CHAPTER NINETEEN.
JERKING A BEAR.
All three--old bear and cubs--now lay stretched along the grass dead asmay be. A rare-looking trio they were. The old one could not haveweighed less than five hundred pounds. Her long, rough coat was of afawn, or cinnamon colour, while the cubs were of a uniform black. This,however, is quite a common thing; and, what is still more singular, thecubs of the black bear are often seen of a reddish or cinnamon colour,while the mother herself is pure black. No doubt the cubs whenfull-grown change to the colour of their own species; but even at allages bears of the same species are found varying in colour fromdifference of climate or other circumstances.
On the continent of North America, say the naturalists, but threespecies of bears are found, viz the "black," the "polar," and the"grizzly." This is not certain, however, for the cinnamon bear, ofwhich we have been speaking, is probably a species distinct from theblack. If so, there are four kinds on that continent, and, perhaps, afifth; as the brown bear of the Hudson's Bay furriers, hitherto set downas a variety of the black, is more likely the Russian or brown bear ofEurope. It may have reached the American continent by Kamschatka, whereit is a common species.
The polar bear is found only in the snowy regions that border the ArcticOcean; and never ranges above one hundred miles from the sea. The"grizzly," for strength, courage, and ferocity, takes the first placeamong the bear family--outranking even his white cousin of the north.We shall have more to say of him by-and-bye. The _black_ bear is ourpresent subject; and as all that is known of the cinnamon variety goesto show that its habits are similar to those of the black, what is heresaid of the one may be considered applicable to both.
The black bear (_Ursus Americanus_) is said to resemble the brown bearof Europe. I can see no resemblance. There is enough of difference,certainly, to constitute them separate and distinct species. The formerhas one molar tooth more than the latter; besides, the profile of theblack bear is not so much arched, or convex, as that of the brown. Inevery respect, except habits, they are unlike each other. Their habitsare nearly similar.
The whole American continent is the range of the black bear. He canlive, and no doubt enjoy life, in all climates. He is equally at homein the icy regions of Canada and the tropic swamps of Louisiana. He isfound from the shores of the Atlantic to the Pacific. He inhabits thickforests, and ranges in rocky desert regions, where scarcely any timbergrows. He prefers wooded districts, however; and in these is mostcommonly met with.
Black bears were very plentiful in America previous to its colonisationby the whites. The demand for their skins caused them to be much huntedsince that event; and of course they are growing less numerous everyday. The fur companies during the last hundred years have obtainedthousands upon thousands of their skins both from white and Indianhunters. There are still many of these animals found in wild, unsettledparts; and even in the old and long-inhabited states they areoccasionally met with in secluded and mountainous districts. You wouldwonder that they have not been extirpated long ago--being such largecreatures, easily discovered and easily tracked; besides, it is alwaysan ambition with the settlers and amateur-hunters to kill them.Moreover, but two cubs are produced at a litter, and that only happensonce a-year. The fact is, that during winter, when the snow is on theground and the bear might be easily tracked and destroyed, he does notshow himself, but lies torpid in his den--which is either a cave in therocks or a hollow tree. This happens only in the northern countries,where there are snows and severe winters. In these he disappears forseveral months, hiding himself in his dark lair, and living, as thehunters assert, by "sucking his paws." This assertion, however, I willnot attempt to corroborate. All I can say is, that he retires to hislurking-place as "fat as butter," and comes out again in early spring as"thin as a rail."
There is another curious fact about bears, that, to some extent,explains why they are not easily exterminated. It is this: the oldshe-animals are never killed during the period of gestation--for theyare never met with at that time. It has been said there is no hunter tobe found in all America who remembers having killed a she-bear withyoung, either of the black or grizzly species. Now this is not the casewith most other animals--such as foxes and wolves--which are oftenkilled with a whole litter of young, many of their species being thusdestroyed at once.
The she-bear brings forth in winter in the deep recesses of some cave,where she has lain hid during the whole period of her gestation; and onthis account while with young, she rarely, if ever, falls a victim tothe hunters. When the cubs are large enough to go abroad, she takesthem out, treating them with as much tenderness as a mother would herchildren. She will lay down her life for them at any time, defendingthem with great courage when attacked. It has been said that, like thealligator-mother, she is sometimes called upon to protect them fromtheir savage fathers, who would devour them if they could. This I donot believe.
The black bears are omnivorous. They will eat fish, flesh, fowl, andvegetables. They are fond of all kinds of berries and sweet fruits.They "go crazed" after honey, climbing bee-trees and robbing the nests.They dig for roots--such as groundnuts and prairie-turnips. They lickup the larva of insects greedily, turning over great logs to get atthem. In the south they tear open the nests of turtles and alligators,and devour the eggs; and, where there are settlements, they steal intothe fields and eat quantities of young corn and potatoes, making sadhavoc with the crops. They will devour pigs and other animals, eatingtheir flesh--it might be said, alive--as they do not stop to kill them,but eat while tearing them to pieces. They will satisfy their hungerwith putrid carcass, or, in short, with anything that is eatable by anyother creature.
Notwithstanding the disgusting variety of his food, the flesh of theblack bear is very palatable. It is a treat among the Indians and whitehunters--particularly the large fat paws, which are esteemed the"tit-bits." It is, perhaps, because these people are so fond of them,that they are led to believe the bear himself must be so, and thereforeduring his winter retirement entertains himself by sucking them.
There are many ways of capturing the bear. He is hunted by trainedhounds. When thus attacked he will run straight on for ten miles, ifhis pursuers do not press him too close. When overtaken, however, heturns upon the dogs; and, should one of the latter come near enough, asingle blow of his paws will usually send it sprawling. He runsawkwardly on his plantigrade feet; but, although from his great lengthand size he appears to move but slowly, it is not so. He manages toshuffle over the ground much more rapidly than one would suppose. Hecan overtake a man on foot--although a mounted hunter, with his dogs,will easily overtake _him_. When he finds that he cannot escape byrunning, he takes to a tree; and, having clambered high up, tries tohide himself among the leaves. He does not often succeed in this, asthe keen noses of the hounds guide them to the right tree, where theystand barking and howling until the hunters come up. These finding thebear "treed," rarely fail to bring him down with their rifles. He willthen, if only wounded, fight fiercely both with dogs and hunters; but itis only at such times that the black bear will contend with man; as,when not attacked by the latter, he will never attack him. Whenwounded, however, or assailed by the hunter, he becomes a dangerousantagonist; and men have been dreadfully mutilated and torn on suchoccasions, escaping only with their lives. Some there are who have beennearly crushed to death by his "hug."
The black bear is often trapped and snared, in various ways--such as bylog-traps, nooses tied to bent saplings, dead-falls, and steel-traps--and he is thus caught much more readily than either the lynx, the fox,or the wolf.
It would be easy to fill a volume with anecdotes and adventures in whichthe black bear figures as the hero. Many stories of his peculiar habitsare related in the back settlements of America, some of which are true,while others partake largely of exaggeration. We have not room forthese, however; and I have given you only _facts_, such as will enableyou to form some idea of the general habits of t
his animal.
Most of these facts were communicated by Lucien to his brothers, whilethey were engaged in preparing their breakfast; and, as all three werevery hungry, this was the first thing that occupied them after the bearshad been killed.
The breakfast consisted of part of a cub, which was cleared of the hairby being singed, and then roasted. They knew that bear-meat, like pork,is spoiled by skinning; and they followed the Indian fashion ofpreparing it. They made a hearty meal, as the cub-meat proved bothtender and juicy--having a flavour something between young pork andveal. Of course, Marengo had his breakfast as well, coming in forrefuse bits enough to have filled a large basket. The feet, however,which would have fallen to his share, had it been a deer or a buffalo,he did not get. Our young hunters had eaten bear-paws before; and, ofcoarse, reserved these delicate morsels to themselves.
As soon as breakfast was finished, and their animals had been led to thewater, the brothers met together in a "council of three." It wasnecessary to take into consideration how they should now act. Theircircumstances were very much altered. The whole of their provisions ofdried meat, flour, and coffee, had been dropped by Jeanette in herflight, and, of course, eaten up or destroyed by the javalies.Henceforth they would have to depend entirely on their guns to supplythem. The loss of their tent did not vex them, as in the fine summerweather, which they then had, they thought nothing of sleeping in theopen air. But to be deprived of their coffee, that much-prized luxuryof the prairie traveller, was a great chagrin. However, as Basilobserved, they would have to get along without it. It would not be longbefore they should come across the buffalo, and with the delicious"hump-ribs" in plenty, hunters rarely long for other luxuries. Allthree felt satisfied that the buffalo-range was not far off, and that bykeeping due westward they would soon be gratified with the sight oflarge droves of these animals. They resolved, however, to act withcaution. They had heard that many tracts of the prairies are almostbarren of game. With this fact before their minds, they were not goingto leave so much good food behind them as appeared to be in the carcassof the bear. She therefore must be "jerked," and packed upon Jeanette,in lieu of the load which the latter had kicked off. So, with theseintentions, Basil and Francois set to skinning her, while Luciencommenced collecting dry wood for a large fire. Of course they intendedstaying another night in the same camp, as it would take a day, atleast, to "jerk" the bear-meat.
The bear was soon skinned and cut up into thin slices and strips--forthat is the mode adopted in "jerking," or preserving without salt. Itis usual to cure the meat by simply hanging it over poles or lines, in ahot sun; where it will dry sufficiently in three days, so that therewill be no risk of its spoiling afterwards. But our adventurers did notwish to be detained so long, and therefore adopted another mode ofcuring it--that was by "barbecueing" it slightly over a fire. This wasthe plan:--A shallow pit was scooped out in the ground, and across itwere laid green saplings, parallel to each other. Into the pit werethrown embers and red cinders, so as to give up a considerable heat.Upon the saplings thin slices of the meat were laid--as on a gridiron--so that they might become dried and slightly toasted at the same time.Meat cured in this way will keep for months; and the Indians and huntersusually adopt this plan, when they have no time to wait for a regular"jerking."
The second cub was singed, and cut up without skinning, as pork usuallyis. It was roasted, to be ready for eating at once--as they designedbringing it "to the table" before many hours.
While the meat was drying, Basil melted some of the fat in the kettle,which fortunately was one of the utensils that still remained. Withthis fat--which beyond a doubt was genuine _bear's grease_--he anointedpoor Jeanette's shanks, that had been almost clean skinned by the teethof the javalies. She had been suffering with them ever since, and theapplication of the bear's grease seemed to give her great relief.