UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 299 



nose is black : its teeth are of great magnitude; its hair is of great 

 length, .soft and white, and in part tinged with yellow. 



Travellers vary about their size. One measured by order of Lord 

 Mulgrave was as follows : 



Feet. Inches. 



Length from the snout to the tail 7 1 



from snout to shoulder bone - 23 



Height at the shoulder 4 3 



( 'ircumlVrence near the fore legs 7 



of the neck near the ear 2 1 



Breadth of the fore paw 7 



Weight of the carcass without the head, skin, or entrails 610 Ibs. 



These animals are very ferocious. They will attack, and attempt 

 to board, vessels far distant from the shore; and in some instances, 

 have been with difficulty repelled. They seem to give a preference 

 to human blood. Their usual food is fish, seals, and the carcasses 

 of whales. On land they prey on deer, hares, young birds and eggs, 

 and often on whortleberries and crowberries. They are at constant 

 enmity with the Walrus or Morse : the last, by reason of its vast tusks, 

 has generally the superiority : but frequently both the combatants pe- 

 rish in the conflict. 



(rrizzl i/ llcur. "This animal," says Mr. Brackenridge, "is the 

 monarch of the country which he inhabits. The African Lion, or the 

 Tiger of Bengal, are not more terrible or fierce. He is the enemy 

 of man, and literally thirsts for human blood. So far from shunning, 

 he seldom fails to attack; and even to hunt him. The Indians make 

 war upon these ferocious monsters, with the same ceremonies as they 

 do upon a tribe of their own species : and in the recital of their victo- 

 ries, the death of one of them gives the warrior greater renown than 

 the scalp of a human enemy. 



"He possesses an amazing strength, and attacks without hesita- 

 tion, and tears to pieces, the largest Buffaloe. The colour is usually 

 such as the name indicates, though there are varieties, from black to 

 silvery whiteness. The skins are highly valued for muffs and tippets; 

 and will bring from twenty to fifty dollars each. 



"This Bear is not usually seen lower than the Mandan villages. In 

 the vicinity of the Roche Jaune, and of the Little Missouri, they are said 

 to be most numerous. They do not wander much in the prairies, 

 but are usually found in points of wood, in the neighbourhood of large 

 streams. 



"In shape, he differs from the common Bear in being propor- 

 tionally more long and lank. He does not climb trees, a circum- 

 stance which has enabled hunters, when attacked, to make their es- 

 cape. "|| 



In the history of the expedition under the command of Lewis and 

 Clark, we have much interesting information relating to this dread- 

 fully ferocious animal. These enterprising travellers made many 

 narrow escapes from the attacks of this monster, who in some in- 

 stances was not brought to the ground until he had received seven or 

 eight balls through his body. As a wonderful proof of the tenacity of 

 life of this animal, one that was killed the nineteenth of May, 1805, 

 ran at his usual pace nearly a quarter of a mile, after having been 

 shot through the heart. 



* Views of Louisiana, by H. M. Brackenridge, Esq. p. 55. 



