“You can take their kill too,” said my father. “But only if that’s your last chance, because it’s dangerous. Be sure you have at least two ways to get away. A tree to climb is good, because even if he tries to follow you up, you can fend him away with a stick. If he has a large kill, such as a deer, you can build a small fire near it and it will keep him away during the night. But always look the country over carefully first, because bears will eat and then sleep nearby.”

“I should think it would be smarter to try and get Mr. Bear himself,” I said.

My father laughed. “You are so right, Miss Lizzy! If you’ve got a gun, or can trap him, that’s just the trick, because the bear has plenty of fat, and as we said, that’s just what you need.”

“I saw lots of rabbits,” said Tim. “They won’t come close enough for me to hit them with the paddle, like I did the partridge. But I bet I could get them with a bow and arrow.”

“Yes, you could,” my father agreed. “But you can fill yourself three times a day with rabbit, or any other white meat, and still starve to death.”

“Oh, Dad,” said Tim. “Are you kidding me?”

“No, Tim,” my father said seriously. “Haven’t you ever heard of ‘rabbit starvation’? This disease was well known in the far north. A man can eat his fill of white meat and all he’ll get for his trouble is a sick stomach and roaring diarrhea. In fact, the more he eats, the more hungry he’ll become. The only way to get his system back to normal is by adding fat to the diet. Otherwise, he’ll die in just a few days. It’s actually better to get by on plain water than to eat nothing but rabbit. Of course, if you have good fat grubs, or even dragonflies, beetles—anything with fat in them—then the rabbit will be all right. Except you must always be sure that it isn’t diseased, since many have liver flukes. And you should be careful in cleaning them, since some carry a disease called tularemia. The germs are killed by cooking, so if you are careful to avoid touching the raw meat with any part of your hands that are cut or skinned, you’ll be safe enough.”

“I would think that it is hard to starve to death in the woods,” I said.