122 ADVENTURES IN THE NORTHERN SEAS. 



current ; for instance, before I went to Spitzbergen, 

 I recollect an Englishman, who had passed many 

 summers in Norway, and could speak the language 

 thoroughly, telling me gravely the following story. 

 He heard from the people who went to Spitzbergen 

 that the white bear was a most dangerous and fe- 

 rocious animal, and always charged right at a man 

 whenever he saw hiin. " Other wild animals," said 

 my informant, "might charge occasionally, but the 

 white bear invariably did so, and the plan univers- 

 ally adopted for killing him was based upon this 

 well-known habit of the animal, and consisted in 

 having a spear made with a cross-piece about two 

 feet from the point, and, when the bear, according 

 to his usual practice, charged, the operator present- 

 ed this ingenious implement toward him. The bear 

 then seized it by the cross, and in his efforts to drag 

 it away from the man he pulled the blade right into 

 his own body, and so killed himself! ! !" Upon 

 my venturing to express some slight doubts as to 

 whether bears really were so infatuated as to make 

 a regular practice of so obligingly committing sui- 

 cide after the manner of the ancient Romans, my 

 friend replied, rather indignantly, "Oh, there is no 

 doubt about it, for I liave seen lots of the weapons 

 they use myself! ! /" Of course, I could not civilly 

 express any farther doubt of the entire veracity of 

 the story ; but I must confess that my subsequent 

 experience in Spitzbergen has no way tended to 

 confirm my belief in this very remarkable statement 



