BEAR BATTUE. 95 



remains of tlie walruses. The crew of the 

 vessel consisted, as is usual, of ten men, of 

 whom the skyppar and seven others landed 

 to attack the bears, after having anchored 

 their sloop, securely as they thought, to a 

 large grounded iceberg close to the island, and 

 given the two men left on board strict injunc- 

 tions to keep a good look-out. 



They had a most successful " battue," and 

 killed twenty-two or twenty-three of the bears, 

 the rest making good their escape to sea ; but 

 this chase occupied many hours, and mean- 

 while the two ship-keepers took advantage of 

 the captain's absence to institute a search for a 

 cask of brandy, which was kept in his cabin — 

 merely with the harmless intention of smelling 

 it, of course ; but from smelling they not un- 

 naturally got to tasting, and from tasting they 

 soon became helplessly drunk. While they were 

 in this happy state of oblivion to bears, ice- 

 bergs, and things in general, one of the sudden 

 dense fogs of the north came on, the tide 

 rose, the iceberg floated, and in a few minutes 

 it, and the sloop along with it, were out of sight 

 of the island and drifting away in the fog. The 

 hunting party had thought nothing of the fog, 

 as they imagined the iceberg to be " fast ; " so 



