AND AMERICAN RURAL SPORTS. 
219 
killed during Captain Ross’ voyage, 
in 
the vicinity 
Prince William’s Sound: — 
Length, from the snout to the tail, 
6 feet 8 inches. 
to the shoulder-blade, 
2 
10 
Circumference near the fore-legs, 
6 
of the neck, 
r» 
O 
2 
Breadth of the fore-paw, 
10 
of the hind-foot, - 
84 
Circumference of the hind-leg, 
1 
10 
of the fore-leg, - 
1 
8 
of the snout, before 
the eyes, 
1 
8 
Length of the snout to the occiput, 
1 
6 
Height to the fore-shoulder, 
4 
Fore-claws, - 
24 
Hind-claws, - 
11 
Tail, ------ 
4 
Weightofthe animal, after losing thirty pounds of blood, 
11314 pounds. 
We have stated that the Polar Bear preys on seals, fish, 
and the carcasses of whales; it also preys on birds, and 
their eggs, and not unfrequently destroys young whales 
and walruses: it is also said to disinter human bodies, and 
devour them with great greediness. Occasionally they 
break into the huts of the Greenlanders, attracted by the 
smell of seal’s flesh, on which these people almost exclu- 
sively subsist. Yet we are credibly informed, that, when 
their accustomed food is to be obtained in sufficient quantity, 
they neither show much disposition to attack men, nor 
cattle, however accessible these may be. 
In the morse or walrus, this bear has an enemy of great 
power and fierceness, with which he has at times dread- 
ful combats, most generally terminating in the defeat of 
the bear, as the walrus is armed with long tusks, capable 
of giving deadly wounds. The whale is also a perpetual 
enemy of the Polar Bear, chasing him from the waters it 
frequents, and killing, him by blows with its tail. Not- 
withstanding, the bear succeeds in catching and feasting 
on many of the young whales. 
The dwelling place of the Polar Bear on shore, is by 
no means well ascertained, but is most probably in caves, 
or in some well concealed situation; it has been stated, 
that they reside, during winter, in excavations made in 
the permanent ice — but Fabricius, from personal observa- 
tion, declares the statement to be incorrect. Certainly 
this animal does not often go to any great distance from 
the sea, on which he is almost exclusively dependent for 
food. Hence the flesh of the Polar Bear is generally 
fishy and rank, though it is said to be whitish, and simi- 
lar to mutton. Captain Cook’s people always preferred it 
to the flesh of the walrus or morse, yet they never con- 
sidered it a very desirable food, except when none other 
was to be obtained. The fat resembles tallow, becoming 
as clear as whale-oil after liquefaction, and free from disa- 
greeable smell; the oil obtained from the feet has been 
used medicinally, but except in fineness, has no qualities 
which the oil of other parts does not possess. 
One of the most singular facts relative to the Polar Bear 
is, that its liver is to a great degree poisonous, a circum- 
stance unknown in almost every other animal. Three 
of Barent’s sailors were very much injured by eating of 
it; and Captain Ross, in his late Arctic voyage, verified 
the observation by experiment. The principle which im- 
parts this noxious quality to the liver, is as yet undis- 
covered; we know of no article of diet used by the animal 
to which it can be attributed, and even if we did, this 
would notaccount for the deleteriousness of the liver, while 
all other parts of the body remain free from any injurious 
property. 
The skin of the Polar Bear, dressed with the hair on, 
forms very substantial mats for carriages, or hall floors. 
The Greenlanders sometimes take it off without ripping 
up, and inverting the skin, form a very warm sack, which 
serves the purpose of a bed, the person getting into it 
in order to sleep comfortably. It cannot well be dressed 
at any other than the winter season, on account of its great 
greasiness when freshly removed from the animal. The 
nations residing in the vicinity of Hudson’s Bay dress 
it in the following manner: they first stretch it out on a 
smooth patch of snow, and stake it down, where it soon 
becomes stifly frozen. While in this condition the women 
scrape off all the fat till they come to the very roots of 
the hair. It is occasionally permitted to remain in that 
situation for a considerable time, and when taken up it is 
suspended in the open air. When the frost is very in- 
tense, it dries most perfectly; with a little more scraping 
it becomes entirely dry and supple, both skin and hair 
being beautifully white. Notwithstanding that this Bear 
is so large and powerful, his skin is both light and 
spongy. 
The time of the year at which the sexes seek each 
other is not positively known, but it is most probably in 
the month of July, or of August. Hearne, who is an ex- 
cellent authority, relates that he has seen them killed 
during this season, when the males exhibited an extreme 
degree of attachment to their companions. After a female 
was killed, the male placed his fore paws over her, and 
allowed himself to be shot rather than relinquish her dead 
body. 
The pregnant females during winter seek shelter near 
the skirt of the woods, where they excavate dens in the 
deepest snow-drifts, and remain there in a state of torpid 
