112 The White Bear .f — JJrs^is Maritimus, 



defend or save them. The death of her oflfspriug is with great difficulty 

 acknowledged by the parent ; when they are shot by her side the poor beast 

 solicits their attention by every fond artifice, and endeavours to awaken them 

 from their unnatural sleep : she offers them food, licks their wounds, caresses 

 and moans over them in such a manner as to evince a degree of feeling which 

 could scarcely be anticipated fi'om so rude and terrible a quadruped. 



Niunerous instances of this fondness of attachment have been observed, 

 and some of them attended with most singular displays of sagacity on the 

 part of the mother. The following circumstance is related in Scoresby's 

 account of the Arctic Eegions, and is entitled to the fullest credence, because 

 coming from so competent and excellent an observer : — 



" A she bear, with her two cubs, were pursued on the ice by some of 

 the men, and were so closely approached, as to alarm the mother for the 

 •safety of her offspring. Finding that they could not advance with the 

 desired speed, she used various artifices to urge them forward, but without 

 success. Determined to save them, if possible, she ran to one of the cubs, 

 placed her nose under it, and threw it forward as far as possible ; then going 

 to the other, she perfoimed the same action, and repeated it frequently, until 

 she had thus conveyed them to a considerable distance. The yomig bears 

 seemed perfectly conscious of their mother's intention, for as soon as they 

 recovered their feet, after being thrown forward, they immediately ran on in 

 the proper direction, and when the mother came up to renew the effort, the 

 little rogues uniformly placed themselves across her path, that they might 

 receive the full advantage of the force exerted for their safety." 



The most affecting instance on record of the maternal affection exhibited 

 by this bear, is related in one of the Polar Yoyages ; it conveys so excellent 

 an idea of this creature's strong feeling of parental love, that we should deem 

 the history of the animal imperfect, were such an illustration omitted : 



" Early in the morning the man at the mast-head gave notice that three 

 bears were making their way very fast over the ice, and directing their com*se 

 towards the ship. They had probably been invited by the blubber of a sea- 

 horse, which the men had set on fire, and which was bm-ning on the ice at 

 the time of theu* approach. They proved to be a she bear and her two cubs ; 

 but the cubs were nearly as large as the dam. They ran eagerly to the fire, 

 and drew out from the flames part of the flesh of the sea-horse, which remained 

 unconsumed, and ate it voraciously. The crew from the ship threw great 

 pieces of the flesh, which they had still left, upon the ice, which the old bear 

 carried away singly, laid every piece before her cubs, and dividing them, 

 gave each a share, reserving but a small portion to herself. As she was 

 carrying away the last piece, they levelled their muskets at the cubs, and 

 shot them both dead ; and in her retreat they wounded the dam, but not 

 mortally. 



" It would have drawn tears of pity from any but unfeeling minds, to 

 have marked the affectionate concern manifested by this poor beast in the 

 last moment of her expiring young. Though she was sorely wounded, and 

 could but just crawl to the place where they lay, she carried the lump of 



