several
weeks before he recovered. The porcupine, however, suffered severely
from the combat; and as the hot weather came on, showed great signs of
distress, and finally died of heat.

The quills of the porcupine are brilliantly stained by the Indians with
a variety of colours, and are extensively used by their squaws in
ornamenting with fanciful patterns the birch-bark ware which they sell
to the white settlers.

PART ONE, CHAPTER SEVEN.

CARNIVORA.

THE BLACK BEAR.

Several species of the bear tribe inhabit America; the two most numerous
of which are the black bear, or musquaw, and the far-famed ferocious
grizzly bear of the Rocky Mountains. The black bear is found generally
among the forests and plains of the east, though the grizzly also
descends from his mountain fastnesses, and makes his way through the low
country to a considerable distance from his usual abode. Although the
black bear has not obtained the same character for fierceness as his
grizzly relative, he often proves a formidable opponent when attacked by
human foes, and is also dreaded on account of his depredations among
their flocks and herds. He is, indeed, a monstrous and powerful animal,
often reaching six feet in length from the muzzle to the tail--the tail
being only about two inches long--while he stands from three to three
and a half feet in height at the shoulder. He is covered with a smooth
and glossy coat of thick hair, without any wool at the base. He does
not always wear a black suit; sometimes he puts on a brown one. When
his coat is perfectly black, he has a cinnamon patch on his muzzle. He
varies, too, in shape. Occasionally he is long and low, at others his
body is short,--and he has great length of limb. Under ordinary
circumstances, he restricts himself to a vegetable diet, but is very
fond of a small species of snail which feeds on the prairie grass; and,
like others of his relatives, he is greatly addicted to honey. As his
feet are furnished with strong sharp claws, he is able to make his way
up the trunks of trees to reach his favourite food. In this object he
displays great perseverance and acuteness. However high up it may be,
or in positions most difficult of access, he will manage to reach the
combs containing the sweet repast. Should the comb be hidden away in
the hollow of some aged tree, with an entrance too small for admitting
his huge paw, he sets to work with his teeth, and gnaws away the wood
ti