124 STORY OF A BEAR. 



were so infatuated as to make a regular practice 

 of so obligingly committing suicide after tlie 

 manner of the ancient E^omans, my friend re- 

 plied rather indignantly, " Oh ! there is no 

 doubt about it, for I have seen lots of the 

 weapons they use myself! ! ! " Of course I 

 could not civilly express any further doubt of 

 the entire veracity of the story ; but I must 

 confess that my subsequent experience in Spitz- 

 bergen has no way tended to confirm my belief 

 in this very remarkable statement. 



Scoresby relates an amusing case of a bear 

 climbing into a boat and sitting coolly inside of 

 it, while the crew whom he had ejected hung 

 on outside until another boat's crew came up 

 and despatched him as he sat inoifensively 

 in the stern. This story I have no doubt is 

 true enough, but upon the whole I must say 

 that I think the polar bear affords less sport, 

 and may be killed with less danger, than 

 almost any large wild animal with which I am 

 acquainted. He is generally found either in the 

 water, or amongst loose ice, and as he cannot 

 swim nearly so fast as a boat can be rowed, he 

 is completely at your mercy, and you have only 

 to select your own distance and shoot him 

 through the head. Even if attacked on land, 



