other direction, and kept on our course, vowing -that nothing should tempt us to linger in the -proximity of man. And very glad we both were -when we found ourselves at last once more in a -region where as yet man had not been seen, where -we could wander abroad as we pleased by night -or day, where the good forest smells were still -untainted, and where we could lie in the water of -the streams at sunset or fish as long as we pleased -without thought of an enemy.</p> - -<p>It was a beautiful autumn that year, and I think,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[145]</a></span> -as I look back to it, I was as happy then as ever -in my life. There had been a splendid crop of -berries, in contrast to the year before, and now, -with the long clear autumn, all signs pointed to a -hard winter. So we made our preparations for the -cold season early, hollowing out our dens carefully -side by side under the roots of two huge trees, -where they were well sheltered from the wind, and -lining them with sticks and leaves. Wooffa in -particular spent a long time over hers; and afterwards -I understood why.</p> - -<p>It was still bright autumn weather, when the -birds flying southwards told us that already snow -had fallen to the north, and it was bitterly cold. -Everyone was talking of the severe winter that -was ahead of us, and the wolves and the coyotes -had gone to the plains. We were glad we had -made our preparations in good time, for, when the -winter came, it came, in spite of all that had been -said about it, unexpectedly. There was no warning -of snow upon the higher peaks, but one night the -north wind blew steadily the long night through, -and in the morning the winter was on us, settling -down on all the country, peak and valley, together.</p> - -<p>That day we retired into our dens for good. -When I came out in the spring, Wooffa had not<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[146]</a></span> -appeared, so I began to scratch away the stuff -from the opening of her den, and as I did so I -heard new noises inside; and all at once it dawned -upon me that I was a father. Wooffa had brought -me a little Kahwa and a little Wahka for my -own.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> -</div> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[147]</a></span></p> - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2> -<a name="chap_11" id="chap_11"></a> -<a href="#contents" class="chapref" title="Return to Table of Contents.">CHAPTER <abbr title="11">XI</abbr></a> <br /> - -<span class="stitle">THE TROUBLES OF A FATHER</span></h2> - - -<p><span class="smcap">Every</span> young cub, I imagine, gets into about the -same amount of trouble and causes about the -same worry and anxiety to his parents. I know -that little Wahka took the earliest possible -opportunity of getting himself stuck full of -porcupine quills, and I do not suppose he made -any more fuss when his mother pulled them out -than I had done under similar circumstances five -summers before. He nearly drowned himself by -tumbling into the swiftest part of the stream that -he could find, and when I laughed at him, shivering -and whining, while his mother alternately -licked and cuffed him on the head, I could not -help thinking of my own misery when I went -downhill into the snow.</p> - -<p>As I looked at him, so preposterously small, -and fluffy, and brown, it was, as I said at the -beginning, hard to believe that I was ever quite<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[148]</a></span> -like that. But I recognised myself in things that -he did fifty times a day.</p> - -<p>Kahwa, too, was exactly like the other little -Kahwa, her aunt who was dead. Wahka would -be sitting looking into the air at nothing, as cubs -do, when she would steal up behind him and -make a sudden grab at his hind-foot. I could -remember just how it felt when her teeth caught -hold. And he would roll over on his side, squealing, -and smack her head until she let go. In a -few minutes they were perfectly good friends again -hunting squirrels up the trees, and standing down -below with open mouths, waiting for them to drop -in. I showed them how to play at pulling each -other down the hill, and often of an afternoon -I would sit with my own back against the tree, -and invite them to pull me down. Then it was -just as it used to be. Wahka came at me on -one side, slowly and doggedly, almost in silence, -but intensely in earnest, while on the other side -Kahwa rushed on me like a little whirlwind, -yapping and snarling, and scuffling all over me -with her mouth wide open to grab anything that -was within reach—the same ferocious, reckless -little spitfire as I had known years ago. They -were good children, I think. At all events,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[149]</a></span> -Wooffa and I were very proud of them, and she -used to spend an astonishing amount of time licking -them, and combing them, and smacking their little -woolly heads.</p> - -<p>Then we began to take them out and teach them -how to find food, and what food to eat; that the -easiest way to get at a lily bulb is not to scrabble -at it with both paws straight down, but to scoop -it out with one good scrape from the side; how -to wipe off the top of an ant-hill at one smooth -stroke; how to distinguish the wild-onion by its -smell; and what the young shoots of the white -camas look like. They soon learned not to pass -any fair-sized stone without turning it over to -look for the insects beneath, and also that it is -useless to go on turning the same stone over and -over again to keep looking at the ‘other side.’ -Every fallen log had to be carefully inspected, -the bark ripped off where it was rotten to get at -the beetles and grubs and wood-lice underneath, -and, if it were not too heavy, the log itself should -be rolled over. We taught them that, in approaching -a log or large stone, one should always sniff well -first to see if there is a mouse or chipmunk underneath, -and, if there be fresh scent, turn it over -with one paw while holding the other ready to strike.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[150]</a></span></p> - -<p>Mice bothered them dreadfully at first, dodging -and zigzagging round their hind-legs, and keeping -them hopping in the air, while they grabbed wildly -at the little thing that was never where it ought -to be when the paw came down to squash it. I -shall never forget the first time that Wahka found -a chipmunk by himself. He lifted a stone very -cautiously, with his nose much too close to it, -apparently expecting the chipmunk to run into -his mouth, which it did not do; but as soon as -the stone was lifted an inch it was out and on to -Wahka’s nose, and over his head, down the middle -of his back, and off into the wood. Wahka really -never saw it at all, and was spinning round and -round trying to get at the middle of his own back -after the chipmunk was a hundred yards away.</p> - -<p>We took the cubs down to the stream and showed -them how to root along the edges among the grass -and weeds for frogs and snails, and water-beetles -and things, and when the trout came upstream -we caught some for them, and showed them how -to do it; but fishing is a thing that needs too -much patience to commend itself to cubs.</p> - -<p>Wahka did not have any adventure with a -puma, but he had one experience which might -have been even more serious. He had wandered<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[151]</a></span> -away from his mother and myself, just as he had -been told hundreds of times not to do, when -suddenly there was the noise of a scuffle from -his direction, and he was screaming with all his -might. I was there in a moment, with his mother -close behind me, and saw two huge gray wolves -which had already rolled him over, and in another -instant would have done for him. We charged -them, but they were gone before we reached the -spot; and beyond a bad shaking and one scar on -his shoulder Wahka was none the worse. He -was a thoroughly frightened cub, however, and -it would have taken a great deal of persuasion to -make him leave his mother’s side for the rest of -that day. Indeed, it was necessary to be careful -for more than that day, because the wolves hung -around us, hoping still to catch either him or -Kahwa alone where they could make away with -them.</p> - -<p>I dislike wolves immensely. In spite of their -size and the strength of their jaws, they are -cowardly animals, and one wolf will never attack -even a much smaller beast than himself alone, if -he can get another to help him. Bears are not -like that. We want to have our fighting to ourselves. -We would much rather have any other<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[152]</a></span> -bear that is near stand and look on instead of -coming to help us—unless, of course, it is a case of -husband and wife, and one or other is overmatched. -What we do, we do in the open, and -prefer that people should understand our intentions -clearly, and take us just as we are. A wolf -is exactly the opposite. He never does anything -openly that he can do in secret. He likes to keep -out of sight, and hunt by stealth, owing what he -gets to his cunning and to superior numbers, -rather than to his own individual fighting spirit.</p> - -<p>We recognise that wolves know many things -that we do not; though some of them are things -that we would not want to know. And they think -us fools—but they keep out of our way. There -have indeed, I believe, been cases where a number -of wolves together have succeeded in killing a bear—not -in fair fight, but by dogging and following -him for days, preventing his either eating or -sleeping, until from sheer exhaustion he has been -unable to resist them when they have attacked -him in force and pulled him down. This, however, -could not happen in the mountains. The -wolves are only there in the summer, and then -they run in couples, or alone, or at most in families -of two old ones and the cubs together. In the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[153]</a></span> -autumn they go down to the foot-hills and the -plains, and then it is only in hard weather that -they collect in packs. At that time the bears are -usually in their winter dens, and all the wolves -that were ever born could never get a bear out -of his den, where they can reach him only in -front.</p> - -<p>In this case, the wolves which had attacked -Wahka seldom showed themselves, but that they -were constantly near us, and watching us, we -knew. With all their cunning, they could not -help getting between us and the wind once in a -while, and sometimes, when they were a little -distance away, we could hear them quarrelling -between themselves over some small animal they -had killed, or some scrap of food that they had -found in the forest. It is not pleasant being -shadowed, whether it is your child or yourself -that is being hunted, and we had to be extremely -cautious not to let either Kahwa or Wahka out of -our sight. Nor was it always easy, in spite of his -recent fright, to keep the latter under restraint, -for he was an independent, self-reliant youngster, -of inexhaustible inquisitiveness.</p> - -<p>One day, when we knew the wolves were following -us, and we were keeping Wahka well in hand,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[154]</a></span> -we met a family of elk,<a name="Anchor-4" id="Anchor-4"></a><a href="#Footnote-4" class="fnanchor" title="Go to footnote 4.">[4]</a> two parents and quite a -young fawn, and Wahka must needs go and try -to find out all about the fawn. He meant no -harm whatever, and had no idea that there was -any danger. He only thought the fawn would -be a nice thing to play with; and before we could -stop him he had trotted straight up to it. Elk -are jealous animals, and, like all deer, in spite of -their timidity, will fight to protect their young; -and with his tremendous antlers and great strength -a big stag is a person to be let alone.</p> - -<p>Wahka knew nothing about all this, and went -straight towards the fawn in the friendliest and -most confiding way. Fortunately, the stag was -some yards away, and we were able to put Wahka -on his guard in time. But it was a narrow escape, -and I do not think the stag’s antler missed his tail -by half an inch. Wooffa jumped in the stag’s way, -and for a minute it looked as if there would be -a fight. Of course it would have ended in our -killing the stag—and probably also his wife and -the fawn as well—but one or the other of us would -have been likely to have had the end of an antler -through the ribs before the fight was over.</p> - -<p>The stag showed not the slightest intention of -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[155]</a></span>running away, though he must have known -perfectly well that the odds were hopelessly -against him; but he stood facing Wooffa, with -his head down, snorting and pawing the ground, -and telling her to come on. She was so angry at -the attack on Wahka that for a moment she was -inclined to do it, but I spoke to her, and she cooled -down, and we moved away, leaving the stag, still -pawing the ground and shaking his head, in possession -of the field.</p> - -<p>I have already said that we had had warning -that the wolves were hanging about us that day, -and we had not gone far after the meeting with -the elk before we heard that some sort of trouble -was in progress behind. It was not difficult to guess -what it was; the snarling and yapping of the -wolves, the breaking of branches, and the clashing -of the elk’s antlers, told the story. The wolves, -following us, had made up their minds that the -fawn would be easier prey and better eating than -a bear-cub; and the stag, we knew, was doing his -best to defend his young. We were very much -inclined to go down and help the stag; but we -stood and listened, and suddenly the noise stopped. -The silence that ensued was too much for our -curiosity, and back we went.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[156]</a></span></p> - -<p>As we came near we knew that the fight -could not be altogether over, for there was still -a sound of snarling and the angry stamping of a -stag, and the sight that at last met our eyes was -one that it did us good to see.</p> - -<p>There was a wide circular open space, in which -every living thing had been trampled down, and the -ground was all scored and furrowed with the mark -of hoof and antler; and in the middle stood the -stag, erect and defiant. Before him on the ground -lay the body of the he-wolf, covered with blood -and stamped almost beyond recognition. There -was blood—his own blood—on the stag’s shoulder, -and blood on his horns, which was not his own. -At the edge of the circle, lying down and panting, -lay the she-wolf, sulky and baffled, and evidently -with no mind to go on with the combat alone, -though the stag challenged her to come on.</p> - -<p>When he saw us, the stag perhaps thought that -we were new enemies come to take up the cause -of the remaining wolf, for he signalled to his wife, -who with the fawn was standing behind him, and -they began to move slowly away, the deer and -fawn going first, and the stag following, moving -backwards, and keeping his antlers always towards -the enemy, till they had passed out of the circle<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[157]</a></span> -of cleared space into the trees. The she-wolf lay -there till they had passed, turning sulkily to snarl -at us once in a while, and then, as we stood still -and showed no sign of approaching or attacking -her, she got up and walked over to the dead body -of her husband, and began turning it over with -her nose. Next she commenced to lick him, and -then, taking the throat in her mouth, deliberately -began to bite into it! Growling and snarling, she -crouched over the body, and we left her to her -horrid meal.</p> - -<p>It was a relief to know that we at least would -be no more troubled by her or her husband.</p> - -<p>On the whole, life went very peaceably with -us, as it had done with my parents when Kahwa -and I were cubs in the days before man came, -and before the forest fire drove us into his arms. -This year we saw no sign of man. We had no -wish to do so, and took care not to go in any -direction where we thought we were likely to -meet him. Once in midsummer we saw the sky -to the north of us red for two or three nights with -flames in the distance, and I wondered for a while -whether history was going to repeat itself; but -the wind blew steadily from the south-west, and -the fire did not come within many miles of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[158]</a></span> -us. It must, I guessed, be somewhere in the -neighbourhood of the former fire, and, of course, -it is where man is that forest fires are frequent; -for man is the only animal that makes fires for -himself, and it is from his fires that the flames -spread to the woods. Sometimes, in very dry -seasons, the woods ignite of themselves, but that -is rare.</p> - -<p>Of course, as the summer grew, we moved -about and wandered abroad as in other years, -keeping in the neighbourhood of the streams, -sheltering during the heat of the day, and roaming -over the mountains in the sweet cool air of the -night and morning. We always kept together, -though, of course, the little ones clung to their -mother more than to me. I was a kind father -to them, I think, and I believe they liked and -admired me as much as young cubs ought to -like and admire their father; but, as is always -the case in families like ours, while occasionally -one of them, generally Kahwa, would wander away -from the others with me, usually Wooffa and the -youngsters kept close together while I moved -about alone, though within calling distance, in -case I should be needed. Sometimes the father -bear leaves the family altogether during the early<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[159]</a></span> -summer months, and either goes alone or joins -other he-bears that are solitary like himself; but -it is better for the family to stay together. -Besides, Wooffa and I suited each other admirably -as hunting companions, and I am not ashamed -to confess that I was fond of my children.</p> - -<p>I began to realize what an anxiety I must have -been to my own parents, for one or the other of the -cubs was always getting into trouble. They were -sitting one day watching Wooffa and myself -trying to turn over a big log. We had warned -them again and again not to stand below a log -downhill when we were moving it, but, of course, -Kahwa had paid no attention, and, as that was -the best place from which to watch the operation, -down she sat and contentedly awaited results. -After two or three efforts we felt the log begin -to move, and then, with one heave together, we -got it started, and it rolled straight down on -Kahwa. We had been too busy to notice where -she was till we heard her squeal. It might very -easily have killed her, and as it was her hind-leg -was firmly caught, with the whole weight of the -great log resting on it. Her mother boxed her -ears, while I managed to move the log enough -to set her free; but her foot was badly crushed,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[160]</a></span> -and she limped more or less for the rest of the -summer.</p> - -<p>On another occasion Wahka put his head into -a slit in a hollow tree to look for honey, and -could not get it out again. I have heard of bears -being killed in that way, when the hole is some -distance from the ground. The opening will -probably be narrower towards the bottom than -it is in the middle, and when a bear climbs up -to the hole, of course he puts his head in at the -widest part. Perhaps he slips, and his neck slides -down to where the slit is narrower. If he loses -his hold altogether, his whole weight comes on -his neck, and he breaks it; and even if that does -not happen, he may not be able to raise himself -and force his neck up to the wider opening again, -but has to hang there caught in a trap until he -dies.</p> - -<p>In this case Wahka’s feet were on the ground, -as the hole was quite low down, so there was -no danger of his being hanged; but he was so -frightened when he found that he could not pull -his head out again that it is quite possible that if -he had been alone he never would have succeeded -in getting loose. But his mother smacked him -until he lifted his head a little to where the hole<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[161]</a></span> -was an inch or so wider, and he was able to pull -out. But there was not much hair left on the -back of his ears by the time he was free.</p> - -<p>With all the trouble that they gave us, however, -and though I would not have let them know it for -worlds, and always made a point of noticing their -existence as little as possible, I was proud of my -children. Wahka, especially, gave promise of growing -into a splendid bear, while Kahwa was the very -image of her mother, even down to the little white -streak on her chest, though that did not appear -until she got her second year’s coat.</p> - -<p>They were good, straightforward, rollicking -youngsters who got all the pleasure out of life -that there was to be got, and enjoyed amazingly -everything that was good to eat. I shall never -forget the first time that we introduced them to -a berry-patch; and their first wild-raspberries -drove them nearly crazy. They would not go to -sleep all next day, though it was blazing hot, but -sat up while we slept, and whenever we woke -begged to be taken to look for more raspberries.</p> - -<p>When winter approached, we returned to the -place where we had hibernated the previous year. -Wooffa hollowed out her den to twice its former -size, so as to hold herself and both the cubs, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[162]</a></span> -I took my old quarters close by. Winter came -slowly, and after all our preparations were made -we were able to be about for a long time, during -which we did nothing but eat and sleep, and gather -strength and fatness for the long fast that was -coming.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[163]</a></span></p> -</div> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2> -<a name="chap_12" id="chap_12"></a> -<a href="#contents" class="chapref" title="Return to Table of Contents.">CHAPTER <abbr title="12">XII</abbr></a> <br /> - -<span class="stitle">WIPING OUT OLD SCORES</span></h2> - - -<p><span class="smcap">I have</span> said more than once that both Wooffa and -I had made up our minds that we never wished to -see man again. Looking back now, it is hard to -tell what made us depart from that determination; -indeed, I am not sure that there was any particular -moment at which we did definitely change our -minds and decide to go into his neighbourhood -once more. It was rather, I think, that we drifted -or wandered into it; but we certainly must have -known quite well what we were doing.</p> - -<p>When we started out in the following spring, -with Wahka and Kahwa in their second year, -we were a formidable family, without much cause -to be afraid of anything. We had no intention of -meddling with a grizzly if we happened to meet -one, and so long as we kept out of the way of -thunder-sticks there was nothing to hurt us. At -first we wandered northward with no definite -object, but as we got nearer a great curiosity came<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[164]</a></span> -over me to see the places which I had cause to -remember so well—the berry-patch and the house -where Kahwa had met her death; and also, I -believe, there was a vague hope of somehow meeting -again my old enemy and being able to square -accounts with him. He had threatened me again -and again, and I had always had to run from him. -Moreover, I held him responsible in my mind for -Kahwa’s death. If he had warned us, as decent -bears always do warn one another of any danger, -when we met him that night on our way to the -berry-patch, we should never have gone on, and -Kahwa would not have been captured. He was -coming away from the patch, and he must have -known that the men were there. But for mother’s -help, he would probably have killed father that -time when he tried to turn us out of our home. -Altogether, it was a long list of injuries that I had -against him, and I nursed the memory of them. -Perhaps I should meet him some day, and this time -I should not run away. Whenever I thought of -him, I used to get so angry that I would sit up on -my hind-legs and rub my nose in my chest and -growl; and Wooffa knew what was in my mind, -and growled in sympathy with me.</p> - -<p>So it came about that we travelled steadily<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[165]</a></span> -northward that summer, going back over much of -the same ground as father, mother, and I had -travelled when we came away after Kahwa’s death. -Sometimes we stayed in one locality for a week, -and then perhaps kept moving for a couple of days, -until we came to another place which tempted us -to loiter. Many times we saw man, but he never -saw us; for we were old and experienced, and had -no trouble in keeping out of his way. We found -that he did not always stay wherever he came. -Some houses, which I remembered passing three -years before, we found empty now and in ruins, -with the roofs falling in and bushes growing over -them. On several streams the beavers told us -that they had not seen a man for three years.</p> - -<p>We now learned, too, something of the reason -of man’s coming into the mountains. Sometimes -men’s dogs were lost in the woods, or they made -friends with coyotes and ran wild; and they told -the coyotes all they knew, and from them it -spread to the other animals. We met one of these -coyotes who had been friends with a dog, and -she told us what the dog had told her. It was -gold that the men were looking for, yellow, shining -stuff that was found in the gravel in the river-beds. -What men wanted with it she had no<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[166]</a></span> -idea, as the dog himself did not know, and it -was not good to eat; but they set great store -by it, and were always looking for it everywhere, -following up the streams and scratching and -digging in the beds. If they found no gold in -a stream, they left it and went on to another. -Where they did find it they built houses and -stayed, and more men came, and more, until -towns grew up, with roads and horses and cows -as we had seen. In many ways what the coyote -told us agreed with what we had observed for -ourselves, so we presumed it was true; though -a coyote is too much like a wolf to be safe to -trust as a general rule.</p> - -<p>The next time that we came to a place where -the men had been working I thought I would -like to see some of the wonderful yellow stuff. -There were mounds of earth, and a long ditch -running slantwise away from the stream, and -nobody seemed to be about; so I scrambled -down into the ditch to look if any of the yellow -stuff was there. I was walking slowly along, -sniffing at the ground and the sides of the ditch, -when suddenly out of a sort of cave in one side, -and only a few yards from me, came a man! Wooffa -was just behind me, and the cubs behind her, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[167]</a></span> -he was evidently no less astonished than I, and -much more frightened. With one yell, he clambered -up the bank before I could make up my mind what -to do, and rushed to a small tree or sapling near by, -and then for the first time I learned that a man -could climb. He went up fast, too, until he got to -the first branches, when he stopped and looked -down and shouted at us—I suppose with some idea -of frightening us. But he had no thunder-stick, and -we were not in the least afraid; so we followed -him and looked at the tree. It was too thin for -us to climb—for a bear has to have something -solid to take hold of—or I would certainly have -gone up after him. As it was, we sat about for -a while looking at him, and waiting to see if he -would come down again; but he showed no intention -of doing that, and, as we did not know how -soon other men might come, we left him and -went on our way. But I did not go investigating -empty ditches in the daylight any more.</p> - -<p>One thing that completely puzzled us—as -completely as it terrified—was the thunder-stick. -What was it? How came man to be able to -kill at such distances with it? Above all, at what -distance could he kill? These questions puzzled -me many a time.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[168]</a></span></p> - -<p>It was soon after the adventure in the ditch -that for the first time we saw a boat. It was -coming down the stream with three men in it. -At first we thought the boat itself to be some -kind of an animal, and that the long oars waving -on either side were its legs or wings; but as it came -near we saw the men inside, and understood what it -was. So we stood and watched it. Fortunately, -we were out of sight ourselves, or I am afraid to -think what might have happened.</p> - -<p>Just opposite to us, on the very top of a pine-tree -on the other bank, an osprey which had been -fishing was sitting and waiting for the boat to go -by. As the boat came alongside of us, one of the -men, as he sat, raised a thunder-stick and pointed it -at the osprey, and the bird fell dead, even before, -as it seemed to us, the thunder-stick had spoken.</p> - -<p>Until then we had had no idea that the thunder-stick -could kill up in the air just as well as along -the ground; indeed, we had always agreed among -ourselves that, in case we should meet a man with -a thunder-stick and not have time to get away, -we would make for the nearest trees and climb -out of his reach. But what was the use of climbing -a tree, when we had just seen the osprey killed -on the top of one much higher than any that we<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[169]</a></span> -could climb? This incident made man seem more -awful than before.</p> - -<p>We were now within one night’s journey of the -places that I knew so well, and in a country -where men were on all sides. We kept crossing -well-worn trails over the mountains, on which -we sometimes saw men, and often when we were -lying up during the day we heard the noise of -mule-trains passing, the clangle-clangle-clang of -the bell round the neck of the leading mule, and -the hoarse voices of the men as they shouted at -them. Now, also, many of the houses were like -the one we had seen by the pool at the beaver-dam, -with clearings round them in which cows -lived and strange green things were growing.</p> - -<p>On the evening of the day on which the osprey -had been shot we came to one of these. I remembered -the house from three years ago, but -other buildings had been added to it, and round -it was a wide open space full of stuff that looked -like tall waving grass, which I now know was -wheat. There was a fence all round it, made -of posts with barbed wire stretched between, and -it was the first time that we had seen barbed -wire. Wahka, with his inquisitiveness, was the -first to find out what the barbed wire was. He<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[170]</a></span> -found out with his nose. When he had stopped -grumbling and rubbing his nose on the ground, -and could explain what was the matter, I tried -it, more cautiously than he had done, but still -sufficiently to make my nose bleed. We walked -nearly all round the field, and everywhere was -the horrid wire with its vicious spikes. But we -wanted to get into the field because we were sure -that the long, waving, yellowing wheat would be -good to eat. At last an idea occurred to Wooffa, -who took the top of one of the posts in her two -paws, and throwing, her whole weight back, -wrenched it clean out of the ground. Still the -wire held across, and I had to treat the next post -in the same way, and then the next. Both she -and I left tufts of our hair on the sharp points, -but the wire was now lying on the ground -where we could step over it; so we waded shoulder-high -into the wheat, and before we left the field -it was gray dawn, and we had each of us, I think, -eaten more than we had eaten before in all our -lives.</p> - -<p>We had trampled all over the field munching -and munching and munching at the wheat-ears, -which were full and sweet and just beginning -to ripen. Then we went down to the stream for<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[171]</a></span> -a drink, and by the time the sun was up we -were three or four miles away in the mountains. -The children pleaded to be allowed to go there -again next night, but that was a point which we had -settled that evening when we had caught the pig. -Never again would we go back to a place where -we had taken anything of man’s which he could -miss, and where he might be prepared for a second -visit.</p> - -<p>So we went cautiously onward the next evening, -with the signs of man’s presence always around us. -Almost half the trees had been chopped down; -there were trails over the mountains in all directions, -and houses everywhere by the streams, from -which men’s voices came to us until late at night. -Silently, in single file, we threaded our way, I -leading, and Wooffa bringing up the rear. Bears -that had not our experience would certainly have -got into trouble; but I knew man, and was not -terrified at his smell or the sound of his voice, -and knew, too, that all that was needed was to keep -out of his sight and move quietly. Mile by mile -we pushed on without mishap, but there were so -many men, and things had changed so much that, -remembering the visit to my first home, I doubted -whether I should be able to recognise the berry-patch<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[172]</a></span> -when I came to it; when suddenly there it -was in front of me!</p> - -<p>The trees all round it had been cut down, so that -it came into view sooner than I had expected; but -when I looked upon it I saw that it had hardly -changed. The moon was high overhead, and the -patch glistened in the light, as of old. Across the -middle ran a hard brown roadway which was not -there in the old days; but otherwise all was the -same. I was standing almost on the spot from -which we had watched Kahwa being dragged away, -and the scene was nearly as distinct to me as it -had been at that time.</p> - -<p>We did not go down into the patch. The trees -around the edges had been so much thinned out -that it was less easy to approach in safety; so we -contented ourselves with wandering round and -eating such fruit as remained on the scattered -bushes which grew among the trees on the outskirts -of the wood. It was already after midnight, -and we only stayed for an hour or so, and then I -led the way back into the hills, intending to go -and see if our old lair, for which my father and -mother had had to fight in the former days, was -still untouched by man and would afford us safe -shelter for the coming day. As I did so, my<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[173]</a></span> -thoughts went back to that morning, and I growled -to myself; for I was thinking of my old enemy, and -wondering whether I should ever have the opportunity -of avenging the old injuries. And, lo! even -as I was wondering the opportunity came.</p> - -<p>Wahka had strayed from the path, and suddenly -I heard him growling; and a moment later he came -running to my side, and out of the brush behind -him loomed the figure of another bear. I knew -him in a moment, and it was characteristic of him -that he should have attacked a cub like Wahka—not, -of course, knowing that it was the grandchild of the -pair whom he had tried to dispossess of their home -so long before. As he saw the rest of us, he -stopped in his pursuit of Wahka, and stood up on -his hind-legs growling angrily; and as I measured -him with my eyes I realized how much bigger -I must be than my father, for this bear, who had -towered over my father, was not an inch taller or -an ounce heavier than I. We were as nearly -matched as two bears could be; but I had no -doubt of my ability to punish him, for I had right -on my side, and had waited a long time for this -moment, and would fight as one fights who is filled -with rage at old wrongs that are left to him to -redress.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[174]</a></span></p> - -<p>And I did not leave him long in any doubt as -to my intentions, but walked straight towards -him, telling him as I did so that I had been looking -for him, and that the time had come for the settling -of old scores. He understood who I was, and was -just as ready to fight as I.</p> - -<p>I am not going to trouble you with an account -of another fight. I pursued my old plan, and he -had been so used to have other bears make way -for him, and fight only under compulsion, that I -think my first rush surprised him so much that it -gave me even more advantage than usual. Big -and strong as he was, the issue was never in doubt -from the start; for I felt within myself that my -fury made me irresistible, and from the moment -that I threw myself on him he never had time to -breathe or to take the initiative. He was beaten -in a few minutes, and he knew it; but he fought -desperately, and with a savageness that told me -that if he had won he would have been satisfied -with nothing less than my life. But he was not -to win; and whimpering, growling, bleeding, and -mad with shame and rage, I drove him back, and -it was only a question of how far I chose to -push my victory.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<a name="image_7" id="image_7"></a> -<img src="images/i192.jpg" width="500" height="500" alt="" /> -<div class="caption"> -<p class="caption">FROM THE MOMENT I THREW MYSELF ON HIM -HE NEVER HAD TIME TO BREATHE.</p> -</div> -<p class="centerref">[<a href="images/i192-l.jpg">Enlarge</a>]</p> -</div> - -<p>I let him live; but he went away torn and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[175]</a></span> -crippled, with his spirit broken and his fighting -days over. Never again would he stand to face a -full-grown bear. For years he had made everything -that he met move aside from his path in the -forest, and he had used his strength always for -evil, to domineer and to crush and to tyrannize. -Thenceforward he would know what it was to be -made to stand aside for others, to yield the right -of way, and to whine and fawn on his fellows; for -a bear once broken in body and spirit, as I broke -him, is broken for good.</p> - -<p>I was not hurt beyond a few flesh wounds, which -Wooffa licked for me before we slept; and it was -with a curious sense of satisfaction and completeness, -as if the chief work of my life were now well -done, that I lay down in the old lair which had so -many associations for me, with my wife and well-grown -children by me, and rested through the heat -of the following day.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> -</div> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[176]</a></span></p> - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2> -<a name="chap_13" id="chap_13"></a> -<a href="#contents" class="chapref" title="Return to Table of Contents.">CHAPTER <abbr title="13">XIII</abbr></a> <br /> - -<span class="stitle">THE TRAP</span></h2> - - -<p><span class="smcap">The</span> old neighbourhood was no place for us to stay -in, however satisfactory our brief visit to it had -been. It was man’s country now, and there were -no other bears in the vicinity. My enemy of the -night before, being old and cunning and solitary, -had managed to live there unscathed year after year, -after the other bears had all gone away or been -killed; but for us, a family of four, of whom two -were inexperienced youngsters not yet two years -old, it was different. Many times during the day -men passed not far from us, and the distant sounds -of their voices and the chopping of axes was in our -ears all day. So we remained under cover till well -into the night, when man’s eyes are useless, and -then we started out silently, and, as our custom -was when moving through dangerous country, in -single file, with the cubs between Wooffa and -myself.</p> - -<p>The end of that summer was very hot, and -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[177]</a></span>partly for the coolness, and partly, also, to get as far -away from man as possible, we went northward -and up into higher ranges of the mountains than -we usually cared to visit.</p> - -<p>As we climbed upwards, the trees grew smaller -and further apart, until, just below the extreme -top, they ceased altogether. Above the tree-line -rose what looked from below like the ordinary -rounded summit of a mountain with rocky sides, -and even at this time of year small patches of -snow still lingered in the sheltered spots. As we -came out on the top, however, instead of the -rounded summit which we expected, the ground -broke suddenly away before our feet, and below us, -blue and still and circular, lay a lake. The mountain -was no more than a shell or a gigantic cup, filled to -within fifty feet of its rocky brim with the clearest -of water. I had seen a similar lake in the year -when I roamed alone before I met Wooffa, and my -father had told me long ago that there were many -of these mountain lakes round us, though, of course, -we could not see them from below.</p> - -<p>Here on these lonely summits live the mountain-sheep -and mountain-goat. Round the edge of the -water their feet had beaten a regular trail, and in -the rough crevices of the bark of the last of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[178]</a></span> -trees, tufts of white wool were sticking where the -goats had rubbed themselves against the trunks. -As we stood on the edge of the thin lip of rock, -a sheep with its great curved horns that had been -drinking at the lake scrambled in alarm up the -further side, and, standing for a minute against the -skyline opposite, disappeared over the edge; and -though we lived there for nearly two months, and -smelled them often and heard them every night, -we never saw one again except clear across the -whole width of the lake. They were probably -right in keeping away from us, because a young -mountain sheep—well, though I had never tasted -one, it somehow suggested thoughts of pig.</p> - -<p>At one side there was a break in the rocky wall -or rim of the cup, and through this the water -trickled, to swell gradually, as it went on down the -mountain, into a stream, which, joining with other -streams, somewhere became, no doubt, a river. At -the point where the water flowed out of the lake, -the hillside was strewn with huge boulders and -fragments of rock down to below the timber-line, -and here among these rocks, where the brush grew -over them and the stream tumbled by, was an -ideal place to spend the remaining hot weather; -and here we stayed. Man, we were sure, had never<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[179]</a></span> -been here, nor was he likely to come, and we -wandered carelessly and without a shadow of -fear.</p> - -<p>Before the cold weather came our family broke -up. We did not quarrel; but it is in the course of -nature that young bears, when they are able to take -care of themselves, should go out into the world. -Wahka was no longer a cub, and there is not room -in one family for two full-grown he-bears. On the -other hand, Wooffa and Kahwa had not of late -got on well together. My wife, as is the way of -women, was a little jealous of my affection for -Kahwa, and—well, sometimes I am bound to say -that I thought Wooffa spent rather too much time -with Wahka and forgot my existence. So on all -accounts it was better that we should separate. I -had been driven away by my father when I was a -year younger than Wahka was now, but I do not -blame him; for the disappearance of Kahwa—the -first Kahwa—and living away from home and -nightly wanderings in the town, had made a breach -between us. Now, at the separation from my son, -there was no bad feeling, and one day by common -consent he and Kahwa went away not to return. -I had no apprehension that they would not be able -to take care of themselves; and as for me, Wooffa<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[180]</a></span> -was company enough, and we were both glad to -have each other all to ourselves again.</p> - -<p>Soon after the children had gone, the chill in the -wind gave warning that winter was not far away, -and we began to move down towards the lower -levels; for on the mountain-tops it is too exposed -and cold, and the snow stays too long to make -them a good winter home. As we looked up a -few days later to the peak which we had left, we -saw it standing out against the dull sky, not yellow-grey -and rocky as we had left it, but all gleaming -white and snow-covered. For a day or two more -we followed the streams down to the lower country, -and then made our dens beneath the roots of two -upturned trees close together. And again, as two -years before, Wooffa spent much time and great -care over the lining of hers, making it very snug -and soft and warm.</p> - -<p>And next spring there were two more little ones—another -woolly brown Wahka, and another Kahwa, -just as woolly and just as brown—to look after and -teach, and protect from porcupines and pumas and -wolves, and make fit for the struggle of life.</p> - -<p>I am not going to attempt to tell you any stories -of the early days of the new cubs, for the events -of a bear’s babyhood are always much alike, and it<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[181]</a></span> -is not easy, looking back, to distinguish one’s later -children from one’s first; and I should probably -only tell over again stories of the Wahka and -Kahwa of two years before. They were healthy, -vigorous cubs, the new little ones, and they -tumbled and played and were smacked, and -blundered their way along somehow.</p> - -<p>But it was a terrible year, with late snows long -after spring ought to have begun; and then it rained -and rained all the summer. There was no berry -crop, insects of all kinds had been killed by the late -cold and were very scarce, every stream stayed in -flood, so that the fish never came up properly, and -there was none of the usual hunting along the -exposed herbage as the streams went down in the -summer heat. It was, as I said, a terrible year, -and food was hard to get for a whole family. We -were driven to all sorts of shifts, and then, to -make matters worse, long before the usual time -for winter came, bitter frosts set in. Driven by -hunger and the necessity of finding food for the -little ones we did what we had thought never to -do again, and once more went down to the neighbourhood -of man.</p> - -<p>We were not the only ones that did so, for the -animals were nearly all driven out of the mountains,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[182]</a></span> -and the bears, especially, congregated about the -settlements of man in search of food. Wherever -we went we found the same thing, the bears -coming out at night to hunt round the houses for -food; and many stories we heard of their being -shot when greedily eating meat that had been -placed out for them, or when sniffing round a house -or trying to take a pig. Now, too, man brought a -new weapon beside his thunder-stick—huge traps -with steel jaws that were baited with meat and -covered with sticks and twigs and earth, so that a -bear could not see them; but when he went to take -the meat the great toothed jaws closed round his -leg, and then he found that the trap was chained -to a neighbouring log which he had to drag round -with him till the men came out and killed him -with their thunder-sticks.</p> - -<p>Having been told all about it, when we came -one day to a large piece of a young pig lying on -the ground, I made the others stand away while -I scratched cautiously round and pushed sticks -against the pig, carefully keeping my own paws -out of the way. Even as it was, when the steel -jaws came together with a snap that made the -whole trap leap into the air as if it was alive, they -passed so near my nose that I shudder now when<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[183]</a></span> -I think of it. But we ate the pig. And that -happened two or three times, until the men took -the trap away from that particular place.</p> - -<p>Another time I had a narrow escape on approaching -a house at night. We had been there several -times, and usually picked up some scraps of stuff -that was good. I always went down first alone -to see if all was safe, leaving the others in the -shelter of the woods, and on this occasion I was -creeping stealthily up to the house, when suddenly, -from behind a pile of chopped wood, a -thunder-stick spoke and I felt a sudden pain in -my shoulder. I was only grazed, however, and -scrambled back to Wooffa and the cubs in safety. -But we did not visit that house any more, and I -heard that a few days after another bear that -went down just as I had gone was killed by a -thunder-stick from behind the same pile of wood.</p> - -<p>In the long-run, however, a bear is no match for -man. It was a dangerous life that we were living, -and we knew it; but both Wooffa and I had had -more than ordinary experience of man, and we -believed we could always escape him. Besides, what -else were we to do? It is doubtful if we could have -lived in the mountains that winter, and we had our -cubs to look after. In the old days before man<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[184]</a></span> -came, when, as once in many years, the weather -drove us from the mountains, we could have gone -down to the foot-hills and the plains, and found food -there; but man now barred our way, and the only -thing that we could do was to go where he was, and -live on such food as we could get. Much of that -food was only what was thrown away, but much of it -also we deliberately stole. More than one cornfield -we visited, and in the fenced enclosures round his -houses we found strange vegetables that were good -to eat; but we had to break down fences to get them. -We stole pigs, too, and twice when dogs attacked -us we had to kill the dogs. Once we found half -a sheep, which had been killed by man, lying on the -ground, as if man had forgotten it. We ate it, and -were all dreadfully ill afterwards. Then we knew -that it had been poisoned and put out for us; but, -fortunately, the poison was not enough to kill four -of us, though, I suppose, if any one of us had eaten -the whole, that one would have died. After that -we never touched large pieces of meat which we -found lying about.</p> - -<p>It was, as I have said, a dangerous life, and we -knew it; but we were driven to it, and we -trusted to our experience, our cunning, and our -strength, to pull us through somehow.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[185]</a></span></p> - -<p>Winter came, and we ought to have gone to -our dens, but we were not fit for it. We were -too poorly fed and thin, and hunger would probably -have driven us out in midwinter. It was better -to stay out now. So we stayed, keeping for the -most part in the immediate neighbourhood of a -number of men’s houses along a certain stream. -It was not a town, though there was one a few -miles further down the stream; but for a distance -of a mile or more on both sides of the water there -were houses every hundred yards or so, and all -day long men were at work digging and working -in the ground along by the water looking for gold. -We had kept all other bears away from the place, -and, living in the mountains during the day, we -used to come down at night, never going near the -same house on two nights in succession, but being -sometimes on one side of the stream, which was -easily crossed, and sometimes on the other, and -paying our visits wherever we thought we were -least likely to be expected. Some nights we -would not go near the houses at all, but would -content ourselves with such food as we could find -in the woods, though now in the bitter cold it -was hard to find anything.</p> - -<p>Early one morning, after one of these nights<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[186]</a></span> -when we had kept away from the houses, we came -across a trap. It evidently was a trap, because -there was the bait put out temptingly in plain -sight, not on the ground this time, but about a -foot from the ground, tied to a stick. The curious -thing about it was, however, that the whole affair -was inside some sort of a house; or, rather, there -were the three walls and roof of a small house, -but there was no front to it—that was all -open; and there, well inside, was the bait. I did -not know why men had been at so much pains -to build the house round the trap, but I had no -doubt that if I approached the bait with proper -caution, and scratched at it, the steel jaws would -spring out as usual from somewhere, and then we -could eat the meat. And we were all four distressingly -hungry.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<a name="image_8" id="image_8"></a> -<img src="images/i209.jpg" width="500" height="500" alt="" /> -<div class="caption"> -<p class="caption">IT WAS EVIDENTLY A TRAP.</p> -</div> -<p class="centerref">[<a href="images/i209-l.jpg">Enlarge</a>]</p> -</div> - -<p>So I told the others to stay behind while I -went into the house and sprung the trap and -brought the meat out to them. I went in, and -began to scratch about on the ground where I -supposed the usual trap to be; but there was -nothing there but the hard, dry earth. This -puzzled me, but the lump of meat tied to the -stake was an obvious fact; and I was hungry. -At last, since, scratch as I would, no steel jaws<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[187]</a></span> -appeared from anywhere, nor was there any place -where they could be concealed, nothing remained -but to take the meat boldly. I reached for it -with my paw, but it was firmly tied; so I took -it in my mouth and pulled. As I did so I heard -a sudden movement behind me. A log had -fallen behind me, almost blocking up the door. -Well, I would move that away when I had the -meat, I thought, and, seizing it firmly in my -mouth, I tore it from its fastenings and turned -to take it to the others waiting outside. But the -log across the door was bigger than I thought; -it completely blocked my passage, and when I -gave it a push it did not yield.</p> - -<p>Still, I had no uneasiness. I pushed harder at -the log, but it did not move. I tried to pull it -inward, but it remained unshaken. I sniffed all -along it and round it, and round the other walls -of the small house, and was puzzled as to what -to do next. So I called to Wooffa, who came -outside and began sniffing round, too. Remembering -how I had released Kahwa from her pen, I -told Wooffa to lift the latch; but there was no -latch, she said. This was growing tiresome, and -then, all of a sudden, it dawned on me.</p> - -<p><em>This</em> was the trap—this room! There was no<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[188]</a></span> -steel thing with jaws; no poisoned meat; nothing -but this house, which itself was the trap, left open -at one side so that I might walk in, and so arranged -that as I pulled at the meat the heavy log dropped, -shutting the open door, and dropped in such a -way that the strength of ten bears would not -move it. This was the trap, and I—I was caught!</p> - -<p>That I was really, hopelessly, and finally caught -I could not, of course, believe at first. There -was some mistake—some way out of it. I had -outwitted man so often that it was not to be -thought of that he had won at last. And round -and round the small space I went again and again, -always coming back to the cracks above the fallen -log to scratch and strain at them without the -smallest result. Outside Wooffa was doing the -same. I was inclined to lose my temper with -her at first, believing that if I was outside in her -place I could surely find some way of making -an opening; but I saw that she was trying as -hard to let me out as I was to get out myself. -And then I heard the cubs beginning to whimper, -as they comprehended vaguely what had happened, -and saw their mother’s fruitless efforts and her -evident distress.</p> - -<p>Then I began to rage. I remember taking the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[189]</a></span> -meat in my mouth and, without eating a morsel, -rending it into small bits. I found the stick to -which it had been tied and broke it with my jaws -into a hundred pieces. I attacked the walls and -the door furiously, beating them with my paws -blow after blow that would have broken a bear’s -neck, and tearing at the logs with my teeth till -my gums were cut so that my mouth ran blood. -And outside, as they heard me raging within, -not the cubs only but Wooffa also whimpered -and tore the ground with teeth and claws.</p> - -<p>We might as well have stormed at the sky or -the mountains. The house stood, none the worse, -and I was as far from freedom as ever. By this -time the night had passed and dawn had come. I -could smell it, and see through the chinks that the -air was lightening outside. And then outside I -heard a new sound, a sound that filled me with -rage and fear—the barking of a dog.</p> - -<p>Nearer it came and nearer, and I heard the voice -of a man calling; but the dog was much nearer -than the man, evidently running ahead of him, and -evidently also coming straight for the trap. In -another minute the dog had caught sight of the -bears outside, for I heard the snarling rush of an -angry dog, and with it Wahka growling as the dog<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[190]</a></span> -attacked him. The shouting of the man’s voice -grew nearer, and then, mingled with the noise of -the fight between Wahka and the dog, I heard the -angry ‘wooffing’ of Wooffa’s voice. The dog’s -voice changed as it turned to attack this more -formidable enemy, but suddenly its barking ended -in a yelp, followed by another and another, which -slowly faded away into what I knew were its death-cries. -What could any dog expect who dared to face -such a bear as Wooffa fighting for her children?</p> - -<p>But the last of the dog’s death-cries were -drowned by the most awful of all sounds, the voice -of the thunder-stick; and my heart leaped as I -heard Wahka cry out in what I knew was mortal -agony. Then came Wooffa’s voice again, and in -such tones that I pitied anyone who stood before -her. Again the thunder-stick spoke, and I heard -what I knew was Wooffa charging. I heard her -growling in her throat in what was almost a roar, -and the crashing of bushes and the shouts of the -man’s voice, and more crashing of bushes, which -died away in the distance down the hillside. -Then all was silent except where somewhere in the -rear of the house, little Kahwa whimpered miserably -to herself.</p> - -<p>All this I heard, and most of it I understood,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[191]</a></span> -standing motionless and helpless inside the trap, -powerless to help my wife and children when in -such desperate straits within a few yards of me. -As the silence fell and the tension was relaxed, I -fell to raging again, with a fury tenfold greater -than before, tearing and beating at the walls, -rending great lumps of fur out of myself with -my claws, biting my paws till the blood ran, and -filling the air with my cries of helpless anger. -At last through the noise that I was making I -heard Wooffa’s voice. She had returned, and was -speaking to me from outside. Brokenly—for she -was out of breath, and in pain—she told me the -story.</p> - -<p>Wahka was dead, and the dog. The latter she -had killed with her paw; the former had been slain -by the first stroke of the thunder-stick. Then she -had charged at the man, who, however, was a long -way off. The thunder-stick had spoken again, and -had broken her leg. As she fell, the man had -turned to run; she had followed, but he had a start, -and, with her broken leg, she could not have caught -him without chasing him right up to his house. -But he had thrown the thunder-stick away as he -ran, and that she had found and chewed into small -pieces before returning to me. And now her leg<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[192]</a></span> -was utterly useless, here was Kahwa a helpless cub: -what was she to do?</p> - -<p>There was only one thing for her to do: to make -good her own escape with Kahwa if possible. But -how about me? she asked. I must remain. There -was no alternative, and she could do no good by -staying. With her broken leg, she could not help -me against the men, who would undoubtedly -return in force, and she would only be sacrificing -Kahwa’s life and her own. She must go, and at -once.</p> - -<p>She knew in her heart that it was the only thing, -and very reluctantly, for Kahwa’s sake, she consented. -There was no time for long farewells; and -there was no need of them, for we knew that we -loved each other, and, whatever came, each knew -that the other would carry himself or herself -staunchly as a bear should.</p> - -<p>So she went, and I heard her stumbling along -with her broken leg, and Kahwa whining as she -trotted by her mother’s side. I knew that, even if -they escaped with their lives, I should in all -probability never hear of it. I listened till the last -sound had died away and it was so still outside that -it seemed as if everything in the forest must be -dead. My rage had passed away, and in its place -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[193]</a></span>was an unspeakable loneliness and despair; and I -sat myself up in the furthest corner of the narrow -house, with my back against the wall and my face -to the door, and, with my muzzle buried in my -chest, awaited the return of the enemy.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> -</div> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[194]</a></span></p> - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2> -<a name="chap_14" id="chap_14"></a> -<a href="#contents" class="chapref" title="Return to Table of Contents.">CHAPTER <abbr title="14">XIV</abbr></a> <br /> - -<span class="stitle">IN THE HANDS OF MAN</span></h2> - - -<p><span class="smcap">It</span> seemed to me that I waited a long time; but -it cannot have been really long, for it was not yet -noon when I heard again the barking of dogs, and -the voices of men approaching. They walked -round and round the trap, and tried to peer through -the crevices, and they let off their thunder-sticks, -presumably to make me give some sign that I was -inside. But I remained crouching in the corner -silent.</p> - -<p>Then I heard them on the roof. A sudden ray -of light pierced the half-darkness, and in another -moment one of the logs from the roof had been -lifted off, and thrown upon the ground outside, and -the sunlight poured in upon me. I heard a shout -from one of the men, and, looking up out of the -corners of my eyes, I saw their heads appearing -in the opening above, one behind the other. But -I did not move nor give any sign that I was -alive.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[195]</a></span></p> - -<p>The next thing I knew was that a rope dropped -on me from above. It had a loop at the end which -fell across my head; and remembering Kahwa, and -how she had been dragged away with ropes about -her, I raised a paw and pushed the thing aside. -Somehow, as I did so, the loop fell over my paw, -and when I tried to shake it off it slipped, and ran -tight about my wrist, and the men at the other -end jerked it till it cut deep into the flesh. Then -I lost my temper, and when a second rope fell on -me I struck at it angrily with my free paw, but -only with the same result. Both my paws were -now fast, the two ropes passing out through the -roof, one at one side and one at the other; and as -the men pulled and jerked on them inch by inch, in -spite of all my strength, my arms were gradually -stretched out full spread on either side of me, and -I was helpless, held up on my hind-legs, unable to -drop my fore-feet to the floor, and unable to reach -the rope on either side with my teeth.</p> - -<p>Then I lost all control of myself, and I remember -nothing of the struggle that followed, except that -everything swam red around me, and I raged -blindly, furiously, impotently. In the end another -rope was fast to one of my hind-legs, and another -round my neck. Then, I know not how, they<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[196]</a></span> -lifted the log, which Wooffa and I had been -unable to budge, away from the door, and, fighting -desperately, I was dragged out into the open, and -so, yard by yard, down, down the mountain towards -their houses.</p> - -<p>I was utterly helpless. Four of the men walked, -two on either side of me, each having hold of the -end of a rope, and all the ropes were kept taut. If -I stopped, the two dogs that they had with them -fell upon my heels and bit, and I could not turn or -use a paw to reach them. If I tried to charge at -the men on either side, my feet were jerked from -under me before I could move a yard. And somewhere -close behind me all the while, I knew, walked -the last man, with a thunder-stick in his hand, which -might speak at any minute.</p> - -<p>It was nearly evening by the time that they had -dragged me the mile or so to where their houses -were. As we came near, other men joined us, until -there must have been thirty or more; but the -original four still held the ropes, and they dragged -me into one of the buildings, several times larger -than the trap, and, making holes in the walls -between the logs, they passed the ends of the ropes -through them and made them fast outside, so that -I was still held in the same position, with my two<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[197]</a></span> -arms stretched out on either side of me and the -ropes cutting into the flesh. So they left me. -They left me for two days and two nights. Often -they came in and looked at me and spoke to me, -and once the ropes were slackened for a minute or -two from the sides, and a large pail of water was -pushed within my reach. I think they saw that I -was going mad from thirst, as certainly I was. I -plunged my face into the water and drank, and as -soon as I ceased the ropes were pulled tight and -the pail was taken away. It was not until the -third day that I had a mouthful to eat, when the -same thing was repeated: the ropes were slackened -for a while, and both food and drink were pushed -up to me. I was allowed a longer time to make -the meal, but, as soon as I had finished, the ropes -were tightened once more. Two days later I was -given another meal; and then two days and another. -But I was never given as much food as I wanted, -but only enough to keep me alive. By this time -I had come to distinguish the men apart, and one -I saw was the master of the others. He it was -who always brought me my food, and—I am -ashamed to confess it—I began to look forward -to his coming.</p> - -<p>Kill him? Yes, gladly would I have killed him,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[198]</a></span> -had he put himself within my reach; but I saw -that he meant me no harm. The tone of his voice -when he spoke to me was not angry. Whenever -he spoke he called me ‘Peter,’ and I came to understand -that this was the name he had given me. -When he came to the door and said ‘Peter,’ I knew -that food was coming. I hated him thoroughly; -but it seemed that he was all that stood between -me and starvation, and, however much he made me -suffer, I understood that he did not intend to kill -me or wish to let me die. Then I remembered -what Kahwa had said about the man who gave her -food and used to play with her, and I began to -comprehend it. No one ever attempted to play -with me, or dared to put themselves within reach -of my paws; but after a while this man, the man -whom I in my turn now thought of as Peter, when -my paws were safely bound and the ropes taut, -would come to me and lay his hand upon my head, -taking care to keep well away out of reach of my -teeth. He rarely came to see me, at any time of -the day or night, without bringing me lumps of -sugar, which he held out to my mouth on the end -of a piece of board so that I could lick them off; -and after a while he gave me meals every day, and -I was less hungry.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[199]</a></span></p> - -<p>Then one day another rope was slipped over -my nose, so that I could not bite, and, while all -the ropes were stretched to their uttermost and -I could not move an inch, Peter put a heavy -collar round my neck, to which was fastened a -chain that I could neither break nor gnaw. And -when that had been firmly fastened round one -of the logs in the wall, the ropes were all taken -off.</p> - -<p>Wow-ugh! The relief of it! Both my wrists -and one of my ankles where the ropes had been -were cut almost to the bone, and horribly painful; -but though it was at first excruciating agony to -rest my weight on my front-feet, the delight -of being able to get on all fours again, and to be -able to move around to the full length of the -chain, was inexpressible. I had not counted the -days, but it must have been over a month since -I was captured, and all that time I had been -bound so that, sleeping or waking, I was always -in the same position, sitting on my haunches, -with the ropes always pulling at my outstretched -arms.</p> - -<p>For another month and more I was kept in -the same building, always chained and with the -collar round my neck, until one day they tried<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[200]</a></span> -to put the ropes on me again; but I was cunning -now, and would not let them do it. I simply -lay down, keeping my nose and paws in the earth, -and, as long as a rope was anywhere near me, -refused to move either for food or drink. But -a bear is no match for men. They appeared to -give up all attempts to put ropes on me, until -a few days later they brought a lump of wool -on the end of a long stick, and pushed it into -my face till I bit at it and worried it. It was -soaked in something the smell of which choked -me and made me dizzy, and when I could hardly -see, somehow they slipped a sack over my head -that reeked with the same smell, and the next thing -I knew was that I must have been asleep for -an hour or more and the ropes were on all my legs -again. When they began to drag me out of the -building, I resisted at first; but I soon knew it was -useless, so I made up my mind to go quietly, and -they took me away, down the stream and over -mountains for several days and nights, until one -evening we came to a town and they dragged -me into a box nearly as big as a house, and bigger -than the trap in which I had been caught. And -soon the box began to move. I know now that -I was on the railway. We travelled for days<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[201]</a></span> -and days, out of the mountains into the plains, -where for three days there were no trees or hills, -but only the great stretch of flat yellow land. -I had no idea that there was so much of the -world.</p> - -<p>From the railway I was put on a boat, and from -the boat back on the railway, and from that back -on a boat again. For nearly a month we were -constantly moving, always as far as I could tell, in -the same direction; and yet we never came to the -end of the world. During this time Peter was -always with me or close at hand. He gave me -all my meals, and when other men took the ropes -to lead me from the railway to the boat or back -again, if I got angry, he spoke to me, and for some -reason, though I hardly know why myself, it -calmed me. It was not until I had been in the -gardens here, in this same cage, for some days -that at last he went away and never came back. -That was two years ago. When he went away, -the new Peter took charge of me, and he has -been here ever since.</p> - -<p>Two years! It is a long time to be shut up -in a cage. But I mind it less than I did at first. -Why does man do it? I do not understand; -nor can I guess what I am wanted for. I stay<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[202]</a></span> -here in the cage all the time, and Peter brings -me meals and cleans the cage, one half at a time, -when I am shut up in the other half; and crowds -of people come and walk past day after day, and -look at me, and give me all sorts of things to eat—some -quite ridiculous things, like paper bags and -walnut-shells and pocket-handkerchiefs. Peter, -I believe, means to be kind to me always, and I -think he is proud of me, from the way he brings -people to look at me. But how could you expect -me to be friendly to man after all that I have -suffered at his hands? Even Peter, as I have -said, never comes into the same half of the cage -with me. I have often wondered what I would -do if he did. Twice only have men come within -my reach when my paws have been free, and -neither of them will ever go too near a bear again. -But I am not sure whether I would hurt Peter or -not. I like him to scratch my head through the -bars.</p> - -<p>Twice since I have been here they have given -me a she-bear as a companion, and she has tried to -make friends with me; but they had to take her -away again. Let them bring me Wooffa if they -think I am lonely.</p> - -<p>And I am lonely at times—in spring and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[203]</a></span> -summer especially, when it is hot and dusty, and -I remember how Wooffa and I used to have the -cool forests to wander in at nights, and the thick, -moist shade of the brush by the water’s edge to -lie in during the day. Then I get sick for the -scent of the pines, and the touch of the wet -bushes, and the feel of the good soft earth under -my claws. And sometimes in the heat of the day -I hear the scream of an eagle from somewhere -round there to the right (it is in a cage, I suppose, -like myself, for it calls always from the same place, -and I never hear a mate answering), and it all -comes back to me—the winding streams and the -beaver-dams, with the kingfishers, black and white, -darting over the water, and the osprey sitting and -screaming from its post on the pine-top. And at -night sometimes, when the wolves howl and the -deer whistle, or the whine of a puma reaches my -ears—all caged, I suppose—the longing for the -old life becomes almost intolerable. I yearn for -the long mountain-slopes, with the cool night-wind -blowing; and the stately rows of trees, black-stemmed -and silver-topped in the moonlight; and -the noise of the tumbling streams in one’s ears, -when all the world was mine to wander in—mine -and Wooffa’s.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[204]</a></span></p> - -<p>Yes, I want freedom; but I want Wooffa most. -And I do not even know, and never shall know -now, whether she and Kahwa escaped with their -lives that day, when I could not get to her even -to lick the blood from her broken leg.</p> - -<p>But, on the other hand, these thoughts only come -when some external sight or sound arouses them in -me, and at ordinary times I am content. I have -enough to eat, which, after all, is the main thing -in life, and am saved the work of finding food for -myself. I never know real hunger now, as sometimes -I knew it in the old days when the frost was on the -ground; and there is no need now to hibernate. -My first winter here I started, as a matter of -habit, and scratched the sawdust and stuff into a -heap in that corner over there. But what was the -use, when it never got cold and my meals came -every day?</p> - -<p>My claws are growing horribly long from lack -of use, because there is nothing here to dig for; -and I know I am getting fat from want of exercise. -But it is pleasant enough lying and dreaming of -the old days; and, after all, perhaps I have lived -my life. There is nothing that I look back upon -with shame. It was not my fault that my sister -Kahwa died; for I did my best to save her.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[205]</a></span> -Even if the later little Kahwa perished, still, I sent -one son and a daughter out into the world, fit I -think, to hold their own. Above all, I avenged the -old insult to my parents. What more could I -have done had I had my freedom longer?</p> - -<p>It is all good to remember, and, except when I -long for Wooffa, I am content.</p> - - -<p class="end">THE END</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> -<p class="crightend">BILLING AND SONS, LTD., PRINTERS, GUILDFORD</p> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<div class="footnote"> -<h2>FOOTNOTES</h2> -<p><a name="Footnote-1" id="Footnote-1"></a><span class="label">[<a title="Return to text." href="#Anchor-1">1</a>]</span> It is not possible to give any idea of how a bear says -<em>wow-ugh</em>. The <em>wow</em> begins at the bottom of the octave, runs -halfway up and then down again, and the <em>ugh</em> comes from -the very inside of his insides. It is as if he started on the -ground floor of a house, <em>wowed</em> clear upstairs to the top and -down again, and then went into the cellar to say <em>ugh!</em></p> - -<p><a name="Footnote-2" id="Footnote-2"></a><span class="label">[<a title="Return to text." href="#Anchor-2">2</a>]</span> -The striped ground squirrels of North America.</p> - -<p><a name="Footnote-3" id="Footnote-3"></a><span class="label">[<a title="Return to text." href="#Anchor-3">3</a>]</span>The new mining town or camp of the Far West has no -long rows of houses or paved streets. The houses are built -of logs or of boards, rarely more than one story high, and -are set down irregularly. There may be one more or less -well-defined ‘street’—the main trail running through the -camp—but even along that there will be wide gaps between -the houses; while, for the rest, the buildings are at all sorts -of angles, so that a man or a bear may wander through -them as he pleases, regardless of whether he is following a -‘street’ or not.</p> - -<p><a name="Footnote-4" id="Footnote-4"></a><span class="label">[<a title="Return to text." href="#Anchor-4">4</a>]</span> -The North American elk is the wapiti.</p> -</div> -</div> - - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Life Story of a Black Bear, by -Harry Perry Robinson - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LIFE STORY OF A BLACK BEAR *** - -***** This file should be named 55583-h.htm or 55583-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/5/5/8/55583/ - -Produced by Mhairi Hindle and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images generously made available by The -Internet Archive) - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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