Notwithstanding the disgusting variety of his food, the flesh of the black bear is very palatable. It is a treat among the Indians and white hunters—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 therefore during his winter retirement entertains himself by sucking them.
There are many ways of capturing the bear. He is hunted by trained hounds. When thus attacked he will run straight on for ten miles, if his pursuers do not press him too close. When overtaken, however, he turns upon the dogs; and, should one of the latter come near enough, a single blow of his paws will usually send it sprawling. He runs awkwardly on his plantigrade feet; but, although from his great length and size he appears to move but slowly, it is not so. He manages to shuffle over the ground much more rapidly than one would suppose. He can overtake a man on foot—although a mounted hunter, with his dogs, will easily overtake him. When he finds that he cannot escape by running, he takes to a tree; and, having clambered high up, tries to hide himself among the leaves. He does not often succeed in this, as the keen noses of the hounds guide them to the right tree, where they stand barking and howling until the hunters come up. These finding the bear “treed,” rarely fail to bring him down with their rifles. He will then, if only wounded, fight fiercely both with dogs and hunters; but it is only at such times that the black bear will contend with man; as, when not attacked by the latter, he will never attack him. When wounded, however, or assailed by the hunter, he becomes a dangerous antagonist; and men have been dreadfully mutilated and torn on such occasions, escaping only with their lives. Some there are who have been nearly crushed to death by his “hug.”
The black bear is often trapped and snared, in various ways—such as by log-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 which the black bear figures as the hero. Many stories of his peculiar habits are related in the back settlements of America, some of which are true, while others partake largely of exaggeration. We have not room for these, however; and I have given you only facts, such as will enable you to form some idea of the general habits of this animal.
Most of these facts were communicated by Lucien to his brothers, while they were engaged in preparing their breakfast; and, as all three were very hungry, this was the first thing that occupied them after the bears had been killed.
The breakfast consisted of part of a cub, which was cleared of the hair by being singed, and then roasted. They knew that bear-meat, like pork, is spoiled by skinning; and they followed the Indian fashion of preparing it. They made a hearty meal, as the cub-meat proved both tender and juicy—having a flavour something between young pork and veal. Of course, Marengo had his breakfast as well, coming in for refuse 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, of coarse, reserved these delicate morsels to themselves.
As soon as breakfast was finished, and their animals had been led to the water, the brothers met together in a “council of three.” It was necessary to take into consideration how they should now act. Their circumstances were very much altered. The whole of their provisions of dried meat, flour, and coffee, had been dropped by Jeanette in her flight, and, of course, eaten up or destroyed by the javalies. Henceforth they would have to depend entirely on their guns to supply them. The loss of their tent did not vex them, as in the fine summer weather, which they then had, they thought nothing of sleeping in the open air. But to be deprived of their coffee, that much-prized luxury of the prairie traveller, was a great chagrin. However, as Basil observed, they would have to get along without it. It would not be long before they should come across the buffalo, and with the delicious “hump-ribs” in plenty, hunters rarely long for other luxuries. All three felt satisfied that the buffalo-range was not far off, and that by keeping due westward they would soon be gratified with the sight of large droves of these animals. They resolved, however, to act with caution. They had heard that many tracts of the prairies are almost barren of game. With this fact before their minds, they were not going to leave so much good food behind them as appeared to be in the carcass of the bear. She therefore must be “jerked,” and packed upon Jeanette, in lieu of the load which the latter had kicked off. So, with these intentions, Basil and François set to skinning her, while Lucien commenced collecting dry wood for a large fire. Of course they intended staying another night in the same camp, as it would take a day, at least, to “jerk” the bear-meat.
The bear was soon skinned and cut up into thin slices and strips—for that is the mode adopted in “jerking,” or preserving without salt. It is usual to cure the meat by simply hanging it over poles or lines, in a hot sun; where it will dry sufficiently in three days, so that there will be no risk of its spoiling afterwards. But our adventurers did not wish to be detained so long, and therefore adopted another mode of curing it—that was by “barbecueing” it slightly over a fire. This was the plan:—A shallow pit was scooped out in the ground, and across it were laid green saplings, parallel to each other. Into the pit were thrown 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 hunters usually 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 usually is. It was roasted, to be ready for eating at once—as they designed bringing 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. With this fat—which beyond a doubt was genuine bear’s grease—he anointed poor Jeanette’s shanks, that had been almost clean skinned by the teeth of the javalies. She had been suffering with them ever since, and the application of the bear’s grease seemed to give her great relief.