But tell her, when I'm gone, to train the rosebush that I set About the parlor window, and the box of mignonette. Good night, sweet mother! call me before the day is born; But I would see the sun rise upon the glad New Year; [This lesson has been compiled, partly from Godman's American Natural History, and partly from a sketch by Captain Mayne Reid.] THE grisly bear is, beyond all question, the most formidable of all the wild creatures inhabiting the continent of America. Did he possess the swiftness of foot of either the lion or tiger of the old world, he would be an assailant as dangerous as either; for he is endowed with the strength of the former, and quite equals the latter in ferocity. Fortunately, the horse outruns him; were it not so, many a human victim would be his, for he can easily overtake a man on foot. As it is, hundreds of well-authenticated stories attest the prowess of this fierce creature. There is not a "mountain man " in America who cannot relate a string of perilous adventures about the grisly bear; and the instances are far from being few in which human life has been sacrificed in conflicts with this savage beast. The grisly bear is an animal of large dimensions. Specimens have been killed, which were as large as the largest polar bear, though there is much variety in the sizes of the different individuals. About five hundred pounds may be taken as the average weight. In shape, the grisly bear is a much more compact animal than either the black or polar species; his ears are larger, his arms stouter, and his aspect fiercer. His teeth are sharp and strong; but that which his enemies most dread is the armature of his paws. The paws themselves are so large as frequently to leave in the mud a track of twelve inches in length by eight in breadth; and from the extremities of these formidable fists protrude horn-like claws full six inches long. Of course, I am speaking of individuals of the largest kind. These claws are crescent shaped, and would be still longer, but in all cases nearly an inch is worn from their points. The animal digs up the ground in search of marmots, burrowing squirrels, and various esculent † roots; and this habit accounts for the blunted condition of his claws. They are sharp enough, notwithstanding, to peel the hide from a horse or buffalo, or to drag the scalp from a hunter- a feat which has been performed by grisly bears on more than one occasion. The color of this animal is most generally brownish, with white hairs intermixed, giving that grayish or grizzled appearance from which its name is derived. But though this is the most usual color of the species, there are many varieties. Some are almost white, others yellowish red, and others nearly black. The eyes are small in proportion to the size of the animal, but dark and piercing. The geographical range of the grisly bear is extensive. It is well known that the great chain of the Rocky Mountains commences on the shores of the Arctic Ocean, and runs southwardly through the North American continent. In these mountains the grisly bear is found, from their northern extremity as far as the point where the Rio Grande makes its great bend towards the Gulf of Mexico. In the United States and Canada this animal has never been seen in a wild state. This is not strange. The grisly bear has no affinity with the forest. Previously to the settling of these territories they were all covered with forests. The grisly is never found under heavy timber, like the black bear; and, unlike the latter, he is not * Armature, a word designating those parts of animals which serve as weapons of attack or defence. † Esculent, eatable. a tree climber. The black bear "hugs" himself up a tree, and usually destroys his victim by compression. The grisly does not possess this power, so as to enable him to ascend a tree trunk; and for such a purpose his huge, dull claws are worse than useless. His favorite haunts are the thickets of fruit-bearing shrubs, under the shade of which he makes his lair, and upon the berries of which he partly subsists. He lives much by the banks of streams, hunting among the willows, or wandering along the steep and rugged bluffs, where scrubby pine, and dwarf cedar, with its rooting branches, form an almost impenetrable underwood. The grisly bear is omnivorous. Fish, flesh, and fowl are eaten by him apparently with equal relish. Like the black bear, he is fond of sweets; and various kinds of wild berries are eagerly devoured by him. He is too slow of foot to overtake either the buffalo, elk, or deer, though he sometimes comes upon these creatures unawares; and he will drag the largest buffalo to the earth, if he can only get his claws upon it. Not unfrequently he robs the panther of his repast, and will drive a whole pack of wolves from the carrion they have just succeeded in killing. Several attempts have been made to raise the young grislies, but they have all failed; the animals proving any thing but agreeable pets. As soon as grown to a considerable size, their natural ferocity displays itself, and their dangerous qualities usually lead to the necessity for their destruction. Many years ago, two cubs of the grisly bear were kept for some time in Peale's Museum in Philadelphia. When first received, they were quite small, but speedily gave indications of that ferocity for which this species is so remarkable. As they increased in size, they became exceedingly dangerous, seizing and tearing to pieces every animal they could lay hold of, and expressing extreme eagerness to get at those accidentally brought within sight of their cage, by grasping the iron bars with their paws, and shaking them violently, to the great terror of spectators, who felt insecure while witnessing such displays of their strength. In one instance, an unfortunate monkey was walking over the top of their cage, when the end of the chain which hung from his waist dropped through within reach of the bears: they immediately seized it, dragged the screaming animal through the narrow aperture, tore him limb from limb, and devoured his mangled carcass almost instantaneously. At another time, a small monkey thrust his arm through an opening in the bear cage to reach after some object: one of them immediately seized him, and with a sudden jerk tore the whole arm and shoulder blade from the body, and devoured it before any body could interfere. They were still cubs, and very little more than half grown, when their ferocity became so alarming as to excite continual apprehension lest they should escape; and they were killed in order to prevent such an event. The grisly bear is a dangerous assailant. White hunters never attack him unless when mounted and well armed; and the Indians consider the killing a grisly bear a feat equal to the scalping a human foe. These never attempt to hunt him, unless when a large party is together; and the hunt is, among some tribes, preceded by a feast and a war dance. It is often the lot of the solitary trapper to meet with this four-footed enemy, and the encounter is rated as equal to that with two hostile Indians. In the course of Lewis and Clarke's expedition to the Rocky Mountains, a grisly bear was seen lying in a piece of open ground, about three hundred paces from the Missouri River; and six men, all of whom were good hunters, went to attack him. Concealing themselves by a small eminence, they were able to approach within forty paces unperceived; four of the hunters now fired, and each lodged a ball in his body, two of which passed directly through his lungs. The bear sprang up and ran furiously, with open mouth, upon them; two of the hunters, who had reserved their fire, gave him two additional wounds, one of which, by breaking his shoulder blade, some what retarded his motions. Before they could again load their guns, he came so close on them, that they were obliged to run towards the river; and before they had gained it, the bear had almost overtaken them. Two men jumped into the canoe; the other four separated, and concealing themselves among the willows, fired as fast as they could load their pieces. Several times the bear was struck; but each shot seemed only to direct his fury towards the hunters. At last he pursued them so closely that they threw aside their guns and pouches, and jumped from a perpendicular bank, twenty feet high, into the river. The bear sprang after them, and was very near the hindmost man, when one of the hunters on the shore shot him through the head, and finally killed him. When they had dragged him on shore, they found that eight balls had passed through his body in different directions. L. THE CHILD'S FUNERAL. BRYANT. [Sorrento is a beautiful town, about twenty-five miles from Naples. Amalfi, a seaport in the neighborhood, was a great naval and commercial power during the middle ages. The tomb of Virgil is in the environs of Naples.] FAIR is thy sight, Sorrento; green thy shore; Black crags behind thee pierce the clear blue skies; Vesuvius smokes in sight, whose fount of fire, every hue, Here doth the earth, with flowers of |