244 TRUE BEAR STORIES. 



eating of the liver. In speaking of a cap- 

 ture De Vere wrote as follows : "We dressed 

 her liver and ate it, which in taste liked us 

 well, but it made us all sick * * * for 

 all their skins came off, from the foot to 

 the head, but they recovered again, for 

 which we gave God hearty thanks." Hall 

 says that the Eskimos of Cumberland 

 Sound likewise believe the liver to be 

 poisonous, even for the dogs. Ross says all 

 who partook of the meat suffered from se- 

 vere headaches, and later the skin peeled 

 from the body. Greely says his party 

 largely lived upon the meat, and that it 

 was coarse, tough, the fat having a decided- 

 ly rank flavor. 



I believe that the physiognomist may fol- 

 low the characteristics of an animal by his 

 facial expression, and that with the aid of 

 a knowledge of the cranial development he 

 can gauge the mental caliber of the beast. 

 Following this system and adding to it the 

 testimony of credible explorers, it is quick- 

 ly shown that the polar bear is treacherous 



