phant picked up his load again, and went on with his work, but still grumbling to himself as before.

LESSON 4.

INTERESTING SOLE-WALKERS.

ex'-er-cise for'-mid-a-ble noc-tur'-nal

bi'-ped

1. Have you ever tried to walk for some distance on tip-toes? And while you were walking

with your heels in the air did you not soon feel tired of the exercise, and in constant danger of tumbling over?

2. Yet most of the creatures we see around us are toe-walkers. If you look at the foot of a cow, or of a dog, you will notice that the heel is lifted up behind, and that the animal really walks upon its toes. Man is a biped—that is, a two-footed animal- and no doubt needs to walk on the flat of the whole foot, from toe to heel, in order to secure a firm tread.

3. We shall find that there are a few quadrupeds, or four-footed creatures, which, like man, are also sole-walkers. The bear is a sole-walker. The walk of a bear is awkward and shuffling; he brings not only the toes, but the whole of the under surface of the foot, into contact with the ground at every step.

4. This formation of the hind feet enables a bear to sit up on its haunches, and to use its forepaws for holding its food or for striking a blow. A bear can walk on its hind legs, while a dog finds it difficult even to sit up on its hind toes.

5. A bear, in this upright position, can stand firmly against attack. Should an enemy come within reach, Bruin will hug him with an embrace which either squeezes out the life, or enables the bear to rend in pieces the unhappy victim with his teeth.

6. The claws of a bear are not only formidable weapons, but the beast has the power of moving

each claw separately, as we move our fingers. A bear is able to overcome and carry off a heavy beast, and then to dig a pit large enough to bury it in.

7. Another very interesting sole-walker is found in this country.

able marauder. Still he has his place and does his special work. This repulsive but helpful animal is the skunk.

8. He belongs to the weasel family, though no sleek-skinned weasel cares to call the skunk cousin. The skunk's main defense is a fluid of most disagreeable odor. So sickening and offensive is the smell that people and animals alike avoid him. For this reason few know his value. His unpleasant traits are so prominent that they almost obscure his usefulness and worth.

9. He is about the size of a cat, the head is small, the nose pointed, and the forelegs are short and armed with long claws for digging. He wears

a black, long-haired coat; often there are broad white stripes upon the sides, while the crown and forehead are white. The tail is large and bushy. His movements are awkward and deliberate.

10. Nocturnal in habit, a moonlight night is his delight. He feeds upon meadow mice, salamanders,

grasshoppers, caterpillars, destructive beetles and grubs. He is a true field-scavenger, destroying by night the wasters of crops and herbage. The fur is valuable; it is known in trade as Alaska sable. Poor despised skunk, he is lonely and outcast

necessarily! One wishes he might not be trapped and destroyed, but allowed to do his work about the fields and meadows.

1. The grizzly bear seen in the picture is the largest, strongest and most dangerous of all bears. When hungry it will sometimes chase a man. Grizzly bears are found in the Rocky Mountains.

2. They are very cunning and unsociable. Their dens or lairs are in the denser forests and the mountain caves. The family generally consists of the male and female bears and their two cubs. Hunters kill them for their fur and meat. They sometimes smoke them out of their dens and then shoot them.

He is an

3. The black bear is more common. inhabitant of the wildernesses of the eastern and central states. We meet him at the menagerie and find him there a playful and ridiculous fellow. Still he is capable of great rage and fierceness. At