SEE AN IMMENSE BEAR. 117 



CHAP. VIII. 



Large Bear shot. — Adventures of an Opera-glass. — Size 

 and Weight of Polar Bear. — Stories of Bears. — She- 

 Bear and Cubs. — Break-up of the Past-Ice. — Kill the 

 Old Bear, — and catch the Cubs alive. — Shocking Case 

 of filial Ingratitude. 



In tlie afternoon we rowed back along the edge 

 of the "fast" ice, in hopes that more seals 

 might have come out of the covered part. 



I was sitting in the bow of the boat, and on 

 approaching the west side of the fiord again, I 

 saw a dull white object on the shore, and by 

 applying the glass, I made it out to be a large 

 bear, evidently snufSng his way up the wind 

 to the carcases of the three seals which I had 

 shot first in the morning, and had left on the 

 ice near the western side of the fiord : the 

 bear when we first saw him was about a mile 

 distant, and the carcases lay about half way 

 between him and the boat. I was somewhat 

 at a loss at first how to proceed, because close 

 to the bear there was a large extent of flat 



I 3 



