It is still found quite
plentifully in northern New England, in the Adirondacks, Catskills, and
along the entire length of the Alleghanies, as well as in the swamps
and canebrakes of the southern States. It is also common in the great
forests of northern Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota, and throughout
the Rocky Mountains and the timbered ranges of the Pacific coast. In the
East it has always ranked second only to the deer among the beasts of
chase. The bear and the buck were the staple objects of pursuit of all
the old hunters. They were more plentiful than the bison and elk even in
the long vanished days when these two great monarchs of the forest still
ranged eastward to Virginia and Pennsylvania. The wolf and the cougar
were always too scarce and too shy to yield much profit to the hunters.
The black bear is a timid, cowardly animal, and usually a vegetarian,
though it sometimes preys on the sheep, hogs, and even cattle of the
settler, and is very fond of raiding his corn and melons. Its meat
is good and its fur often valuable; and in its chase there is much
excitement, and occasionally a slight spice of danger, just enough to
render it attractive; so it has always been eagerly followed.
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