64 VOYAGE TO SPITSBERGEN. 



we killed one apparently much larger, but a gale 

 coming on, we were obliged to bear away, and leave 

 it on the ice. 



The hair of this species is very long, woolly, 

 and of a yellowish white colour. Its teeth lock 

 into each other like those of a rat-trap, and are so 

 remarkably strong and sharp, that it has been 

 known to shiver lances made of steel. Its head 

 is small, and a good deal elongated; nose black, 

 and without hair ; ears short, erect, and rounded ; 

 neck slender. Its limbs are of a vast thickness, 

 and each foot is armed with five exceedingly strong 

 black claws. The carcass of the one mentioned by 

 Captain Phipps, though without the skin, head, 

 and entrails, weighed 610 lbs. The flesh is white, 

 and though of a coarse texture, is prized by some 

 as equally delicious with mutton, especially when 

 boiled ; for when roasted it is of an oily taste. 

 The liver, it would seem, is of a poisonous nature, 

 as some Dutch sailors who ate part of one were 

 taken so extremely ill, that, after recovering, the 

 skin all over their bodies fell off in scales. 



The fat makes good train oil, and that which is 

 procured from the feet is sometimes used in medi- 

 cine, and is commonly known by the name of bear's 

 grease. In some upwards of a hundred pounds ef 



