Harper's New Monthly Magazine, Vol. II, No. X., March 1851Various
General
Harper's New Monthly Magazine, Vol. II, No. X., March 1851
Various
American literature -- Periodicals; Civilization -- Periodicals; Culture -- Periodicals
The first evidence of the action of the chloroform on the bear, was a
diminution in his struggles; first one paw dropped, then the other. The
sponge was now removed from his face, the door of the den opened, and
his head laid upon a plank outside. The cataracts were speedily broken
up, and the bear was drawn into the cage again. For nearly five minutes
he remained, as was remarked by a keeper without knowledge, sense, or
understanding, till at length one leg gave a kick, then another, and
presently he attempted to stand. The essay was a failure, but he soon
tried to make his way to his cage. It was Garrick, if we remember right,
who affirmed that Talma was an indifferent representative of
inebriation, for he was not drunk in his legs. The bear, however acted
the part to perfection, and the way in which (like Commodore Trunnion on
his way to church) he tacked, during his route to his den, was ludicrous
in the extreme. At length he blundered into it, and was left quiet for a
time. He soon revived, and in the afternoon ate heartily. The following
morning on the door being opened, he came out, staring about him, caring
nothing for the light, and began humming, as he licked his paws, with
much the air of a musical amateur sitting down to a sonata on his
violoncello.
A group might have been dimly seen through the fog which covered the
garden on the morning of the 15th November, standing on the spot where
the proceedings above narrated took place ten days previously. This
group comprised Professor Owen, Mr. Yarrell, the president of the
Society, Count Nesselrode, Mr. Waterhouse, Mr. Pickersgill, R.A.,
Captain Stanley, R.N., and two or three other gentlemen. They were
assembled to witness the restoration to sight of another of the grizzly
bears. The bear this time was brought out of the den, and his chain
passed round the rail in front of it. Diluted chloroform was used, and
the operation was rendered more difficult by the animal not being
perfectly under its influence. He recovered immediately after the
couching needle had been withdrawn from the second eye, and walked
pretty steadily to his sleeping apartment, where he received the
condolences of his brethren, rather ungraciously it must be confessed,
but his head was far from clear, and his temper ruffled. When the
cataracts have been absorbed the animals will have sight.
The wooded districts of the American continent were tenanted before
civilization had made such gigantic strides, by large numbers of the
well known black bear, _Ursus Americanus_. Some years ago, black bears'
skins were greatly in vogue for carriage hammer-cloths, &c.; and an idea
of the animals destroyed, may be formed from the fact, that in 1783,
10,500 skins were imported, and the numbers gradually rose to 25,000 in
1803, since which time there has been a gradual decline. In those days,
a fine skin was worth from twenty to forty guineas, but may now be
obtained for five guineas.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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