66* ANIMALS IN MENAGERIES. 



such ravages on the flocks, that the inhabitants rise in 

 a body to destroy them. The manner in which he sur- 

 prises a seal has been thus described by captain Lyon. 

 — '^ The bear, on seeing his intended prey, gets 

 quietly into the water and swims to leeward of him ; 

 w^hence, by frequent short dives, he silently makes his 

 approaches, and so arranges his distance, that at the last 

 dive he comes to the spot where the seal is lying. If 

 the poor animal attempts to escape by rolling into the 

 water, he falls into the bear's clutches ; if, on the con- 

 trary, he lies still, his destroyer makes a powerful spring, 

 kills him on the ice, and devours him at leisure." Cap- 

 tain Lyon describes the pace of the polar bear, when 

 at full speed, as a kind of shuffle, as quick as the sharp 

 gallop of a horse. 



Of the amazing power of this animal many extra- 

 ordinary accounts have been told, which need not be 

 here repeated. We cannot, however, pass over the fol- 

 lowing, given by Mr. Churchill, and pointed out to us 

 by Dr. Richardson. — ^' On the 6th of September, 1594, 

 part of the crew of Barentz's vessel landed to search for 

 a certain sort of stone ; during this search, two of the 

 party laid down together to sleep, when a white bear, very 

 lean, softly approached and seized one of them by the nape 

 of the neck. The poor man, not knowing what it was, 

 cried out, ' Who has seized me thus behind ? ' on which 

 his companion, raising his head, said, '^Holloa, mate, 't is 

 a bear,' and immediately ran away. The bear, having 

 dreadfully mangled the unfortunate man's head, sucked 

 his blood r the rest of the party, to the number of twenty, 

 immediately ran with their arms, and found the bear de- 

 vouring the body; the bear, on seeing them, ran upon 

 them, and carrying another man away, tore him also to 

 pieces. This second adventure so terrified them, that 

 they all fled. They returned, however, with a rein- 

 forcement ; and the two pilots having fired three times 

 without hitting the animal, the purser approached a little 

 nearer, and shot the bear in the head close to the eye. 

 This did not cause him to quit his prey, for, holding the 



