134 
VOYAGE TO GREENLAND. 
which he had lost from the wound in his fore leg ; 
he reached the ice, which he ascended with great 
difficulty, having only one fore paw to assist him. 
Determined to injure the skin as little as possible, 
and to attack him in front, I got upon the ice, and 
was about to fire another ball to free him from his 
sufferings, when he uttered a tremendous growl, 
and fell down dead : as it now began to snow very 
fast, no time was lost in launching, towing, and 
hoisting him on board the ship ; he proved of a size 
much larger than usually seen, and the following 
are the particulars of his measurement : 
Feet 
Inches 
Length from the snout to the tail . 
7 
6 
Height of the shoulder .... 
4 
6 
Circumference at the shoulder . . 
6 
111 
Breadth of the fore paw .... 
0 
111 
Breadth of the hind paw .... 
0 
n 
Length of the fore claws .... 
0 
n 
Length of the hind claws .... 
0 
n 
Length of the tusks in the upper jaw 
0 
The general character of the great polar 
bear, is 
a long narrow head and neck ; tip of the nose 
black ; teeth of hideous magnitude ; hair of a great 
length, soft and white, and in some parts tinged 
with yellow ; limbs very thick and strong; ears short 
and rounded ; front teeth six, both above and below ; 
two lateral teeth of the lower jaw longer than the 
rest, and lobed with small or secondary teeth at the 
internal base ; canine teeth solitary ; grinders on 
