"
"I should be afraid of going to gather raspberries, nurse, for fear of the
bears coming to eat them too."
"The hunters know that the bears are partial to this fruit, and often seek
them in large thickets where they grow. A young gentleman, Lady Mary, once
went out shooting game, in the province of New Brunswick, in the month of
July, when the weather was warm, and there were plenty of wild berries
ripe. He had been out for many hours, and at last found himself on the
banks of a creek. But the bridge he had been used to cross was gone,
having been swept away by heavy rains in the spring. Passing on a little
higher up, he saw an old clearing full of bushes, and knowing that wild
animals were often to be met with in such spots, he determined to cross
over and try his luck for a bear, a racoon, or a young fawn. Not far from
the spot he saw a large fallen swamp elm-tree, which made a capital
bridge. Just as he was preparing to cross, he heard the sound of footsteps
on the dry crackling sticks, and saw a movement among the raspberry
bushes. His finger was on the lock of his rifle in an instant, for he
thought it must be a bear or a deer; but just as he was about to fire, he
saw a small, thin, brown hand, all red and stained from the juice of the
ripe berries, reaching down a branch of the fruit.
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