WHALING AND BEAR-HUNTING 203 



just as humane and gentle a people as those who stay at home 

 and often criticise them unkindly. We led the lasso under 

 the floor bars of a big wooden cage which we made to-day ; 

 three men hauled his head down. Then we lowered him into 

 the cage, and whilst he tried to free his head, battens were 

 rapidly nailed on over his back. So he is on board, but not 

 all right, it is quite possible he may pull away a batten to- 

 night. He is busy carpentering, and has already got one 

 spar off. I would prefer his going overboard to looking me 

 up in my bunk. 



It blew all night, so we all rested and had European 

 breakfast at leisure at nine. I did a picture of a bear I saw 

 yesterday, Archie's bear. It is munching the head of a young 

 hooded-seal, Cystophora Cristata, of which we saw over forty 

 in one lot yesterday. I also did a picture, from notes at the 

 time, of the jolly lonely bear playing with a piece of drift- 

 wood, lying on its back and tossing away the wood with his 

 hind foot, just before he got up, suspecting there was some- 

 thing in the wind, and before going off over the floe down 

 wind at that easy gait that leaves poor man such miles 

 behind whenever there is soft snow to negotiate. 



