Johnny Bear and Other Stories from Lives of the Hunted
Ernest Thompson Seton
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JOHNNY BEAR
And other stories from
Lives of the Hunted
by Ernest Thompson Seton
{Illustration: His Whole Appearance Suggested Dyspepsia.}
{Illustration}
CONTENTS:
JOHNNY BEAR
His Whole Appearance Suggested DyspepsiaBut Johnny Wanted to SeeA Syrup-tin Kept Him Happy for a Long Time
TITO: THE STORY OF THE COYOTE THAT LEARNED HOW
Coyotito, the CaptiveThey Considered Themselves AcquaintedTheir Evening SongTito and her BroodTito's Race for Life
WHY THE CHICKADEE GOES CRAZY ONCE A YEAR
JOHNNY BEAR
I
Johnny was a queer little bear cub that lived with Grumpy, his mother,in the Yellowstone Park. They were among the many Bears that found adesirable home in the country about the Fountain Hotel.
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The steward of the Hotel had ordered the kitchen garbage to be dumped inan open glade of the surrounding forest, thus providing throughout theseason, a daily feast for the Bears, and their numbers have increasedeach year since the law of the land has made the Park a haven ofrefuge where no wild thing may be harmed. They have accepted man'speace-offering, and many of them have become so well known to the Hotelmen that they have received names suggested by their looks or ways. SlimJim was a very long-legged thin Blackbear; Snuffy was a Blackbear thatlooked as though he had been singed; Fatty was a very fat, lazy Bearthat always lay down to eat; the Twins were two half-grown, raggedspecimens that always came and went together. But Grumpy and LittleJohnny were the best known of them all.
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Grumpy was the biggest and fiercest of the Blackbears, and Johnny,apparently her only son, was a peculiarly tiresome little cub, for heseemed never to cease either grumbling or whining. This probably meantthat he was sick, for a healthy little Bear does not grumble all thetime, any more than a healthy child. And indeed Johnny looked sick;he was the most miserable specimen in the Park. His whole appearancesuggested dyspepsia; and this I quite understood when I saw the awfulmixtures he would eat at that garbage-heap. Anything at all that hefancied he would try. And his mother allowed him to do as he pleased;so, after all, it was chiefly her fault, for she should not havepermitted such things.
Johnny had only three good legs, his coat was faded and mangy, his limbswere thin, and his ears and paunch were disproportionately large. Yethis mother thought the world of him. She was evidently convinced thathe was a little beauty and the Prince of all Bears, so, of course, shequite spoiled him. She was always ready to get into trouble on hisaccount, and he was always delighted to lead her there. Although sucha wretched little failure, Johnny was far from being a fool, for heusually knew just what he wanted and how to get it, if teasing hismother could carry the point.
II
It was in the summer of 1897 that I made their acquaintance. I was inthe park to study the home life of the animals, and had been told thatin the woods, near the Fountain Hotel, I could see Bears at any time,which, of course, I scarcely believed. But on stepping out of the backdoor five minutes after arriving, I came face to face with a largeBlackbear and her two cubs.
I stopped short, not a little startled. The Bears also stopped and satup to look at me. Then Mother Bear made a curious short _Koff Koff_, andlooked toward a near pine-tree. The cubs seemed to know what she meant,for they ran to this tree and scrambled up like two little monkeys, andwhen safely aloft they sat like small boys, holding on with their hands,while their little black legs dangled in the air, and waited to see whatwas to happen down below.
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The Mother Bear, still on her hind legs, came slowly toward me, and Ibegan to feel very uncomfortable indeed, for she stood about six feethigh in her stockings and had apparently never heard of the magicalpower of the human eye.
I had not even a stick to defend myself with, and when she gave a lowgrowl, I was about to retreat to the Hotel, although previously assuredthat the Bears have always kept their truce with man. However, just atthis turning point the old one stopped, now but thirty feet away, andcontinued to survey me calmly. She seemed in doubt for a minute, butevidently made up her mind that, "although that human thing might be allright, she would take no chances for her little ones."
She looked up to her two hopefuls, and gave a peculiar whining _Er-r-rEr-r,_ whereupon they, like obedient children, jumped, as at the wordof command. There was nothing about them heavy or bear-like as commonlyunderstood; lightly they swung from bough to bough till they dropped tothe ground, and all went off together into the woods. I was much tickledby the prompt obedience of the little Bears. As soon as their mothertold them to do something they did it. They did not even offer asuggestion. But I also found out that there was a good reason for it,for had they not done as she had told them they would have got such aspanking as would have made them howl.
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This was a delightful peep into Bear home life, and would have been wellworth coming for, if the insight had ended there. But my friends in theHotel said that that was not the best place for Bears. I should go tothe garbage-heap, a quarter-mile off in the forest. There, they said, Isurely could see as many Bears as I wished (which was absurd of them).
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Early the next morning I went to this Bears' Banqueting Hall in thepines, and hid in the nearest bushes.
Before very long a large Blackbear came quietly out of the woods tothe pile, and began turning over the garbage and feeding. He was verynervous, sitting up and looking about at each slight sound, or runningaway a few yards when startled by some trifle. At length he cocked hisears and galloped off into the pines, as another Blackbear appeared. Healso behaved in the same timid manner, and at last ran away when I shookthe bushes in trying to get a better view.
At the outset I myself had been very nervous, for of course no man isallowed to carry weapons in the Park; but the timidity of these Bearsreassured me, and thenceforth I forgot everything in the interest ofseeing the great, shaggy creatures in their home life. {Illustration}
Soon I realized I could not get the close insight I wished from thatbush, as it was seventy-five yards from the garbage-pile. There was nonenearer; so I did the only thing left to do: I went to the garbage-pileitself, and, digging a hole big enough to hide in, remained there allday long, with cabbage-stalks, old potato-peelings, tomato-cans, andcarrion piled up in odorous heaps around me. Notwithstanding theopinions of countless flies, it was not an attractive place. Indeed, itwas so unfragrant that at night, when I returned to the Hotel, I was notallowed to come in until after I had changed my clothes in the woods.
It had been a trying ordeal, but I surely did see Bears that day. IfI may reckon it a new Bear each time one came, I must have seen overforty. But of course it was not, for the Bears were coming and going.And yet I am certain of this: there were at least thirteen Bears, for Ihad thirteen about me at one time.
All that day I used my sketch-book and journal. Every Bear that came wasduly noted; and this process soon began to give the desired insight intotheir ways and personalities.
Many unobservant persons think and say that all Negroes, or allChinamen, as well as all animals of a kind, look alike. But just assurely as each human being differs from the next, so surely each animalis different from its fellow; otherwise how would the old ones knowtheir mates or the little ones their mother, as they certainly do?These feastin
g Bears gave a good illustration of this, for each had itsindividuality; no two were quite alike in appearance or in character.
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This curious fact also appeared: I could hear the Woodpeckers peckingover one hundred yards away in the woods, as well as the Chickadeeschickadeeing, the Blue-jays blue-jaying, and even the Squirrelsscampering across the leafy forest floor; and yet I _did not hear one ofthese Bears come_. Their huge, padded feet always went down in exactlythe right {Illustration: But Johnny Wanted to See.} spot to break nostick, to rustle no leaf, showing how perfectly they had learned the artof going in silence through the woods.
III
All morning the Bears came and went or wandered near my hiding-placewithout discovering me; and, except for one or two brief quarrels, therewas nothing very exciting to note. But about three in the afternoon itbecame more lively.
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There were then four large Bears feeding on the heap. In the middlewas Fatty, sprawling at full length as he feasted, a picture of placidursine content, puffing just a little at times as he strove to savehimself the trouble of moving by darting out his tongue like a long redserpent, farther and farther, in quest of the titbits just beyond clawreach.
Behind him Slim Jim was puzzling over the anatomy and attributes ofan ancient lobster. It was something outside his experience, but theprinciple, "In case of doubt take the trick," is well known in Bearland,and it settled the difficulty.
The other two were clearing out fruit-tins with marvellous dexterity.One supple paw would hold the tin while the long tongue would dart againand again through the narrow opening, avoiding the sharp edges, yetcleaning out the can to the last taste of its sweetness.
This pastoral scene lasted long enough to be sketched, but was endedabruptly. My eye caught a movement on the hilltop whence all the Bearshad come, and out stalked a very large Blackbear with a tiny cub. It wasGrumpy and Little Johnny.
The old Bear stalked down the slope toward the feast, and Johnny hitchedalongside, grumbling as he came, his mother watching him as solicitouslyas ever a hen did her single chick. When they were within thirty yardsof the garbage-heap, Grumpy turned to her son and said something which,judging from its effect, must have meant: "Johnny, my child, I think youhad better stay here while I go and chase those fellows away."
Johnny obediently waited; but he wanted to _see_, so he sat up on hishind legs with eyes agog and ears acock.
Grumpy came striding along with dignity, uttering warning growls as sheapproached the four Bears. They were too much engrossed to pay any heedto the fact that yet another one of them was coming, till Grumpy, nowwithin fifteen feet, let out a succession of loud coughing sounds, andcharged into them. Strange to say, they did not pretend to face her,but, as soon as they saw who it was, scattered and all fled for thewoods.
Slim Jim could safely trust his heels, and the other two were not farbehind; but poor Fatty, puffing hard and waddling like any other veryfat creature, got along but slowly, and, unluckily for him, he fled inthe direction of Johnny, so that Grumpy overtook him in a few boundsand gave him a couple of sound slaps in the rear which, if they did notaccelerate his pace, at least made him bawl, and saved him by changinghis direction. Grumpy, now left alone in possession of the feast, turnedtoward her son and uttered the whining _Er-r-r Er-r-r Er-r-r-r,_ Johnnyresponded eagerly. He came "hoppity-hop" on his three good legs as fastas he could, and, joining her on the garbage, they began to have such agood time that Johnny actually ceased grumbling.
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He had evidently been there before now, for he seemed to know quite wellthe staple kinds of canned goods. One might almost have supposed that hehad learned the brands, for a lobster-tin had no charm for him as longas he could find those that once were filled with jam. Some of the tinsgave him much trouble, as he was too greedy or too clumsy to escapebeing scratched by the sharp edges. One seductive fruit-tin had a holeso large that he found he could force his head into it, and for a fewminutes his joy was full as he licked into all the farthest corners.But when he tried to draw his head out, his sorrows began, for he foundhimself caught. He could not get out, and he scratched and screamed likeany other spoiled child, giving his mother no end of concern, althoughshe seemed not to know how to help him. When at length he got the tinoff his head, he revenged himself by hammering it with his paws till itwas perfectly flat.
A large syrup-can made him happy for a long time. It had had a lid, sothat the hole was round and smooth; but it was not big enough to admithis head, and he could not touch its riches with his tongue stretchedout its longest. He soon hit on a plan, however. Putting in his littleblack arm, he churned it around, then drew out and licked it clean; andwhile he licked one he got the other one ready; and he did this againand again, until the {Illustration: A Syrup-tin Kept Him Happy fora Long Time} can was as clean inside as when first it had left thefactory.
A broken mouse-trap seemed to puzzle him. He clutched it between hisfore paws, their strong inturn being sympathetically reflected in hishind feet, and held it firmly for study. The cheesy smell about it wasdecidedly good, but the thing responded in such an uncanny way, when heslapped it, that he kept back a cry for help only by the exercise ofunusual self-control. After gravely inspecting it, with his head firston this side and then on that, and his lips puckered into a littletube, he submitted it to the same punishment as that meted out to therefractory fruit-tin, and was rewarded by discovering a nice little bitof cheese in the very heart of the culprit.
{Illustration}
Johnny had evidently never heard of ptomaine-poisoning, for nothing cameamiss. After the jams and fruits gave out he turned his attention to thelobster- and sardine-cans, and was not appalled by even the army beef.His paunch grew quite balloon-like, and from much licking, his armslooked thin and shiny, as though he was wearing black silk gloves.
IV
It occurred to me that I might now be in a really dangerous place. Forit is one thing surprising a Bear that has no family responsibilities,and another stirring up a bad-tempered old mother by frightening hercub.
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"Supposing," I thought, "that cranky Little Johnny should wander over tothis end of the garbage and find me in the hole; he will at once set upa squall, and his mother, of course, will think I am hurting him, and,without giving me a chance to explain, may forget the rules of the Parkand make things very unpleasant."
Luckily, all the jam-pots were at Johnny's end; he stayed by them, andGrumpy stayed by him. At length he noticed that his mother had a bettertin than any he could find, and as he ran whining to take it from her hechanced to glance away up the slope. There he saw something that madehim sit up and utter a curious little _Koff Koff Koff Koff._
His mother turned quickly, and sat up to see "what the child was lookingat." I followed their gaze, and there, oh, horrors! was an enormousGrizzly Bear. He was a monster; he looked like a fur-clad omnibus comingthrough the trees.
Johnny set up a whine at once and got behind his mother. She uttered adeep growl, and all her back hair stood on end. Mine did too, but I keptas still as possible.
With stately tread the Grizzly came on. His vast shoulders slidingalong his sides, and his silvery robe swaying at each tread, likethe trappings on an elephant, gave an impression of power that wasappalling.
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Johnny began to whine more loudly, and I fully sympathized with him now,though I did not join in. After a moment's hesitation Grumpy turned toher noisy cub and said something that sounded to me like two or threeshort coughs--_Koff Koff Koff_. But I imagine that she really said: "Mychild, I think you had better get up that tree, while I go and drive thebrute away."
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At any rate, that was what Johnny did, and this what she set out to do.But Johnny had no notion of missing any fun. He wanted to _see_ what wasgoing to happen. So he did not rest contented where he was hidden in thethick branches of the pine, but combined safety with view by c
limbing tothe topmost branch that would bear him, and there, sharp against thesky, he squirmed about and squealed aloud in his excitement. The branchwas so small that it bent under his weight, swaying this way and that ashe shifted about, and every moment I expected to see it snap off. If ithad been broken when swaying my way, Johnny would certainly have fallenon me, and this would probably have resulted in bad feelings betweenmyself and his mother; but the limb was tougher than it looked, orperhaps Johnny had had plenty of experience, for he neither lost hishold nor broke the branch.
Meanwhile, Grumpy stalked out to meet the Grizzly. She stood as high asshe could and set all her bristles on end; then, growling and choppingher teeth, she faced him.
The Grizzly, so far as I could see, took no notice of her. He camestriding toward the feast although alone. But when Grumpy got withintwelve feet of him she uttered a succession of short, coughy roars,and, charging, gave him a tremendous blow on the ear. The Grizzly wassurprised; but he replied with a left-hander that knocked her over likea sack of hay.
Nothing daunted, but doubly furious, she jumped up and rushed at him.
Then they clinched and rolled over and over, whacking and pounding,snorting and growling, and making no end of dust and rumpus. But aboveall then: noise I could clearly hear Little Johnny, yelling at the topof his voice, and evidently encouraging his mother to go right in andfinish the Grizzly at once.
Why the Grizzly did not break her in two I could not understand. After afew minutes' struggle, during which I could see nothing but dust anddim flying legs, the two separated as by mutual consent--perhaps theregulation time was up--and for a while they stood glaring at eachother, Grumpy at least much winded.
