THE POLAR BEAR. 63 



Icelanders make cloaks of it, and they cure and eat the flesh 

 of those they kill that occasionally invade their country. But 

 some parts of the animal prove highly injurious to those who 

 have eaten them. Scoresby says, that those sailors who, while 

 in the arctic regions, have been obliged to eat the flesh of bears, 

 and have not taken the precaution of rejecting the Ever, have 

 almost always been attacked with sickness, a peeling off of the 

 skin, and, sometimes, have died from its effects. During the 

 stay of Captain Sir John Ross at Fury Beach, some of his 

 party being tempted by the fine appearance of the meat of some 

 Polar bears, made a hearty meal of the first that was shot. All 

 who partook of it soon complained of a violent headache, which, 

 with some, continued two or three days, and was followed by 

 the skin peeling off the face, hands, and arms ; and, in others, 

 who probably had eaten more largely, the skin peeled off the 

 whole body. On a former occasion, he witnessed a similar 

 occurrence, when, on Sir Edward Parry's Polar journey, having 

 lived for several days wholly on two bears that were shot, the 

 skin peeled off' the feet, legs, and arms of many of the party j 

 but it was then attributed rather to the quantity than the quality 

 of the meat, and to their having been, for some time previous, 

 on very short allowance of provision. 



THE LABIATED, OR THICK-LIPPED BEAR. 

 (Ursus Labiatus, Blainville : Prochilus Labiatus, Illiger.) 



This curious animal, the largest of the Indian bears, is a 

 native of Hindostan, more particularly the mountainous districts. 

 It is common in Bengal, on the mountains of Silhet, and in the 

 Deccan Ghauts ; residing in caverns or holes, which it digs. 



It is distinguished from all its tropical congeners by its 

 denser coat of hair, which is of a deep glossy black colour, and, 

 in old individuals, almost touches the ground. It is doubtless 

 owing to this natural protection that it is enabled to brave our 

 winters with impunity, even when its den is placed in a com- 

 paratively unsheltered situation. The hair on the back of the 



