LABRADOR JOURNAL 199 



ured the length uf their stroke at lull s]mh'(1 and 

 foiuid it to be sixteen feet on an average. 



Wedne.s., May S, 1776. At three o'clock this 

 morning I took John Hayes, his crew, Jack, the 

 greyhound, and two Newfoundland dogs with me, 

 intending to kiunch the skiff into the water, and 

 go a duck shooting. As they were hauling her 

 along, I went forward to Puml)ly Point, from 

 whence I discovered a white-bear lying on the ice 

 near Huntingdon Island; we left the skiff, and 

 all hands went towards him, but finding the ice 

 extremely weak in the middle of the channel we 

 stopped. I then sent one man rotmd to drive him 

 towards us: in the mean time the bear went into 

 a pool of water which was open near the island, 

 and the man got on the other side and fired at 

 him; but as he did not come out so soon as I ex- 

 pected, I sent the rest of the people l)ack for the 

 skiff, intending to launch it into the water to him. 

 He soon after got upon the ice, and came close 

 up to me. I could have sent a ball through him; 

 but as I wished to have some sport first, I slipped 

 the greyhound at him, but he would not close with 

 him till the Newfoundland dogs came up; we then 

 had a fine battle, and they stopped him imtil I got 

 close up. As I was laying down one gun, that I 

 might tire at hijn with the other, I observed the 

 iee which I was u)><>n, to be so very weak Ihat it 

 Ix'iit under nie; aii<l I was at the same time sur- 

 i-(uinded witli small li(des, through which the 

 water br)iled up, by the motion of the ice, caused 

 by my weight. As 1 knew the water there was 



