THE WHITE BEAR. 437 
The whiteness of his coat, which prevents his being distinguished 
amid the snow and ice, enables him to approach the timid seal. 
When the thaw begins, springs of water collect in the southern 
regions, and glide silently down the snow, looking like silver 
ribbons upon white velvet, and here these fierce animals resort to 
slake their thirst. | 
Unlike his brown cousin, the white bear has his toes united 
by a membrane, an addition to the foot by which he is enabled 
to swim with force and rapidity. However, he shares with all 
his tribe the peculiarity of walking upon the flat of his foot, and 
can stand erect on his hind-quarters. 
In the summer he leaves the water and returns to the woods. 
THE HEAD OF THE WHITE BEAR, 
(Thalarctos maritimus.) 
Although not so active on land as among his native bergs, yet 
he can run at the rate of about three miles an hour. During the 
winter, when the snow covers the ground, the bear returns to the 
sea, accompanied by a little family. As the cold increases, they 
may be seen prowling about the ice, climbing over the huge 
blocks, and plunging into the water which is still unfrozen. They 
congregate at this time in considerable numbers, being the only 
mammals of this kind that show any inclination to sociability. 
This is the more remarkable as they are extremely cruel, and 
animals of ferocious natures generally live more or less isolated. 
Sometimes white bears will repose on floating ice, permitting 
themselves to be carried, like drifting timber, to other countries. 
Thus bears have been drifted to the coasts of Iceland and 
Norway; and it is said that some have in this way crossed 
Behring’s Straits, and even travelled as far as the Japanese Archi- 
