The large size and sometimes awkward appearance of black bears combine to give a comic note to some of their natural actions. A bear in full flight, lumbering along a trail with head swinging from side to side and hind feet stretching past the forelegs at each stride, is more apt than not to amuse the observer. Near Stevens Pass, a large black bear was observed lying on its back in a mud wallow. This was an oval opening in the ground in a meadow of heather and huckleberry near a small stream. The wallow was approximately 5 feet long, 3 feet deep and 4 feet wide. The bear was immersed in muddy water with only its head and feet visible. It seemed well content and comfortable, shifting its bulk occasionally and waving its paws. When a stray breeze brought to the bear the scent of my companion and myself the animal's contentment vanished and it hastily made a frantic effort to depart. It had wedged itself deeply in the hole, and as it twisted and turned in attempting to sit up, waves of water gushed from the wallow. Eventually escaping from its wallow, the bear half ran and half rolled to the cover of alders 100 feet away. This particular wallow had been in use by bears for some time, as was attested by old droppings at its edge and by its well-worn condition. [Illustration: FIG. 50. Distribution of the black bear in Washington. A. _Ursus americanus altifrontalis._ B. _Ursus americanus cinnamomum._] The fact that Washington has the largest population of black bears of the states in the union is due, largely, I feel, to abundant natural cover, food, such as salmon and huckleberries, and an intelligent game code. In California and some other states the black bear has been considered a fur bearer, to be trapped with steel traps. This is permitted in spite of the fact that their pelts bring but a few dollars, usually less than ten. Their sale scarcely repays the trapper for his labor in preparing the hide. Townsend (1887: 182) remarked on the ease with which bears could be trapped in California although in the same area they were so shy that they could seldom be shot. As a result of trapping, the number of bears in some states has been dangerously reduced. In Washington the bear is a game animal, to be hunted with a rifle for a few weeks in the fall when the pelt and flesh are at their best. As a result bears are numerous and can be hunted with fair chances of success. =Ursus americanus altifrontalis= Elliot _Ursus altifrontalis_ Elliot, Field Columb. Mus. Publ. 80, zoöl. ser. 3:234, June, 1903. _Euarctos altifrontalis_ Miller, U. S. Nat. Mus. Bull., 128:90, April 29, 1924. _Ursus americanus americanus_ Taylor and Shaw, Mammals and Birds of Mount Rainier National Park, U. S. Nat. Park Service, Washington, p. 37, 1927. _Euarctos americanus altifrontalis_ Bailey, N. Amer. Fauna, 55:321, August 29, 1936.