THE WHITE BEAR. 57 



his pole, and rescues the starving animals from their perilous po- 

 sition. 



The sheep which are thus preserved from the effects of the 

 cold do not voluntarily burrow into the snow. They are not 

 intended to pass a large portion of their lives in a subnivean 

 abode, and their presence under the snow is quite accidental. 

 Striving to avoid the chilling blasts of the wind, they crowd to- 

 ward any object that may shelter them from the cruel tempest, 

 and while huddled together, the snow-drifts are heaped around 

 them, and cover them effectually. Under such circumstances 

 they often die of starvation if they are left undiscovered for too 

 long a period, after having nibbled all the wool from each others' 

 backs. 



But the White Beau intentionally places herself in such a 

 position, and toward the month of December retreats to the side 

 of a rock, where, by dint of scraping, and allowing the snow to 

 fall upon her, she forms a cell in which to reside during the pe- 

 riod of her accouchement. Within this strange nursery she pro- 

 duces her young, and remains with them beneath the snow until 

 the month of March, when she emerges into the outer air, bring- 

 ing with her the baby bears, who are then about as large as or- 

 dinary rabbits. As the time passes on, the breath of the family, 

 together with the warmth exhaled from their bodies, serves to 

 enlarge the cell, so that in proportion with their increasing di- 

 mensions, the accommodation is increased to suit them. As is 

 the case with the snow-coverecl sheep, the hidden Bear may be 

 discovered by means of the little hole which is made by the 

 warm breath, and is rendered more distinguishable by the hoar- 

 frost which collects around it. 



This curious abode is not sought by every Polar Bear. None 

 of the males trouble themselves to spend so much time in a 

 state of seclusion ; and as the only use of the retreat is to shel- 

 ter the young, the unmarried females roam freely about during 

 the winter months. The habit of partial hibernation is common 

 to most, if not to all true Bears, and we find that the White Bear 

 of the Polar regions, the Brown Bear of Europe, and the Black 

 Bear of Northern America, agree in this curious habit. Before 

 retiring into winter quarters, the Bear eats enormously, and, driv- 

 en by an unfailing instinct, resorts to the most nutritious diet, so 

 that it becomes prodigiously fat. In this condition it is in the 

 best state for killing, as the fur partakes of the general fullness of 



