46 ELISIIA KENT KANE. 



produced no effect. Several other balls struck him 

 before he seemed to become aware of the dangerous 

 nature of his new acquaintances. He then turned 

 to escape. Another shot severed the lumbar verte- 

 brae; when the poor beast continued to drag his 

 paralyzed extremities after him. His pursuers soon 

 came upon him, and he was quickly dispatched 

 with a bayonet. Three days afterward another 

 Hunt on a larger scale took place. Three bears were 

 seen deliberately perambulating the ice on the left, 

 and three others were observed on the land-ice in 

 the opposite direction. One of these parties ap- 

 proached the vessels and soon came boldly within 

 shot. Their curiosity and their rashness cost one 

 of them dearly, for he was killed by a bullet lodged 

 in his brain ; but while the men were securing him, 

 the rest profited by the interval to make good 

 their escape. Shortly after this interesting and vic- 

 torious episode, both vessels came very near suffer- 

 ing an equally disastrous fate, by being crushed be- 

 tween the seaward ice and the land-floe ; the former 

 of which, with a momentum of several millions of 

 tons, came floating down and rested upon the latter 

 at the speed of a knot an hour, having the two ves- 

 sels between them. Fortunately both vessels rose 

 upon the advancing ice and were saved, after having 

 unshipped their rudders. 



