licked up a pot of oil or grease and then went to the pig house and 
     
     killed five pigs before the people awakened. Had they awakened when 
     
     the bear was in the house there would have been a wild scene. Dangers 
     
     are often near us that we do not see. If the baby had been down 
     
     stairs in his crib the bear would surely have eaten him. 
     
    
   
   
    
     Big Rory Kill: a Bear with His Fists 
     
    
   
   
    
     The woods around our settlement were infested with bears; they 
     
     were a great terror to women and children. A bear is naturally a 
     
     timid animal, but if come upon suddenly, especially when eating, it 
     
     will attack viciously. A mother bear with cubs, if molested is very 
     
     fierce. 
     
    

    
     We had some narrow escapes. Some of our neighbors were bad- 
     
     ly lacerated by them. One powerful man, called uBig Rory,” fought 
     
     a bear with his fists and killed it but he was badly torn by the beans 
     
     claws. We had to pass the place on our way to school, and we al- 
     
     ways dreaded the “Green Hollow,” where that fight took place. 
     
    
   
   
    
     Bears make their winter house or den in the forest; they select 
     
     a place under a fallen tree-trunk, or in a cavity under the roots of a 
     
     leaning tree. They line this with grass and leaves and go to sleep all 
     
     winter. Sometimes the woodmen, when cutting wood in winter, would 
     
     find a den and capture the bear or bears. A hole left for ventilation ' 
     
     would give away the secret of their hiding place. We frequently 
     
     caught them in traps. One kind of a trap was the deadfall. It 
     
     was constructed like a small log house with a heavy log suspended 
     
     over the doorway; the bait was put in the house. When the bear 
     
    
   
   
    
     entered the door he stepped on a platform that sprang the trap and 
     
     let the log fall on his back. 
     
    
   
   
    
     When the bears came out of their dens in spring they were rav- 
     
     enous, and food was scarce. The flocks and herds were not yet let 
     
     go to the woods or meadows. The bears were very bold; they would 
     
     frequently come to barns and get away with a sheep, or pig. They 
     
     seldom killed large cattle or pigs; the cattle were too strong and the 
     
     pigs made too much noise. We put bells on the cows to help us find 
     
     them and scare the bears. ' When we heard the bells going in a wild 
     
     clamor we knew the bears were frightening the cows. Bears are as 
     
    
   
   
    
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