The White Bear ^ — Ursus Maritimus, 111 



blows with its tail. Notwithstanding, the bear succeeds in catching and 

 feasting on many of the young whales. 



The dwelling-place of the polar bear on shore is by no means "well 

 ascertained, but is most probably in caves, or some well concealed situation ; 

 it has been stated that they reside, during winter, in excavations made in the 

 }>ernianent ice ; but Fabricius, from personal observation, declares the state- 

 ment to be incorrect. Certainly this animal does not go to any great distance 

 from the sea, on which he is almost exclusively dependent for food. Hence 

 the flesh of the polar bear is generally fishy and rank, though it is said to be 

 whitish, and similar to mutton. Captain Cook's people always preferred it 

 to the flesh of the walrus or morse, yet they never considered it a very desir- 

 able food, except when none other was to be obtained. The fat resem])Ie3 

 tallow, becoming as clear as whale-oil after liquefaction, and free from 

 disagreeable smell ; the oil obtained from the feet has been used medicinally, 

 but except in fineness, has no qualities which the oil of other parts does not 

 possess. 



One of the most singular facts relative to the polar bear is, that its 

 liver is to a great degree poisonous, a circumstance unknown in almost every 

 other animal. Three of Barent'z sailors were very much injured by eatiog 

 of it ; and Capt. Eoss, in his late Arctic voyage, verified the observation by 

 experiment. The principle which imparts this noxious quality to the liver 

 is as yet undiscovered ; we know of no article of diet used by the animal, to 

 which it can be attributed, and even if we did, this would not account for 

 the deleteriousness of the liver, while all other parts of the body remain free 

 from any injurious property. 



The skin of the polar bear, dressed with the hair on, forms very substan- 

 tial mats for carriages, or hall floors. The Greenlanders sometimes take it 

 off without ripping up, and inverting the skin, form a very warm sack, which 

 serves the purposes of a bed, the persons getting into it in order to sleep 

 comfortably. It cannot well be dressed at any other than the v/inter season, 

 on account of its great greasiness when freshly removed from the animal. — 

 The nations residing in the vicinity of Hudson's Bay dress it in the following 

 manner : they first stretch it out on a smooth patch of snow, and stake it 

 down, where it soon becomes stiffly frozen. While in this condition the 

 women scrape off all the fat till they come to the very root of the hair. It 

 is occasionally permitted to remain in that situation for a considerable time, 

 and when taken up it is suspended in the open air. When the frost is very 

 intense, it dries most perfectly ; with a little more scraping it becomes 

 entirely dry and supple, both skin and hair being beautifully white. Not- 

 withstanding that this bear is so large and powerful, his skin is both light 

 and spongy. 



The female polar bear is as ragged in her appearance, and as savagely 

 ferocious in disposition, as her mate ; yet to her offspring she displays a 

 tenderness of affection which strongly contrasts with her fierce and sanguinary 

 temper. When her cubs are exposed, danger has no existence to her, and 

 nothing but death can compel her to desist from struggling desperately to 



