224 THKOUGH THE MACKENZIE BASIIn' 



River, Dunvegan, Hudson's Hope, and St. John, with other 

 Edmonton fur-trade stations, to constitute the Conapany's 

 new district of Peace River, which, for outfit 1889, turned 

 out 500 hlack, 67 brown, and 38 gray bears. Eor the five 

 years 1885 to 1889, JSTew Caledonia District, British Colum- 

 bia, supplied 1,602 assorted bears, and in 1889, 333 blaxjk, 

 11 brown and 21 gray, as against 412 black, 22 brown, and 

 20 gray shipped the year previous. I may mention in con- 

 clusion that the English River District, next on the south-east 

 of Athabasca, traded 283 black and 64 brown in outfit 1889, 

 and in 1890, 399 black, 120 brown, and 1 gray bear skins. 



PoLAK Beae — Thalarctos maritimus (Phipps). 



With the exception of a few trade skins annually received 

 from the Eskimos during our five years' residence at Fort 

 Anderson, we secured but three assorted examples of this 

 bear, which were forwarded to Washington. One of them, 

 the best, was shot in Liverpool Bay, and the other two, I 

 think, were killed near the outlet of the Wihnot Horton 

 River in the Eranklin Bay. The Eskimo who brought us 

 the latter stated that he and a companion were watching for 

 passing ducks and geese in a small sheltered, but open, stand, 

 which they had built with blocks or slabs of hard frozen 

 snow close to the shore, when they saw a large white bear 

 coming from the sea in their direction. They permitted it 

 to almost reach them before one of them fired at and 

 wounded it very severely, while the other soon finished it 

 with his spear. The second animal was killed later in the 

 same spring (1865) in a similar manner. 



The writer of these notes entered the service of the Hud- 

 son's Bay Company on June 25, 1852. We embarked in 

 the Company's sailing ship Prince of Wales (Capt. David 

 Herd) at Stromness, Orkney, on the 3rd of July, and 

 reached York Factory, Hudson Bay, on the 15th day of 

 August following. While retarded in the navigation of Hud- 

 son Strait by large fields of drifting ice, a full-grown polar 



