NORTHERN OCEAN 343 



texture and thickness of their skins ; whereas the skin of the 

 bear, though so large an animal, is remarkably thin and 

 spungy."^ 



[368] Black Bears ^ are not very numerous to the North The Black 

 West of Churchill. Their manner of life is the same as the 

 rest of the species, though the face of the country they [369] 



* It is rather singular that the Polar Bears are seldom found on the land 

 during the Winter, on which account it is supposed they go out on the ice, and 

 keep near the edge of the water during that season, while the females that are 

 pregnant seek shelter at the skirts of the woods, and dig themselves dens in 

 the deepest drifts of snow they can find, where they remain in a state of inacti- 

 vity, and without food, from the latter end of December or January, till the 

 latter end of March ; at which time they leave their dens, and bend their course 

 towards the sea with their cubs ; which, in general, are two in number. Not- 

 withstanding the great magnitude of those animals when full grown, yet their 

 young are not larger than rabbits, and when they leave their dens, in March, I 

 have frequently seen them not larger than a white fox, and their steps on the 

 snow not bigger than a crown-piece, when those of their dam measure near 

 fifteen inches long and nine inches broad. They propagate when young, or at 

 least before they are half-grown ; for I have killed young females not larger 

 than a London calf, with milk in their teats ; whereas some of the full grown 

 ones are heavier than the largest of our common oxen. Indeed I was once at 

 the killing of one, when one of its hind feet being cut off at the ankle, weighed 

 fifty-four pounds. The males have a bone in their penis, as a dog has, and of 

 course unite in copulation ; but the time of their courtship is, I believe, not 

 exactly known : probably it may be in July or August, for at those times I have 

 often been at the killing them, when the males were so attached to their mis- 

 tresses, that after the female was killed, the male would put his two fore-paws 

 over, and suffer himself to be shot before he would quit her. I have frequently 

 seen and killed those animals near twelve leagues from the land ; but as the 

 Fall of the year advances, they are taught by instinct to seek the shore. 

 Though such a tremendous animal, they are very shy of coming near a man ; 

 but when closely pursued in the water, they frequently attack the boat, seize 

 the oars, and wrest them from the hands of the strongest man, seeming 

 desirous to get on board ; but the people on those occasions are always provided 

 with fire-arms and hatchets, to prevent such an unwelcome visit. The flesh of 

 this animal, when killed in Winter, (if not too old,) is far from being unpleasant 

 eating ; and the young cubs, in the Spring, are rather delicate than otherwise. 

 The teats of the female are only two in number, and are placed between the 

 fore-legs. The best Drawing of this Animal I have seen, is that done by Mr. 

 Webber, among the Plates of Cook's last Voyage. 



[^ Ursus americanus Pallas. This species inhabits all the region west of 

 Hudson Bay nearly or quite to the limit of trees, though it is rare near the 

 border of the woods.] 



