II


It was in the summer of 1897 that I made their acquaintance. I was in
the park to study the home life of the animals, and had been told that
in the woods, near the Fountain Hotel, I could see Bears at any time,
which, of course, I scarcely believed. But on stepping out of the back
door five minutes after arriving, I came face to face with a large
Blackbear and her two cubs.

I stopped short, not a little startled. The Bears also stopped and sat
up to look at me. Then Mother Bear made a curious short _Koff Koff_, and
looked toward a near pine-tree. The cubs seemed to know what she meant,
for they ran to this tree and scrambled up like two little monkeys, and
when safely aloft they sat like small boys, holding on with their hands,
while their little black legs dangled in the air, and waited to see what
was to happen down below.

[Illustration]

The Mother Bear, still on her hind legs, came slowly toward me, and I
began to feel very uncomfortable indeed, for she stood about six feet
high in her stockings and had apparently never heard of the magical
power of the human eye.

I had not even a stick to defend myself with, and when she gave a low
growl, I was about to retreat to the Hotel, although previously assured