THE POLAR BEAR. 



175 



melt its roof. The Eskimo have the same theory about the hibernating Polar Bears that the 

 Northern Indians hold with regard to the Brown Bear, namely, that it has no evacuations during 

 the winter, " stopping up all the natural passages with moss, grass, or earth." 



The Polar Bear is regularly hunted with Dogs by the Eskimo. The following extract gives 

 an account of their mode of procedure : " Let us suppose a Bear scented out at the base of an 

 iceberg. The Eskimo examines the track with sagacious care, to determine its age and direction, 

 and the speed with which the animal was moving when he passed along. The Dogs are set upon 

 the trail, and the hunter courses over the ice at their side in silence. As he turns the angle of 

 the berg his game is in view before him, stalking, probably, along with quiet march, sometimes 



POLAR BEARS. 



snuffing the air suspiciously, but making, nevertheless, for a nest of broken hummocks. The 

 Dogs spring forward, opening a wild, wolfish yell, the driver shrieking ' Nannook ! nannook ! ' and 

 all straining every nerve in pursuit. 



" The Bear rises on his haunches, inspects his pursuers, and starts off at full speed. The 

 hunter, as he runs, leaning over his sledge, seizes the traces of a couple of his Dogs, and liberates them 

 from their burthen. It is the work of a minute, for the motion is not checked, and the remaining 

 Dogs rush on with apparent ease. 



" Now, pressed more severely, the Bear makes for an iceberg, and stands at bay, while his 

 two foremost pursuers halt at a short distance and await the arrival of the hunter. At this moment 

 the whole pack are liberated ; the hunter grasps his lance, and, tumbling through the snow and ice, 

 prepares for the encounter. 



" If there be two hunters, the Bear is killed easily ; for one makes a feint of thrusting the spear 

 at the right side, and, as the animal turns with his arms towards the threatened attack, the left is 

 unprotected and receives the death-wound. 



