BEAR. 



327 



mercury muy be hammered on the anvil, are equally 

 the same to the polar bear. On the ice, or in the 

 water, be the weather fair or foul, nature has furnished 

 him with abundant protection in the natural coat on 

 his back. Thus, he can move about and find his 

 food under circumstances to endure which few other 

 animals are equal ; and if food should fail in the 

 severity of the winter, he could, and in all probability 

 does, lie down to hybernate on the bare snow or ice. 



The ice upon the polar seas is not so smooth as 

 that which forms upon fresh water in lower latitudes, 

 because, when it is iirst formed, the water is generally 

 in motion, and there is not unfrcquently snow, so that 

 there is a scum of trash, or icy fragments, before the 

 water consolidates into a continued field of ice. This 

 gives it a granulated surface, which is afterwards 

 powdered over with snow, which falls not in Hakes, 

 but in small particles, when the cold is very great. 

 This surface, when once it is formed, remains unde- 

 eayed during the sunless months ; but when that 

 luminary begins to exert its influence, the surface 

 alternately thaws and freezes, at which time it becomes 

 so slippery that it is difficult footing. To the polar 

 bear, however, it is a safe path, and that animal never 

 slides or stumbles be the smoothness of the surface 

 what it may. 



From its great size and strength, the polar bear is, 

 under all circumstances, a powerful animal ; but upon 

 the ice it is peculiarly at home, and the danger of 

 attacking him there is much greater than anywhere 

 else. The following anecdote, recorded in his 

 " Narrative of a Voyage to Greenland," by Scoresby, 

 whose writings have thrown so much valuable light 

 upon the economy of the polar seas, will afford some 

 idea of the conduct of the bear on the ice. 



In the summer of 1820, " the ship, a Hull whaler, 

 was moored to a. piece of ice, on which, at a con- 

 siderable distance, a large bear was observed prowling 

 about for prey. One of the ship's company, embol- 

 dened by an artificial courage, derived from the free 

 use of rum, winch, in his economy, he had stored for 

 special occasions, undertook to pursue and attack the 

 bear that was within view. Armed only with a whale- 

 lance, he, resolutely, and against all persuasion, set 

 out on his adventurous exploit. A fatiguing journey 

 of about half a league, over a yielding surface of 

 snow aixl rugged hummocks, brought him within a 

 few yards of the enemv, which, to his surprise, un- 

 dauntedly faced him, and seemed to invite him to the 

 combat. His courage being by this time greatly 

 subdued, partly by evaporation of the stimulus, and 

 partly by the undismayed, and even threatening 

 aspect of the bear, he levelled his lance in an attitude 

 suited either for offensive or defensive action, and 

 stopped. The bear also stood still. In vain the 

 adventurer tried to rally courage to make the attack; 

 his enemy was too formidable, and his attitude too 

 imposing. In vain, also, he shouted, advanced his 

 lance, and made feints of attack ; the enemy, either 

 not Understanding, or despising such nnmanliness, 

 obstinately stood his ground. Already the limits of 

 the sailor began to quiver; but the fear of ridicule 

 from his me->hi:M;s had its influence, and he yet 

 scarcely dared to n treat. Bruin, however, possessing 

 reflection, or being regardless of consequences, 

 begun with audacious boldness to advance. His nigh 

 approach, and unshaken step, subdued the last spark 

 of bravery, and that dread of ridicule, which had 

 hitherto upheld our adventurer: he turned and lied. 



But now was the time of danger. The flight of the 

 sailor encouraged the bear, in turn, to pursue, and, 

 being better practised in snow travelling, he rapidly 

 gained upon the fugitive. The whale-lance, his only 

 weapon of defence, encumbering him in his retreat, 

 he threw it down, and kept on. This fortunately 

 excited the bear's attention. He stopped, pawed it, 

 bit it, and then renewed the chace. Again he was at 

 the heels of the panting seaman, who, conscious of 

 the favourable effects of the lance, dropped one of his 

 mittens. The stratagem succeeded ; and while bruin 

 stopped to examine it, the fugitive, improving the 

 interval, again made considerable progress a-head. 

 Still the bear resumed the pursuit with a most pro- 

 voking perseverance, except when arrested by another 

 mitten ; and finally, by a hat, which he tore to shreds 

 between his fore-teeth and paws, and would, no doubt, 

 soon have made the incautious adventurer his victim, 

 who was now rapidly losing strength, but for the 

 prompt and well-timed assistance of his ship- mates, 

 who, observing that the affair had assumed a danger- 

 ous aspect, sallied out to his rescue. The little 

 phalanx opened him a passage, and then stood to 

 receive his bold assailant. Though now beyond the 

 reach of his adversary, the dismayed fugitive con- 

 tinued onwards, impelled by his fears, until he fairly 

 reached the shelter of his ship. The bear once more 

 came to a stand, and for a moment seemed to survey 

 his enemies with all the consideration of an expe- 

 rienced general, when, finding them too numerous for 

 a hope of success, he very wisely wheeled about, and 

 succeeded in making a safe and honourable retreat." 



Whether the bear would, in this case, have fled 

 from the sailor, if the latter had at once gone boldly 

 in with his weapon, instead of pausing in fear and 

 brandishing it, is not known ; and there are no doubt 

 instances in which the bear dees attack man, though 

 the grand object of attraction for him is carrion and 

 offal. It is the flesh of the seal, the odour of which 

 becomes very rank, which allures him to the huts of 

 the northern people, just as it is the larder, and not 

 the people, which attracts the black bear of America 

 to the habitations of the back settlers ; and the 

 instances in which he attacks the people or their 

 domestic animals are lew, and confined to those 

 times at which his proper food fails. 



That food is, as has been hinted, the carrion of the 

 sea, or, in the absence of that, the sea mammalia 

 the seal generally, and the young of the \\alrns and 

 the whale. The bear of course never attacks the 

 full-grown whale ; because the weapons with which 

 he is furnished are not capable of inflicting any vital 

 injury upon it, while the blow of its tail, even on the 

 water, would flatten him like a pancake. He would 

 attack it at a disadvantage too ; for, though he can 

 swim for many miles, he is, like all quadruped animals, 

 very powerful only when he has a firm support. He 

 does however often attempt, and sometimes captures 

 the young of the whale, while they are so small that, 

 he can drag them on the ice. But this a perilous 

 meal for him ; for the whales which he is able to 

 land on the ice are sucking whales, and the mother 

 is generally very watchful of them. The mother 

 can either carry the young one away, far faster than 

 the bear can follow, or she can fight boldly in its 

 defence ; so that it becomes food for the bear only 

 by stratagem. The walrus is much more an ice and 

 rock animal than the whale: but still the walrus is 

 never to far from the water as that it cannot easily 



