102 THE AEOTIC BEAK. Chap. VI. 



snow bunting were seen ; to-day a fine bear 

 came witbin 150 yards, and was sbot by our 

 sportsmen ; as tbey were standipg round it 

 afterwards upon tbe ice, a small seal, tbe only 

 one seen for several days, popped up its bead 

 as if to exult over its fallen enemy — it was of 

 course instantly sbot : we bave learnt to esteem 

 seal's liver for breakfast very bigbly. 



It seems hardly rigbt to call polar bears land 

 animals; tbey abound bere, — 110 geographical 

 miles from tbe nearest land, — upon very loose 

 broken-up ice, wbicb is steadily drifting into 

 tbe Atlantic at tbe rate of 12 or 14 miles daily ; 

 to remain upon it would insure tbeir destruc- 

 tion were tbey not nearly amphibious ; they 

 bunt by scent, and are constantly running across 

 and against the wind, which prevails from the 

 northward, so that the same instinct wbicb 

 directs their search for prey, also serves the 

 important purpose of guiding them in tbe direc- 

 tion of tbe land and more solid ice. 



I remarked that the upper part of both Bruin's 

 fore-paws were rubbed quite bare : Petersen ex- 

 plains that to surprise the seal a bear crouches 

 down with bis fore-paws doubled underneath, 

 and pushes himself noiselessly forward with bis 

 hinder legs until within a few yards, when be 

 springs upon tbe unsuspecting victim, whether 



