234 BIG GAME OF NORTH AMERICA. 



having the advantage of a i^romontory of ice which would 

 obscure his view of us, we redoubled our speed, when, 

 arriving on smooth ice again, we found ourselves within 

 easy rifle range of the Bear. Jens, the Eskimo, coming out 

 flrst and being nearest to him, got the first shot, striking 

 the animal in the fore paw. The wound made no percepti- 

 ble change in the Bear's movements, except that he occa- 

 sionally raised his paw and shook it. He kept on at a 

 shambling trot, wallowing over the rough surface of the ice 

 at the best s^^eed he could command. Seeing that it now 

 depended on me, and knowing that a few steps more would 

 bring him to water, I took off my glove, dropped oh one 

 knee, and taking a careful aim, fired, striking him in 

 the side behind the shoulder. He fell, but got uj) and 

 started on, when I fired a second shot, which took effect 

 just back of the ear, lodging in the brain and killing him 

 instantly. 



Thus ended a most exciting chase, which resulted in the 

 addition of four hundred and fifty pounds of fresh meat to 

 our stores, which prolonged our lives for several days, and 

 without which probably none of us would have been alive 

 when the relief party arrived. p t 



My first introduction to a White or Polar Bear was in 

 1878, in Hudson Straits. One morning while our ship was 

 sailing through floes of ice — fortunately not very heavy, 

 but sufficiently dangerous to make us keep a strict watch, 

 and to require us to give them as wide a berth as possible — 

 I noticed, as one large floe j)assed our counter, a strange 

 object on it, and calling the attention of the first officer, an 

 old whaler, was informed that it was a sleeping Bear. Un- 

 fortunately for us, our Captain had been on deck all night, 

 and had just gone to sleep, so we were not allowed to dis- 

 turb him by discharging fire-arms, for his wrath would have 

 been more potent than even that of a wounded Bear. The 

 consequence was that both Bear and Captain were undis- 

 turbed. 



