NO.1405. MAMMALS OF NOUTHWEST TERRITORIES— MACFARLANE. 723 



POLAR BEAR. 



Tlialarrto:^ iiiarltinius ( Pliip[)^:). 



With the exception of a few trade sl^iiis annuall}' received from 

 the Eskimos durinj^ our five years' residence at Fort Anderson, we 

 secured but three assorted examples of this bear, which were for- 

 warded to Washing-ton. One of them, the best, was shot in Liver- 

 pool Bay, and the other two, I think, were killed near the outlet of 

 the Wilmot Ilorton River in the Franklin Bay. The Eskimo who 

 brought us the latter stated that he and a companion were watching 

 for passing ducks and geese in a small sheltered, but open, stand, 

 which they had built with blocks or slabs of hard frozen snow close 

 to the shore, when the}' saw a large white bear coming from the sea 

 in their direction. They permitted it to almost reach them l)efore one 

 of them tired at and wounded it very severely, while the other soon 

 finished it with his spear. The second animal was killed later in the 

 same spring (1865) in a similar manner. 



The writer of these notes entered the service of the Hudson's Bay 

 Company on June 25, 1852. We emt)arked in the company's sailing 

 ship Prince of Wale)< (Capt. Daniel Herd) at Stronmess, Orkne}^, on 

 the 3d of Jul}' and reached York Factory, Hudson Bay, on the 15th 

 day of August following. ^Mlile retarded in the navigation of Hud- 

 son Strait by large fields of drifting ice, a full-grown polar bear was 

 observed from the ship, and as the captain was desii-ous of procuring 

 a suita])le specimen, he ordered his chief mate, John Hackland, to 

 lower and man one of the boats for this purpose. The company's 

 surgeon (H. S. Reddome) with several of the cabin passengers, myself 

 included, obtained permission to accompany him. As soon as l)ruin 

 perceived the boat proceeding in his direction, instead of being scared, 

 he boldly advanced to meet us, and we were therefore not long in 

 coming to close ([uarters. A couple of shots were tired at him, one of 

 which evidently struck home, as he inmiediateh' turned tail and set 

 oft' at a rapid and much blood-marked pace over the ice. After a hot 

 pursuit we gave up tlie chase, as it was impossible to follow him with 

 the boat or on the moving masses of floating ice. We then returned 

 to the ship greatly disappointed at the loss of such a tine ani- 

 mal. Next morning another bear was seen, but at a considerable dis- 

 tance; but we were more fortunate on a subsecpient occasion, while 

 we were similarly delayed l)y ice near the center of Hudson Bay. 

 This attempt by the same boat party was crowned by the capture 

 of a much larger polar boar than Captain Herd had ever observed 

 in the course of the twenty voyages then made by him between 

 London and York Factory. It was an old veteran, and had evidently 

 participated in many a hard-fought battle for food and love, the proof 

 marks of which were deep and many in numl)er. The last great 



