ZOOLOGY. — POLAR-BE'AE. — ANECDOTES. 523 



ice, got upon it, and attempted to escape. Find- 

 ing itself, however, detained by the rope, it endea- 

 voured to disengage itself in the following ingenious 

 way. Near the edge of the floe was a crack in the 

 ice, of a considerable length, but only 18 inches, or 

 SI feet wide, and 8 or 4 feet deep. To this spot the 

 bear returned ; and when, on crossing the chasm, 

 the bight of the rope fell into it, he placed himself 

 across the opening ; then suspending himself by his 

 hind feet, with a leg on each side, he dropped his 

 head, and most of his body, into the chasm ; and, 

 with a foot applied to each side of the neck, at- 

 tempted, for some minutes, to push the rope over 

 his head. Finding this scheme ineffectual, he re- 

 moved to the main ice, and running with great im- 

 petuosity from the ship, gave a remarkable pull on 

 the rope ; then going backward a few steps he re- 

 peated the jerk. At length, after repeated attempts 

 to escape this way, every failure of which he an- 

 nounced by a significant growl, he yielded himself 

 to his hard necessity, and lay down on the ice in 

 angry and sullen silence. 



Accidents with bears occasionally occur, though 

 not so many, by any means, as the ferocity of these 

 animals, and the temerity of the sailors, who em- 

 brace every opportunity of attacking them, might 

 lead one to expect. 



Some of the early voyagers to the polar seas, had 

 hard conflicts with bears. Barentz' crew especially, 



