He looked
out, it was moonlight, and there he saw the dark shadow of some tall
figure on the ground, and spied the great black bear standing on its
hinder legs, and pulling the shingles off as fast as it could lay its big
black paws upon them. The hogs were in a great fright, screaming and
grunting with terror. The young man stepped back into the house, roused up
the hunter, who took aim from the doorway, and shot the bear dead. The
head of the huge beast was nailed up as a trophy, and the meat was dried
or salted for winter use, and great were the rejoicings of the settlers,
who had suffered so much from Bruin's thefts of corn and pork."
"I am glad the hunter killed him, nurse, for he might, have eaten up some
of the little children, when they were playing about in the fields."
"Sometimes," continued Mrs. Frazer, "the bears used to visit the sugar
bush, when the settlers were making maple sugar, and overturn the sap
troughs and drink the sweet liquid. I daresay they would have been glad of
a taste of the sugar too, if they could have got at it. The bear is not so
often met with now as it used to be many years ago. The fur of the bear
used to be worn as muffs and tippets, but is now little used for that
purpose, being thought to be too coarse and heavy; but it is still made
into caps for soldiers, and used for sleigh-robes.
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