BEAR HUNT. 
119 
envelope of blubber pervades the entire cellular tissue, 
communicating to the flesh a strong and fishy taste. 
He is therefore, contrary to our butchers’ rules at 
home, most palatable when lean. In the present case, 
we ate liberally of his steaks, although they savored 
somewhat of lamp oil. 
The liver of the Polar bear is avoided by the Es- 
quimaux. The whalers say that it produces a cuta- 
neous eruption ; and Scoresby, who observes upon this 
as a “curious fact,” speaks also of sailors having died 
from its poisonous effects. Knowing that the seal, 
upon which the bear chiefly feeds, is palatable and 
nutritious throughout, I determined to test the some- 
what anomalous fact of a poisonous viscus in a quad- 
ruped, and therefore ate of it freely. I found no ill 
effect from it. On the contrary, it was accepted after- 
ward as a frequent dish upon our breakfast table ; and 
during the trials of our long winter, it was never re- 
jected by the crew. This idea, which has crept very 
generally into our systematic books, Fabricius, Kich- 
ardson, and Parry among the rest, is probably based 
on some accidental cases of a diseased organ : it is as 
much at variance with sound analogies as with the 
experience of our party. 
Three days after this we had another hunt. Three 
bears were seen stalking over the floes to our left, and 
almost at the same moment three more were report- 
ed on the land ice. While we were hesitating which 
party to attack, those on the land side took to the 
water ahead of us, and, with a sort of infatuation, 
swam toward the brig. The lead in which we were 
was not wider than the Schuylkill at Gray’s Ferry, 
some three hundred yards perhaps, and a couple of 
minutes therefore brought our boat within shot. 
