BEARS 73 



and maddened bear would often turn and 

 destroy the pursuing boat . Gerit de Vere relates 

 an instance when a wounded bear clambered up 

 over the stern of a boat, compelling the sailors 

 to throw themselves into the sea. Nowadays, 

 the hunter who is armed with a good rifle and 

 preserves his sang-froid, runs little or no danger, 

 even if a bear rendered furious turns on him. 



It is frequently possible, in a sea-lake almost 

 free of ice, to pursue and shoot a bear without 

 leaving the ship. Several times during my 

 last voyage I achieved this in the Barentz Sea, 

 where icebergs are rarely encountered. Where, 

 however, channels are narrow and bergs are 

 numerous, it is quite another affair. Bears 

 swim, dive and cross the ice with such rapidity 

 that no vessel can follow them. Unless the 

 animal is brought down with a long shot at a 

 moment when it is crossing a berg (a by no 

 means easy matter !) it escapes. 



I have given chase to and shot many bears 

 from the deck of the Belgica. It is risky sport, 

 however. One cannot handle a ship with the 

 same ease as a small boat. And so, while I have 

 on many occasions shot a bear on the ice at 

 five hundred yards, when firing from the ship at 

 a swimming bear I have always been compelled 

 to double to head it off. I well remember an 



