A Level Mathematics First Aid Kit Rose Jewell Sophie Goldie Download
A Level Mathematics First Aid Kit Rose Jewell Sophie Goldie Download
https://ebookbell.com/product/a-level-mathematics-first-aid-kit-
rose-jewell-sophie-goldie-27928264
https://ebookbell.com/product/collins-cambridge-international-as-a-
level-mathematics-mechanics-students-book-first-edition-tom-andrews-
and-michael-kent-52767810
https://ebookbell.com/product/a-level-mathematics-for-ocr-a-student-
book-2-year-2-with-cambridge-elevate-edition-2-years-asa-level-
mathematics-for-ocr-student-vesna-kadelburg-23276608
https://ebookbell.com/product/a-level-mathematics-for-ocr-a-student-
book-1-asyear-1-with-cambridge-elevate-edition-2-years-asa-level-
mathematics-for-ocr-student-vesna-kadelburg-23276614
https://ebookbell.com/product/a-level-mathematics-for-aqa-student-
book-1-asyear-1-with-cambridge-elevate-edition-2-years-asa-level-
mathematics-for-aqa-student-stephen-ward-23277004
A Level Mathematics For Aqa Student Book 2 Year 2 With Cambridge
Elevate Edition 2 Years Asa Level Mathematics For Aqa Student Stephen
Ward
https://ebookbell.com/product/a-level-mathematics-for-aqa-student-
book-2-year-2-with-cambridge-elevate-edition-2-years-asa-level-
mathematics-for-aqa-student-stephen-ward-23457544
https://ebookbell.com/product/edexcel-a-level-mathematics-statistics-
and-mechanics-year-2-practice-book-pearson-education-43451298
https://ebookbell.com/product/ocr-a-level-mathematics-year-2-sophie-
goldie-susan-whitehouse-54934520
https://ebookbell.com/product/edexcel-a-level-mathematics-pure-
mathematics-year-2-textbook-ebook-year-2-a-level-maths-and-further-
maths-2017-smith-22068630
https://ebookbell.com/product/edexcel-a-level-mathematics-statistics-
mechanics-year-2-textbook-ebook-a-level-maths-and-further-
maths-2017-1st-edition-greg-attwood-ian-bettison-33974550
Sophie Goldie
Rose Jewell
A-LEVEL
MATHEMATICS
FIRST AID KIT
❯❯ 1 Algebra ❯❯ 5 Calculus
Algebra review 1 2 Differentiation 62
Algebra review 2 4 Stationary points 64
Indices and surds 6 Integration 66
Quadratic equations 8 Extending the rules 68
Inequalities 10 Calculus with other functions 70
Completing the square 12 The chain rule 72
Algebraic fractions 14 Product and quotient rules 74
Proof 16 Integration by substitution 76
Integration by parts 78
❯❯ 2 Further algebra Further calculus 80
Parametric equations 82
Functions 18
Polynomials
Exponentials and logs
20
22
❯❯ 6 Statistics
Straight lines and logs 24 Sampling and displaying data 1 84
Sequences and series 26 Displaying data 2 86
Binomial expansions 28 Averages and measures of spread 88
Partial fractions 30 Cumulative frequency graphs and boxplots 90
Grouped frequency calculations 92
❯❯ 3 Graphs Probability 94
Conditional probability 96
Using coordinates 32 Discrete random variables 98
Straight line graphs 34 Binomial distribution 100
Circles 36 Hypothesis testing (binomial) 102
Intersections 38 Normal distribution 104
Transformations 40 Hypothesis testing (normal) 106
Modulus functions 42 Bivariate data 108
Vectors 44
Numerical methods
The trapezium rule
46
48
❯❯ 7 Mechanics
Working with graphs 110
❯❯ 4 Trigonometry suvat equations 112
Variable acceleration 114
Trigonometry review 50 Understanding forces 116
Triangles without right angles 52 Forces in a line 118
Working with radians 54 Using vectors 120
Trigonometric identities 56 Resolving forces 122
Compound angles 58 Projectiles 124
The form r sin(θ + α) 60 Friction 126
Moments 128
Answers 130
iii
www.CasperYC.club
Algebra review 1 Year 1
1 Algebra
GET IT RIGHT
a) Solve 3 = 4 .
x − 2 2x
b) Factorise 15x2 − 10xy + 12x − 8y.
See page 8
Solution: for using the
3 4
a) Clear fractions: x − 2 = 2x grid method to
factorise.
Expand brackets: 3(2 x ) = 4( x − 2)
6 x = 4 x − 8 ⇒ 2 x = −8 ⇒ x = −4 Hint: You can
b) There is no common factor… 15x2 − 10xy + 12x − 8y check you are
so factorise pairs of terms: = 5x(3x − 2y) + 4(3x − 2y) right by expanding
the brackets. Use a
Now factorise fully: =(5x + 4)(3x − 2y)
grid to help you.
www.CasperYC.club
Algebra review 1
SKILL BUILDER
1 Simplify these expressions.
a) 5x(4 xy − 3) + 3y(2x − y ) b) 2x(3x − 3) − (2 − 5x ) c) 3x(1 − 2x ) − 3x(4 x − 2)
Hint: Be careful when there is a negative outside the bracket.
www.CasperYC.club
Algebra review 2 Year 1
1 Algebra
Example v = u + at or s = ut + 1 at 2
2
④ You can rearrange a formula to make a different variable the subject.
Rearrange the formula in the same way you would solve an equation.
Example v = u + at
Swap sides: u + at = v
Subtract u from both sides: at = v − u
Divide both sides by t: a = v −t u
www.CasperYC.club
Algebra review 2
SKILL BUILDER
1 Which one of the following is the correct x-value for the linear simultaneous equations 5x − 3y = 1
and 3x − 4y = 4?
16
A x= B x = 16 C x=−8 D x=−3 E x= 5
29 11 11 11 29
2 Which one of the following is the correct y-value for the linear simultaneous equations 5x − 2y = 3
and y = 1 − 2x ?
A y = −9 B y=5 C y=7 D y = −1 E y = −7
9 9 9 3
3 Solve a) 2a + b = 14 b) 2c + 3d = 14 c) 5e − 3f = 11
a = 2b − 3 4c + 3d = 10 4e + 2f = 18
4 Decide whether each statement is true (T) or false (F).
a) y = x + 5 ⇒ 2y = x + 5 Hint: Substitute in values for x to check your answers.
2
b) y = 9x ⇒ y = (3x)
2 2
c) 2 ( x − 4) = 6 ⇒ 2(3x − 12) = 18
3
5 Make y the subject of ax + by = c .
6 Make x the subject of y = ax + 1 . Hint: Look at the ‘Get it right’ box.
x + by
5
7 Make x the subject of y = .
a − x2
2
www.CasperYC.club
Indices and surds GCSE Review/Year 1
1 Algebra
THE LOWDOWN
① 34 means 3 × 3 × 3 × 3 ; 4 is the index or power and 3 is the base.
4 of them
② Laws of indices
an = a × a × ... × a a0 = 1 a1 = a
n of them
Hint: You might
am = am − n
am × an = am + n (am )n = am × n like this memory
an m
③ Fractional and negative indices aid: a n = n am .
A fractional index
(n a)m
1 m
1
a−n = n an = n a a n = n am = is like a flower, the
a
bottom’s the root
Remember means the positive square root only. and the top’s the
④ You can use roots to solve some equations involving powers. power!
Example x 4 = 20 ⇒ x = ± 4 20 = ± 2.11 (to 3 s.f.)
Watch out!
When the power
⑤ 2 = 1.414213... the decimal carries on forever and never repeats.
is even then there
2 is a surd; a surd is a number that is left in square root form. are two roots: one
When you are asked for an exact answer then you often need to use surds. positive and one
⑥ To simplify a surd use square factors of the number under the root. negative.
When the power
Example 72 = 36 × 2 = 6 2 is odd, there is
only one root.
⑦ Useful rules:
xy = x y x× x =x (x + y)(x − y) = x 2 − y 2
⑧ A fraction isn’t in its simplest form when there is a surd in the bottom line. See page 8
To simplify it you need to rationalise the denominator. for the difference
of two squares.
3 = 3× 5 = 3 5
Example
5 5 × 5 5
www.CasperYC.club
Indices and surds
4
= 4 ab
4
= 4 ab = b = 2a 5 b
8a b 3 2a 5
6 2a b 3
6
SKILL BUILDER
Don’t use your calculator; only use it to check your answers!
()
−2
1 Find the value of 1
3
1
A −9 B C 9 D −1 E −2
9 9 3
(2x 4 y 2 )3
2 Find the value of , giving the answer in its simplest form.
( )
2
10 x 3 y 5
1 x6y 2 x6y 4x6 4 x6y 8x12 y 6
A B C D E
5 25 5y 4 5 10x 6 y 5
3 Simplify (2 − 2 3)2 , giving your answer in factorised form.
A 16 B 8(2 − 3) C −8(1 + 3) D 16 − 8 3 E 4(4 − 3)
4 Decide whether each statement is true or false.
Write down the correct statement, where possible, when the statement is false.
a) −4 2 = 16 b) 9 = ±3 c) a+ b ≡ a+b
d) ≡
16a 2b4 4ab 2 e) a2 + b2 ≡ a+b f) ( a + b )( a − b ) ≡ a − b
5 Rationalise the denominator:
a) 4 4 2
b) c)
2 3+ 5 6−3 2
6 Solve these equations.
a) x 2 − 49 = 15 b) 5x 3 − 27 = 13 c) 10x( x − 4) = 4(1 − 10x )
www.CasperYC.club
Quadratic equations Year 1
1 Algebra
THE LOWDOWN
① A quadratic equation can be written in the form ax 2 + bx + c = 0.
② You can solve some quadratic equations by factorising.
Example Solve x 2 − 10 x + 16 = 0
ac = 1 × 16 = 16 and b = − 10, so − 10x splits to −2x − 8x
x −2
x2 −2x ¯ x x 2 −2x ¯ x x 2 −2x Hint: Use a
grid and split the
−8x 16 −8 −8x 16 −8 −8x 16
middle term.
x is the HCF of x2 and −8x Look for two
−8 is the HCF of −8x and 16 numbers that
From the grid: ( x − 2)( x − 8) = 0 multiply to give ac
So x = 2 or x = 8 and add to give b.
Take out the
common factors.
③ Make sure you can recognise these special forms:
• The difference of two squares: x 2 − a 2 = ( x + a )( x − a ). Hint: You can
• Perfect squares: x 2 + 2ax + a 2 = ( x + a )2 . write 22 y as (2y ) .
2
GET IT RIGHT
Hint: Since
Show that there is only one solution to 2y + 5 y − 3 = 0.
y = ( y )2 ,
Solution: 2 ( y )2 + 5 y − 3 = 0
Let x = y , so the equation is + 5x − 3 = 0
2 x2
2x 2 + 5x − 3 = 0
ac = 2 × −3 = −6 and b = 5, so 5x splits to −x + 6x
x +3
2x2 6x ¯ 2x 2x2 6x ¯ 2x 2x2 6x
Watch out: Make
−x −3 −1 −x −3 −1 −x −3 sure you find the
From the grid: ( x + 3)(2 x − 1) = 0 solutions for y and
not just for x.
1
So x = −3 or x = 2
Watch out:
So y = −3 which is impossible, means the
positive square
or y = 1 ⇒ y = 1 , so there is only one solution. root, so it is never
2 4
negative.
www.CasperYC.club
Quadratic equations
SKILL BUILDER
1 Which of the following is the solution of the quadratic equation x 2 − 5x − 6 = 0 ?
A x = −6 or x = 1 B x = −2 or x = 3 C x = 2 or x = 3
D x = −3 or x = 2 E x = −1 or x = 6
2 Factorise 6x 2 + 19x − 20
A ( x + 4)(6x − 5) B (3x + 10)(2x − 2) C ( x + 20)(6x − 1)
D (3x + 4)(2x − 5) E (6x + 10)( x − 2)
3 Which of the following is the solution of the quadratic equation 2x 2 − 9x − 18 = 0 ?
A x = 3 or x = −6 B x = 9 or x = −2 C x = 6 or x = 3
2 2
9 3
D x = − or x = 2 E x = − or x = 6
2 2
4 Factorise.
a) x 2 + 7x + 12 b) x 2 − 2x − 15 c) x 2 + 6x + 9
d) x − 12x + 36
2 e) x 2 − 49 f) 4 x 2 − 100
g) 2x 2 + 7x + 3 h) 6x 2 + x − 15 i) 9x 2 − 12x + 4
5 Solve these equations by factorising.
a) x 2 + 3x − 10 = 0 b) 2x 2 − x − 1 = 0 c) 2x 2 = 11x − 12
d) 4 x 2 = 5x e) 4 x 2 + 25 = 20x f) 9x 2 = 25
6 Solve these equations by factorising.
a) i) x 2 − 8x + 12 = 0 ii) y 4 − 8y 2 + 12 = 0 iii) z − 8 z + 12 = 0
b) i) x2 − 10x + 9 = 0 ii) 32 y − 10 × 3y +9=0 iii) z − 10 z + 9 = 0
c) i) 4x2 + 3x − 1 = 0 ii) 4 y4 + 3y 2 −1= 0 iii) 4 z + 3 z − 1 = 0
7 Daisy factorises f ( x ) = 5x 2 + 25x + 20 by dividing through by 5 to give f ( x ) = x 2 + 5x + 4 .
a) Explain why Daisy is wrong.
b) Ahmed says f ( x ) = 5x 2 + 25x + 20 and g( x ) = x 2 + 5x + 4 have the same roots.
Is Ahmed right?
www.CasperYC.club
Inequalities Year 1
1 Algebra
THE LOWDOWN
① An inequality states that two expressions are not equal.
You can solve an inequality in a similar way to solving an equation.
Remember:
• keep the inequality sign instead of =
• when you multiply or divide by a negative number, reverse the inequality
• the solution to an inequality is a range of values. Watch out! Two
Example 10 − 2 x < 4 regions need two
Subtract 10 from both sides: −2 x < −6 inequalities to
Divide both sides by −2: x >3 describe them!
GET IT RIGHT
y
a) Draw the graphs of y = x 2 − 3 and y = 2x
8 Hint: Use a
on the same axes. solid line, , to
b) Solve x 2 − 3 = 2x . y = x2 – 3 show the line is
6
c) Solve the inequality x 2 − 3 2x . included.
Use a dashed
Solution: 4 line, - - -, to show
a) y = x 2 − 3 is the same shape as y = x 2 the line is not
but translated 3 squares down. 2 included.
y = 2 x is a straight line through
the origin, with gradient 2.
b) x2 − 3 = 2 x –4 –3 –2 –1
0
1 2 3 4 x
See page
Subtract 2x: x 2 − 2 x − 3 = 0 –2 12 for the
Factorise: ( x + 1)( x − 3) = 0 y = 2x discriminant
Solve: x = −1 and x = 3 –4 and section 3 for
c) So critical values are x = −1 and x = 3. graphs.
You want y = x 2 − 3 to be below y = 2 x See pages
94–97 for Venn
so from the graph you can see the solution is −1 x 3.
diagrams.
10
www.CasperYC.club
Inequalities
So the solution is x −4 or x 3
2
SKILL BUILDER
1 Solve x + 7 < 3x − 5.
A x>6 B x <1 C x >1 D x<6 E x>4
2(2x + 1)
2 Solve ≥ 6.
3
3
A x5 B x2 C x>4 D x4 E x>5
3 The diagram shows the lines y = 3x − 3 and y = −x + 5.
y
y = 3x − 3
0 x
y = −x + 5
A −5 x 3 B −3 x 5 C 3x5
D x = −5 or x = 3 E x −5 or x 3
5 Solve the inequality 6x − 6 < x − 1 .
2
11
www.CasperYC.club
Completing the square Year 1
1 Algebra
THE LOWDOWN
① You can write a quadratic expression in the form a( x + p )2 + q .
This is called completing the square.
Follow the steps to complete the square for a quadratic in the form ax 2 + bx + c .
Example 2 x 2 − 12 x + 7
Step 1 Factor a from first 2 terms: 2( x 2 − 6 x ) + 7
Step 2 Take the coefficient of x: −6 Hint: The graph
Step 3 Halve it: −3 of a quadratic
Step 4 Square the result: +9 equation
⎡ ⎤ y = ax 2 + bx + c
⎢ 2 ⎥ is a curve called a
Step 5 Add and subtract this square: 2 ⎢ x − 6 x + 9 − 9⎥ + 7 parabola.
⎢ ⎥ The curve is
⎣this is a perfect square ⎦
Step 6 Factorise: = 2 [( x − 3)2 − 9] + 7
Step 7 Simplify: = 2( x − 3)2 − 11
Positive
② The turning point of the graph of y = a( x + p )2 + q is at ( − p, q ). shaped when a is
It is symmetrical about the line x = − p . +ve and
③ You can use the quadratic formula to solve a quadratic equation in the
Negative
form ax 2 + bx + c = 0 .
shaped when a
−b ± b 2 − 4ac
x= is −ve.
2a
The square root of a negative number isn’t real.
Hint: When a
So when b 2 − 4ac is negative the quadratic equation has no real roots.
question asks for
b 2 − 4ac is called the discriminant, it tells you how many roots to expect. exact solutions
When the discriminant is… Positive Zero Negative then you should
b 2 − 4ac > 0 b 2 − 4ac = 0 b 2 − 4ac < 0 leave your answer
as a surd (with the
The number of real roots is… 2 1 (repeated) 0
).
When a is positive graph is: y y y
Note when a is negative the curve is See page 38
‘upside down’ for simultaneous
0 x 0 x 0 x equations.
Two real roots One real root No real roots See page 8
for quadratic
Positive a Negative a equations.
See page 10
for inequalities.
www.CasperYC.club
Completing the square
y = 5 x 2 + 10 x + 8 3( x − 4)2 =
= 5( x 2 + x) + 8 ( x − 4)2 =
(
= 5 x2 + x+ − )+8 x−4=±
= 5⎡x+ ( ) ⎤+8 x= ±
2
−
⎢⎣ ⎥⎦
y = 3( x − 4)2 − 15
( )
2 b)
= 5 x+ +
The coordinates of the turning point are
b) y = + 10 x + 8 has
5 x2
because b 2 − 4 ac 0.
real roots ( , ).
The equation of the line of symmetry is
x= .
SKILL BUILDER
1 Which of the following is the exact solution of the quadratic equation 2x 2 − 3x − 4 = 0 ?
−3 ± 41 3 ± 41 3 ± 23 −3 ± 23
A x=
4 B x= 4 C x=
4 D x=
4
E There are no real solutions.
Hint: Use the quadratic formula and use your calculator to check.
2 Write x 2 − 12x + 3 in completed square form.
A ( x − 6)2 + 3 B ( x − 12)2 − 141
C ( x + 6) − 33
2
D ( x − 6 − 33)( x − 6 + 33)
E ( x − 6) − 33
2
3 The curve y = −2( x − 5)2 + 3 meets the y-axis at A and has a maximum point at B.
What are the coordinates of A and B?
A A(0, 3) and B(5, 3) B A(0, −47) and B(5, 3)
C A(0, −47) and B(5, −6) D A(0, 3) and B(−10, −47)
E A(0, −47) and B(−10, 3)
4 Four of the following statements are true and one is false. Which one is false?
A 3x2 − 2x + 1 = 0 has no real roots.
B 2x2 − 5x + 1 = 0 has two distinct real roots.
C 9x2 − 6x + 1 = 0 has one repeated real root.
D x2 + 2x − 5 = 0 has two distinct real roots.
E 4x2 − 9 = 0 has one repeated real root.
5 Find the exact solutions of 3( x + 5)2 − 9 = 0 .
Hint: You don’t need to expand the bracket!
6 The equation 3x 2 + 7x + k = 0 has two real roots. Work out the possible values of k.
Hint: Look at the ‘Get it right’ box.
7 The equation 5x 2 + kx + 5 = 0 has no real roots. Work out the possible values of k.
13
www.CasperYC.club
Algebraic fractions Year 1
1 Algebra
Example 5 − 2 x = 5 − 2 x = 5 − 2 x × x2 = 5 − 2 x3
x2 x2 1 x2 1 × x2 x2
③ Multiplication – multiply numerators (tops) and multiply denominators
(bottoms).
Example 4 × 5 = 20
3 − 2 x x + 2 (3 − 2 x )( x + 2) Hint When you
‘flip’ a fraction you
④ Division – flip the second fraction and multiply. are finding the
reciprocal.
4x x 4x 2x + 1
x − 5 ÷ 2x + 1 = x − 5 × x
Example The reciprocal of
2 is x + 1 .
4 x(2 x + 1) 4(2 x + 1) x +1 2
= =
x( x − 5 ) x−5 The reciprocal of
x is 1 .
x
Simplify
( x 2 − 25
6x ). on page 8 and
( )
simplifying
x −5
2x3 expressions on
page 2.
Solution: ( x 2 − 25
6x )= x 2 − 25 ÷ x − 5 Partial
Step 1 Rewrite as a division:
( )
x− 5
2 x3
6x 2 x3 fractions on
page 30.
x 2 − 25 × 2 x 3
Step 2 Flip the second fraction and multiply: = 6x x−5
2 x ( x − 25 )
3 2
Step 3 Simplify: =
6 x( x − 5 )
2 x 3( x − 5 )( x + 5 ) x 2( x + 5 )
= =
6 x( x − 5 ) 3
14
www.CasperYC.club
Other documents randomly have
different content
One afternoon a cougar jumped into Joe Dye’s dooryard at his ranch
on the Sespe, picked up Joe’s baby and sprang over the fence with
it. Joe seized his rifle and shot the animal as it ran, and when the
cougar felt the sting of the bullet he dropped the baby and ran up
the mountain. He had seized the baby’s clothes only, and the little
one was not hurt. The next night the cougar returned, captured
Joe’s hound, carried it into the mountains and killed it.
On the 1st of August, the report reached camp that the bears were
having a picnic on the Mutaw ranch and were killing hogs by the
score. John F. Cuddy’s sons, the best vaqueros and bronco-riders in
this part of the country, offered to go over to the Mutaw with the
correspondent and lasso a bear if one could be found on open
ground; accordingly, the party saddled up and took the trail up the
Piru, arriving at the Mutaw meadows late in the night, after a rough
ride of twenty miles.
In the morning Mr. Taylor, one of the owners of the ranch, was found
skinning a grizzly that had eaten strychnine in pork during the night.
Mr. Taylor had put poison out all over the ranch and the prospect of
catching a live bear seemed dubious, but all the poisoned meat that
could be found was buried at once, and Bowers and the
correspondent began building a trap to catch a bear that had been
making twelve-inch tracks around the cabins. The Cuddy boys rode
about looking for bear, and one of them lassoed an eagle that had
waterlogged himself and was sitting stupidly on a rock by the creek.
The bird measured nine feet across the wings. Messrs. Louis and
Taylor, owners of the Mutaw, received the party hospitably and
assisted in the work of preparing the trap. But Mr. Taylor forgot
where he had put some of his poison, and in forty-eight hours all the
dogs in the place, including the Examiner’s two hounds, were
stiffened out and turned up their toes. Chopping off their tails and
pouring sweet oil down their throats did not restore them.
No chance to lasso a bear presented itself, and as soon as the trap
was completed and baited with two live pigs the party returned to
Pine Mountain.
At last it became evident that the bears on Mount Pinos could not be
enticed into a trap while they had their pick and choice of the
thousands of sheep that grazed on the mountain. They preferred to
do their own butchering and would not touch mutton that was killed
for them by anybody else. A cougar raided a camp one night, sprang
upon the sheep from a willow thicket and killed three within twenty
yards of the sleeping herder. The fastidious cougar cut their throats,
sucked their blood and left their carcasses at the edge of the thicket
without eating the meat. But the bears would not touch what the
cougar left.
Shortly after this the herders reported that the bears were avoiding
the sheep and passing around the bands without making an attack.
Apparently bruin had made a miscalculation in his calendar and was
keeping Lent in the wrong season, but his erratic conduct was
explained when some of the herders admitted that they had put
strychnine into several carcasses. Some of the bears had got doses
of poison large enough to make them mortally unwell, but had
survived and sworn off eating mutton. They disappeared from the
vicinity of the camps and grazing ground, and went into solitary
confinement in remote and deep gorges, where nobody but a lunatic
would follow them.
The result of many weeks’ hard work on Mount Pinos was the
acquirement of some knowledge of the nature and eccentricities of
Ursus ferox, which was glibly imparted by Tom, Dick and Harry, who
assumed that the mere fact of their having lived near the mountains
qualified them to speak as authorities on the habits of bears.
One inspired idiot declared that the best way to catch a grizzly was
to give him atropia, which would make him blind for a day or two,
and lead him along like a tame calf. This genius was so enamored of
his great discovery that he went about the country telling everybody
that the Examiner man was going to catch a grizzly with atropia, and
that he (the aforesaid lunatic) was the inventor of the scheme and
general boss of the outfit.
“A bear will do this,” said one. “He will do so and so,” said another,
and “you just do that and he’ll go right into the trap,” said a dozen
more. Everybody seemed to be loaded to the guards with an
assorted cargo of general ignorance about bears, which they were
anxious to discharge upon the Examiner expedition, but not one
man in the whole lot ever caught a grizzly, and very few ever saw
one.
As a matter of fact, determined by experience and observation, a
grizzly will do none of the things laid down as rules of conduct for
him by the wise men of the mountains, but will do pretty much as
he pleases, and act as his individual whim or desire moves him. It is
a mistake to generalize about bears from the actions of one of the
species. One bear will be bold and inquisitive, and will walk right into
a camp to gratify his curiosity, while another will carefully avoid man
and all his works.
The predictions of an ursine invasion of Mount Pinos were not
fulfilled and when it became clear that the few grizzlies in the
neighborhood were too timid and wary to be caught, the expedition
struck camp and moved on, leaving the traps set for luck.
Considerable annoyance was caused by a discharged mule-packer,
who carried away tools required in trap building, and embezzled
quite a sum of money. The fellow had attempted to impose upon the
correspondent by whittling out pine-bark models of bear’s feet, with
which to make tracks around the trap; and had proposed various
swindling jobs to others of the party, explaining that the “Examiner
was rich and they might as well get a hack at the money.” He had
opened and read letters intrusted to him for mailing, and had proved
himself generally a faithless scamp and an unconscionable liar. A
written demand upon him, for restitution of his plunder, elicited only
a coarse and abusive letter, but there was no time to waste in
prosecuting the fellow and he was left in the enjoyment of his booty
and in such satisfaction as the rascal mind of him could derive from
the fact that he had succeeded in robbing his employer.
The big bear on the Mutaw never came near the trap built for his
special accommodation, notwithstanding the confident assurances of
the bear experts on the ranch that he was sure to show up within
forty-eight hours. For two months after the poisoning of his
campanero no signs of the large grizzly were seen anywhere near
the Mutaw, and the hogs roamed about the hills unmolested.
After leaving Mount Pinos the expedition built several traps in the
mountains near trails frequented by bears. An old grizzly that lived
among the unsurveyed and unnamed peaks between Castac Lake
and the Liebra Mountain absorbed the attention of the hunters for
some time. He was an audacious marauder and killed his beef
almost within sight of the camp-fire. Often at night a cow or steer
could be heard bellowing in terror, and in the morning a freshly killed
animal would be found in some hollow not far away, bearing marks
of bear’s claws. Whitened bones scattered all over the hills showed
that the bear had been the boss butcher of General Beal’s ranch for
a long time. His average allowance of beef appeared to be about
two steers a week, but he usually ate only half a carcass, leaving the
rest to the coyotes and vultures.
One morning Bowers returned from a hunt for the horses, two of
which had been struck and slightly wounded by the bear a few
nights before, and had run away, and reported the discovery of a
dead steer within 150 yards of an unfinished trap, about a quarter of
a mile from camp. The animal appeared to have been killed two
nights before, and the bear had made but one meal off the carcass.
As he might be expected to return that night, all haste was made to
finish the trap. Bowers rode out to Gorman’s Station to get some
nails and honey, while the correspondent paid a visit to one of
General Beal’s old corrals and stole some planks to make a door. He
packed the planks up the mountain, and was using the hammer and
saw with great diligence and a tremendous amount of noise, when
bruin sauntered down the ridge, looked curiously at him and calmly
began eating an early supper, wholly indifferent to the noise of the
hammer and the presence of the man.
It was nearly dark when Bowers rode up to the trap, his horse in a
lather composed of equal parts of perspiration and honey, the latter
having leaked profusely from the cans tied to the saddle. Tossing the
nails to the correspondent, Bowers hastily dismounted and went
afoot up the ridge toward the dead steer, intending to place a can of
honey near it. In about a minute Bowers was seen running from the
ridge in fifteen-foot jumps, and as he approached the trap he
shouted: “The bear is there now!”
“Is that so?” said the correspondent. “I thought he had finished his
supper and had gone away by this time.”
Bowers had approached to within forty yards of the bear before
seeing him, and the bear had merely raised his head, taken a look at
the intruder and resumed his eating. As it had become too dark to
drive nails, and there was no longer any reason for finishing the
door that night, Bowers fetched the rifles from camp and the two
men went up the ridge to take a better look at the bear. Had there
been light enough to make the rifle sights visible, it would have been
hard to resist the temptation of turning loose at the old fellow from
behind a convenient log; but it was impossible to draw a bead on
him, and it would have been sheer foolhardiness to shoot and take
the chances of a fight in the dark with a wounded grizzly. Besides, if
shot at and missed, the bear would probably not return, and all the
chances of getting him into the trap would be lost. So the two sat on
a log and watched the grizzly till the night came on thick and dark,
when they returned to camp.
The trap was finished the next day, but a somewhat ludicrous
accident destroyed its possibilities of usefulness, and made it quite
certain that bruin would never be caught in it. Not expecting a visit
from the bear, for at least two days, the correspondent went up to
the ridge just before dark, made a rope fast to the remains of a
steer, and dragged him down to the trap. Bowers had gone back to
Ventura on business, and the correspondent was alone on the
mountain; when he went into the trap to fix a can of honey upon the
trigger, he placed a stick under the door, in such a way that if the
door should fall he could use the stick as a lever to pry it up, and so
avoid an experience like Dad Coffman’s.
The precaution was well taken. While he was arranging the bait he
heard snuffling and the movement of some animal outside.
Supposing that some cow or perhaps the burro was wandering
about, he paid no particular attention to the noise, but when the bait
was arranged and he turned to go out he saw the muzzle of old
bruin poked into the door and his eyes blinking curiously at the dark
interior of the trap. Bruin had come down for a feast and had
followed the trail of the steer’s remains with unexpected
promptness. He had scented the honey, which was more alluring
than stale beef, and evidently was considering the propriety of
entering the trap to get his supper, which might consist of
honeycomb au naturel, with Examiner man on the side.
The man in the trap deemed it highly improper for the bear to
intrude at that time, and quickly decided the etiquette of the case by
kicking the trigger and letting the door fall with a dull thud plump
upon the old grizzly’s nose. A hundred and sixty pounds falling four
feet is no laughing affair when it hits one on the nose, and bruin did
not make light of it. He was pained and surprised, and he went away
more in sorrow than in anger, judging from the tone of his
expostulating grunts and snorts.
When the snorts of the bear died away in the distance, the
correspondent pried up the door, crawled out and cautiously made
his way through the dark woods to his lonely camp.
At this time there were six traps scattered through the mountains
within a radius of sixty miles, all of them set and baited, and the
more distant ones watched by men employed for that purpose. One
of the traps was on a mountain that was not pastured by cattle, or
sheep, and as there were no acorns in that part of the country, the
bears had to rustle for a living and were unable to withstand the
temptation offered by quarters of beef judiciously exposed to their
raids.
The bait scattered around this trap was discovered by four bears,
but for some time they regarded it with suspicion, and were afraid to
touch it, possibly because they detected the scent of man near it.
Gradually they became accustomed to it and the signs of man’s
presence, and then they began to quarrel over the meat, as was
plainly indicated by the disturbance of the ground where their tracks
met. Two of the tracks were of medium size, one was quite large
and evidently made by a grizzly, and the fourth was enormous, being
fourteen inches long and nine inches wide.
The last-named track was not made by a grizzly however. There
were six toes on the forefoot, and this peculiar deformity was the
distinguishing mark of a gigantic cinnamon bear known to hunters as
“Six-Toed Pete.”
It was almost invariably found, during the long campaign in the
wilderness, that tracks over eleven inches in length were made by
cinnamon bears, and not by genuine grizzlies, although some
hunters declare that the cinnamon is only a variety of grizzly, and
that the color is not the mark of a different species. However that
may be, the difference between the two varieties is very distinct,
and as the object of the expedition was the capture of an indubitable
California grizzly, no special effort was made to trap any of the big
cinnamons.
The smaller bears soon gave up the contest for the beef and left the
field to Pete and the grizzly, who quarreled and fought around it for
several nights. At last the grizzly gave Pete a thorough licking and
established his own right to the title of monarch of the mountain.
The decisive battle occurred one moonlight night and was witnessed
from a safe perch in a fork of a tree near the trap.
It was nearly 9 o’clock when the snapping of dry sticks indicated the
approach of a heavy animal through the brush, and in a few
moments the big grizzly came into sight, walking slowly and sniffing
suspiciously. A smart breeze was drawing down the canyon, and the
bear, being to the windward, could not smell the man up the tree,
but he approached the meat cautiously and seemed in no hurry for
his supper. While he was reconnoitering another animal was heard
smashing through the thicket, and presently the huge bulk of Six-
Toed Pete loomed up in the moonlight at the edge of the opening.
At the approach of the cinnamon the grizzly rose upon his haunches
and uttered low, hoarse growls, and when the big fellow appeared
within twenty feet of him, he launched himself forward with
surprising swiftness and struck Pete a blow on the neck that
staggered him. It was like one of Sullivan’s rushes in the ring, and
the blow of that ponderous paw would have knocked out an ox; but
Pete was no slouch of a slugger himself, and he quickly recovered
and returned the blow with such good will that had the grizzly’s head
been in the way it would have ached for a week afterward.
Then the fur began to fly.
It was impossible to follow the movements of the combatants in
detail, as they sparred, clinched and rolled about, but in a general
way Six-Toed Pete seemed to be trying to make his superior weight
tell by rushing at the grizzly and knocking him over, while the latter
avoided the direct impact of the cinnamon’s great bulk by quick
turns and a display of agility that was scarcely credible in so
unwieldy looking an animal. Once the cinnamon seized the grizzly by
the throat and for a moment hushed the latter’s fierce growls by
choking off his wind, but the grizzly sat down, threw his arm over
Pete’s neck, placed his other forepaw upon Pete’s nose, sunk his
claws in deep, and instantly broke the hold. As they parted, the
grizzly made a vicious sweep with his right paw and caught Pete on
the side of the head. The blow either destroyed the cinnamon’s left
eye or tore the flesh around it, so that the blood blinded him on that
side, for during the rest of the fight he tried to keep his right side
toward the grizzly and seemed unable to avoid blows delivered on
his left.
For at least a quarter of an hour the combat raged, without an
instant’s cessation, both belligerents keeping up a terrific growling,
punctuated with occasional howls of pain. Neither could get a fair
blow at the other’s head. Had the grizzly struck the cinnamon with
the full force of his tremendous arm, Pete’s skull would have surely
been smashed. Pete finally got enough, broke away from the
Monarch and fled into the brush, a badly used up bear; and he never
came back.
Having won his supper by force of arms, the grizzly was no longer
suspicious of the bait, and he ate up the best part of a quarter of
beef before he left the battle ground. He soon became accustomed
to the trap, and regularly came there for his meals, which were
gradually placed nearer the door and finally inside the structure. A
piece of meat was tied to the trigger, and one morning the door was
found closed, and a great ripping and tearing was heard going on
inside. The Monarch was caught at last.
Upon the approach of the men, the grizzly became furious and made
the heavy logs tremble and shake in his efforts to get out and resent
the indignity that had been placed upon him. Had he concentrated
his attack on any one spot and been left to wreak his rage without
interruption he would have been out in a few hours, but he was not
permitted to work long at any place. Wherever he began work he
encountered the end of a heavy stake which was jabbed against his
nose and head with all the power of a man’s arms.
Day and night from the moment he was found in the trap, the
Monarch was watched and guarded, and he kept two men busy all
the time. Although his attention was distracted from the trap as
much as possible, he found time to gnaw and rip a ten-inch log
almost in two, and sometimes he made the bark and splinters fly in
a way that was calculated to make a nervous man loathe the job of
standing guard over him. For six days the Monarch was so busy
trying to break jail that he had no time to fool away in eating.
Solitary confinement developed in him a most malicious temper and
he flew into a rage whenever food was thrown to him.
But his applications for a writ of habeas corpus were persistently
denied by a man with a club, and the Monarch at last cooled down a
little and condescended to take a light lunch of raw venison. He was
given two days for reflection and meditation, and when he seemed
to be in a more reasonable mood, the work of preparing him for a
visit to the city was begun.
A running noose was made in a stout chain and put into the trap
between two of the logs, and when the bear stepped his forepaw
into the noose it was drawn taut and held by four men outside.
Despite the strain upon the chain the bear easily threw the noose off
with his other paw, letting the men fall backwards in a heap on the
ground. Again and again the trick was tried but the noose would not
hold.
Then the method of working the chain was changed and the noose
let down through the top of the trap, and after many failures it was
drawn sharply up round his arm near the shoulder, where it held.
Ten hours were consumed in the effort to secure one leg and the
Monarch fought furiously every minute of the time, biting the chain,
seizing it with his paws and charging about in his prison as though
he were crazy. He was utterly reckless of consequences to himself,
and he bit the iron so savagely that he splintered his teeth and
wholly destroyed his longer tushes.
Having secured one leg, it was comparatively easy to get another
chain around his other paw and two ropes around his hind legs, and
then he was stretched out, spread-eagle fashion, on the floor of the
trap.
The next move was to fasten a heavy chain around his neck in such
a way that it could not choke him, and to accomplish this it was
necessary to muzzle the Monarch. A stick about eighteen inches long
and two inches thick was held under his nose, and he promptly
seized it in his jaws. Before he dropped it a stout cord was made fast
to one end of the stick, passed over his nose, around the other end
of the stick, under his jaw, and then wound around his muzzle and
the stick in such a way as to bind his jaws together, a turn back of
his head holding the gag firmly in place.
The Monarch was now bound, gagged and utterly helpless, but he
never ceased roaring with rage at his captors and struggling to get
just one blow at them with his paw. It was an easy matter for a man
to get upon his back, put a chain collar around his neck, and fasten
the heavy chain with a swivel to the collar. The collar was kept in
place by a chain rigged like a martingale and passed under his arms
and over his back. A stout rope made fast about his body completed
the Monarch’s fetters and the gag was then removed from the royal
mouth. The King of the mountains was a hopeless prisoner—Gulliver,
tied hand and foot by the Lilliputians.
The next morning Monarch was lashed upon a rough sled—a
contrivance known to lumbermen as a “go-devil”—to make the
journey down the mountain. The first team of horses procured to
haul him could not be driven anywhere near the bear. They plunged
and snorted and became utterly unmanageable, and finally they
broke away and ran home. The next team was but little better, and
small progress was made the first day.
At night the Monarch was released from the “go-devil” and secured
only by his chains to a large tree. The ropes were removed from his
legs, and he was allowed considerable freedom to move about, but a
close watch was kept upon him. After several futile efforts to break
away, he accepted the situation, stretched himself at the foot of the
tree and watched the camp-fire all night.
In the morning the ropes were replaced, after a lively combat, and
the bear was again lashed to the sled. Four horses were harnessed
to it and the journey was resumed. Men with axes and bars went
ahead to make a road, and it was with no small amount of labor that
they made it passable. The poor old bear was slammed along over
the rocks and through the brush, but he never whimpered at the
hardest jolts. With all the care that could be observed, it was
impossible to make his ride anything but a series of bumps, slides
and capsizes, and the progress was slow. At the steep places men
held the sled back with ropes and tried to keep it right side up.
Four days on a “go-devil” is no pleasure excursion, even for a tough
grizzly, and when the Monarch was released from his uncomfortable
vehicle, at the foot of the mountain, he seemed glad to get a chance
to stretch himself and rest. For nearly a week he was left free of all
fetters except the chain on his neck and the rope around his body,
and he spent his days in slumber and his nights eating and digging a
great hole in the ground. Having convinced himself that he could
neither break his chain nor bite it in two, he accepted the situation
with surly resignation and asked only to be let alone and fed
decently.
While the bear was recuperating and becoming reconciled to what
couldn’t be helped, a cage was being built of Oregon pine lumber
with an iron-barred door, and when it was finished he was dragged
into it by the heels. As soon as he saw the ropes, Monarch knew
that mischief was afoot, and when a man began throwing back into
the hole the dirt that he had dug out, he mounted the heap and
silently but strenuously began to dig for himself a new hole. He
worked twice as fast as two men with shovels, and in his efforts to
escape he only assisted in filling up the old hole.
For some time he baffled all attempts to get ropes on his forepaws,
having learned the trick of throwing them off and seizing the loops
with his teeth, but he was soon secured and stretched out on his
back. The Monarch roared his remonstrances and did his best to get
even for the outrages that had been done to his rights and his
feelings, but the ropes were tough and he could not get a chance to
use his enormous strength. He was dragged on his back into the
cage, the door was dropped and the ropes were removed, but the
chain remained around his neck and that was made fast to the bars.
As soon as he found himself shut up in a box the angry and insulted
bear ceased roaring and in a short time he philosophically stretched
himself on the floor and wondered what would happen next.
The next thing that happened to him was the standing of his cage
on end, but that did not appear to disturb him. A wagon was backed
up, and the cage was tilted down again and placed upon the wagon,
which was then hauled down the canyon and along the river bed to
a little water station on the Southern Pacific Railroad, where the
cage was put upon a stock car. The car was provisioned with a
quarter of beef, and a lot of watermelons, and attached to a freight
train, then men who had helped to bring the bear out of the
mountains waved their hats, and the Monarch caught a last glimpse
of his native hills as the train whirled him and the correspondent
northward.
It must have been a very strange, perhaps terrifying, thing to the
wild grizzly to be jolted along for two days on a rattling, bumping,
lurching freight train, with the shrieking of steam whistles and the
ringing of bells, but he endured it all heroically and gave no sign of
fear. He ate well when food was given him, taking meat from his
captor’s hands through the bars, and slept soundly when he was
tired. He seemed to know and yield a sort of obedience to the
correspondent, but resented with menacing growls the impertinent
curiosity of strangers who came to look at him through the bars.
In every crowd that, came to see him there was at least one fool
afflicted with a desire to poke the bear with a stick, and constant
vigilance was necessary to prevent such witless persons from
enraging him. At Mojave, when the correspondent went to the car,
he found a dozen idlers inside, and one inspired lunatic was stirring
up the Monarch, who was rapidly losing his temper. The cage would
not have held him five minutes had he once tackled the bars in a
rage, and it was only the moral influence of the chain around his
neck that kept him quiet. When the correspondent sprang into the
car, the grizzly’s eyes were green with anger, and in a moment more
there would have been the liveliest kind of a circus on that freight
train. Hustling the crowd out with unceremonious haste—incidentally
throwing a few maledictions at the man with the stick—the
correspondent drove the Monarch back from the bars, and ordered
him to lie down, and for the next half hour rode in the car with him
and talked him into a peaceable frame of mind.
From the freight depot on Townsend Street the cage was hauled on
a truck to Woodward’s Gardens, and under the directions of Louis
Ohnimus, superintendent of the gardens, the Monarch was
transferred to more comfortable quarters. His cage was backed up to
one of the permanent cages, both doors were opened, and he was
invited to move, but he refused to budge until his chain was passed
around the bars and hauled by four stout men. The grizzly resisted
for a few minutes, but suddenly decided to change his quarters and
went with a rush and a roar, wheeling about and striking savagely
through the bars at the men. But Mr. Ohnimus had expected just
such a performance and taken such precautions that nobody was
hurt and no damage done.
The Monarch had shown himself a brave fighter and an animal of
unusual courage in every way. He had endured the roughest kind of
a journey without weakening, and compelled respect and admiration
from the moment of his capture. But when the strain and excitement
were over, and he was left to himself, the effects became apparent,
and for two or three days he was a sick bear. He had a fever and
would not eat for a time, but Mr. Ohnimus took charge of him,
doctored him with medicines good for the ills of bear flesh, and soon
tempted back his appetite with rabbits and pigeons.
Soon the Monarch was sufficiently convalescent to rip the sheet iron
from the side of his cage and break a hole through into the hyena’s
quarters. By night he was on his muscle in great shape, and
Superintendent Ohnimus sent for the correspondent to sit up with
him all night and help keep the half-ton grizzly from tearing things to
pieces. By watching the old fellow and talking to him now and then
they managed to distract his attention from mischief most of the
time, but he got in considerable work and rolled up several sheets of
iron as though they were paper.
It was evident that no ordinary cage would hold him, and men were
at once employed to line one of the compartments with heavy iron
of the toughest quality and to strengthen it with bars and angle iron.
This made a perfectly secure place of confinement. A watch was
kept on the Monarch by the garden keepers during the day, and by
the superintendent and the correspondent every night, until the
work was finished and the Monarch transferred.
The grizzly is now safely housed in the first apartment of the line of
cages, and under the watchful care of Mr. Ohnimus will soon recover
his lost flesh and energy and again be the magnificent animal that
he was when he was the undisputed monarch of the Sierra Madre.
LATEST BULLETIN.
Monarch a True Grizzly.
THE END.
SCIENTIFIC CLASSIFICATION OF
BEARS.
Edited by PIERRE N. BERINGER.
I.
THE LOUISIANA SPECTACLED BEAR.
Tremarctos Ornatus.
Some of our scientists have very carefully divided the Genus Ursus
into twelve species. While I will admit that these gentlemen are
conscientious and that they are thorough in their researches, I wish
to point to the fact that they have entirely overlooked three or four
species found on the Pacific Coast.
Many writers have completely ignored the spectacled bear of
Louisiana. Is he the representative of another genus? Does he
belong to the Genus Helarctos (helios, the “sun,” and arctos, “bear”)
credited by the majority of writers with basking in the sun, or
because of the peculiar markings of his chest, representing a
sunburst? He resembles the Helarctos Malayanus of the Malayan
archipelago or the Bruang of Java. Or is he the Sloth Bear, Prochilous
(or Melursus) labiatus? This bear has been carefully classified as a
separate genus found from the Ganges to Ceylon. His description fits
rather loosely the so-called sloth of Louisiana. Possibly the Louisiana
specimen is of the Genus Tremarctos, of which the learned people
tell us there is but a solitary species carefully isolated in the Andes of
Chile and Peru. I shall call the Louisiana specimen by the name
given him by our poet, the Spectacled Bear, Tremarctos Ornatus, and
the professors who have entirely overlooked his existence may
classify him later when they find time. At one time the Honey Bear
was classified as a “Bradipus,” or sloth, because of its liability to lose
its incisors. It was therefore set down as one of the Edentata. It has
also been styled the Jungle Bear, the Lipped Bear, and names as
various as the investigators’ fancy. The Tremarctos Ornatus of
Louisiana, or spectacled bear, is not a sloth. He does not belong to
the Edentata, neither is he lazy. He is essentially the clown of all
bears, a very intelligent animal, and in many cases the intellectual
superior of his keeper. He is active to a degree, and will perform the
queerest antics for the amusement of the onlooker. He is quaintly
conscious of his mirth-provoking powers, much as a child playing
“smarty.” He will quickly climb an inclined log or tree, and then slide
down either in an upright position, clasping the log with the knees,
or he will slide “down the banister” as a child might. I have seen the
merry fellow grab his tail in his mouth and roll over and over until
dizzy.
His snout is almost hairless, narrow and proboscis like, and the
nostrils and lips are mobile. He shapes these almost into a pipe,
through which his long tongue is shot out, drawing things in or
sucking them up. It has claws of a bluish gray that are longer than
those of any other of the Ursidae. The hair is very long, of a deep
brown black. There is a sunburst upon the chest of a white or
fulvous hue. The ears are small and scarcely distinguishable, owing
to the shaggy mane. The fur is rather coarse and very long.
It lives mainly upon honey and vegetables and sugar cane. In
captivity it will very gratefully subsist upon oatmeal and occasional
sweets. The animal is easily tamed, and will become attached to its
keeper, giving an exhibition of exuberant joy at his approach. It is a
jolly good fellow, and shows a marked preference for liquors,
refusing all others when it may have champagne.
It will sit on its hind legs and make faces at the onlooker, waving its
arms in the most grotesque fashion, while it rolls its body from side
to side. This is one of the characteristics that has impressed the
negro with the sacredness of this “Voodoo Bear.”
II.
THE GRIZZLY.
III.
THE POLAR BEAR.
Thalassarctos Maritimus.
IV.
THE CINNAMON BEAR.
Ursus Cinnamoneous.
V.
THE BLACK BEAR OF CALIFORNIA.
Ursus Californiensis.
This bear we will label for convenience Ursus Californiensis, because
the title of Ursus Americanus has dignified the small black bear of
the Eastern states. There are, however, three species of the black
bear in California that are known, and there may be more. The large
black bear of California reaches very large proportions. I have seen
some that might weigh from 800 to 1,000 pounds. It is hunted for
its fur, which is uniform in color, and for its flesh, which is quite
good, either smoked or fresh. This animal will never seek an
encounter with man. I remember my original introduction to a bear
of this species. It was in the state of Washington. Owing to ill health
I had been staying at what is known there as a ranch. A ranch in the
western Washington forests generally consists of a shake hut or log
house, and a promise by the “rancher” that he will soon clear
enough ground to raise something. Generally this vague something
is a mortgage. This particular rancher had a cow, and this cow often
strayed away into the timber and had to be looked after when
milking time came.
One day, in the exuberance of new found health, I was taking the
greatest of pleasure in chasing that cow toward the “shed” road to
the ranch. I was feeling especially good, and I was jumping over
fallen trees, making short cuts and throwing broken branches and an
occasional stone at the old Jersey.
Suddenly I stopped before an extra high log, and gathering myself
together, I jumped high over it. I landed upon the upturned belly of
an old she bear. There was a sound like the escape of gas from a
rubber bag. I passed the cow like a streak of lightning. When I had
run a considerable distance I turned my head and saw the bear
running in the opposite direction. I did not stop, however, and I got
to the ranch nearly an hour before the old cow.
In the shingle mills of the North the Norwegian hands have the same
veneration for the bear as the Indian. They always speak of him not
as a bear, but as “the old man with the fur coat on.”
Large Black Bear.—Page 250.
VI.
QUAINT INDIAN LORE
Welcome to our website – the perfect destination for book lovers and
knowledge seekers. We believe that every book holds a new world,
offering opportunities for learning, discovery, and personal growth.
That’s why we are dedicated to bringing you a diverse collection of
books, ranging from classic literature and specialized publications to
self-development guides and children's books.
ebookbell.com