THE POLAR-BEAR 281 



were surrounded. We had searched for some time, when, 

 as one of the Esquimaux passed the corner of a hum- 

 mock, he came face to face with the infuriated animal. 

 He gave a fearful cry just as the brute struck him with 

 one of liis immense paws. The rest of us heard the 

 cry and rapidly surrounded the brute, which stood 

 perfectly still over the body of the Esquimau. We fired 

 sixteen shots, twelve of which entered his body, before 

 he received his death-wound. The native was insensi- 

 ble when we picked him up and badly torn about the 

 shoulders by the beast's claws, but was not seriously 

 hurt. We took the body of the bear on a sledge to the 

 ship. It weighed 1,575 pounds and was ten feet and 

 one inch from nose to tail and eight feet and four inches 

 around the thickest part of its body."* 



This was an exceptionally large polar-bear, and the 

 weight given exceeds that of any grizzly that I ever 

 heard of. The opportunity of weighing grizzly bears 

 seldom occurs, however, since they are shot in the 

 mountain forests, where there are no scales at hand, 

 and where it is often impossible to bring out the bear. 

 It is no difficult matter with the aid of a lot of Esqui- 

 maux with a sled to convey the polar to a ship and 

 put it on the scales. 



* Standard Natural History, Volume V. 



