A PLUCKY POLAE BEAK. 



131 



which they fondly believed were diamonds, but which were doubtless pieces of rock crystal. 

 As two of the men were taking a little rest, a "great leane white beare" suddenly stole 

 upon them, and caught one fast by the neck. The other, seeing the cause, ran away. 

 "The beare," says the quaint narrative, "at the first faling upon the man, bit his head 

 in sunder, and suckt out his blood/' whereupon some twenty of the men ran to the place, 

 and charged the animal with their pikes and muskets. Bruin, nothing daunted, seized 

 another of the men and tore him in pieces, the rest, seized with terror, running away. 



NOVA ZEMBLA, SHOWING THE ROUTE TAKEN BY BARENTS AND HIS FOLLOWERS. 



(Aflet on Authentic Map made by Geri it de Veer.) 



A number of sailors, seeing all this, immediately came on shore, and a second charge was 

 made. Many shots were fired, but missed ; at length the purser shot the animal between 

 the eyes, when she began to stagger. Two of the men broke their axes over her, and 

 yet she would not leave the bodies of their comrades. At length one of them succeeded 

 in stunning her with a well-directed blow, and then cut her throat. 



On the return of the second expedition from a voyage so fruitless, the General States 

 of the United Provinces declined to repeat the experiment, but offered a large reward to 

 any one who might make it "apparant that the sayd passage was to be sayled." The 

 merchants of Amsterdam thereupon prepared two vessels, and selected mostly single men 

 for their crews, i.e., men unhampered by family ties, offering them great rewards if the 



