WHALING AND BEAR-HUNTING 273 



we have hung heavy iron furnace bars and other round 

 bars, holding the furnace bars more or less in position, there 

 are ropes, chains and wire round all a horrible sight, for 

 the poor fellow inside, with all his struggles and the black of 

 the furnace bars, is quite black, and he has lost a lot of hair. 

 I would give a good deal to see him free again and over the 



side. But I pray heaven he does not settle his account with 

 me before he goes for having roped him into his present sad 

 condition. I believe it was the noise of the fight he put up 

 that awakened me this morning, at least what I heard made 

 me look out, and sure enough there were six men struggling 

 with crowbars, hammers, axes, etc., etc., and then poor 



Bruin's black head appeared between timbers and nails for 



a moment, till he was again closed up. It would take a 



couple of months of the ice and snow to clean his coat again. 



In the afternoon now he is almost quiet, for when he 



tries to claw at the wood through the cast-iron bars they fall 



back into place again, and he cannot eat iron ! So he is 



s 



