148 SHOOT A BEAR. 



when I shot him through the front of the head 

 and killed him. 



This was a large male bear, and I was a 

 little surprised at finding him so far from land, 

 although I have read and heard of their being 

 found at much greater distances. Indeed there 

 are instances on record of bears swimming 

 across and landing on the shores of Pinmarken, 

 although I have always imagined that those 

 individuals must have got out of their reckon- 

 ing, or been drifted across in storms. 



I had intended to try to kill this bear with 

 the lance, but he looked so fierce and so 

 formidable as he came at the boat, that I 

 tliouglit better of it, and stuck to my trusty 

 rifle, instead of trying any experiments of that 

 sort. 



While flensing the bear, one of my boat's 

 crew was standing incautiously on the brink 

 of the iceberg on which we all were, when 

 suddenly several feet of it gave way under- 

 neath him, and he went over head and ears 

 into the water, to the great merriment of his 

 fellows, but very much to his own discom- 

 fiture, and I should think discomfort, foras- 

 much as the temperature was just about freez- 

 ing point, and we did not reach the vessel for 



