VOYAGE TO GREENLAND. 
137 
carrying them off, and devouring them in the sight 
of their companions. “ On the sixth of Septem- 
ber/’ observes this interesting writer, ‘‘ some sailors 
landed to seek for a certain sort of stone ; during 
the search, two of them were sleeping, one by the 
other, when a white bear approached them softly, 
and seized one of them by the back of his neck ; 
the sailor not knowing what it was, cried out, " Who 
has seized me there behind V when the other 
raised his head, exclaimed, ‘ Halloo ! it is a bear !* 
and immediately rose up, and ran away. The bear 
bit the unfortunate man in several parts of the head, 
and after having quite mangled him sucked his 
blood. The rest of the persons who were on shore, 
to the number of twenty, immediately ran with fire 
locks and pikes, and found the bear devouring the 
body. On seeing the men, he ran towards them 
with incredible fury, threw himself upon one of 
them, carried him away, and tore him to pieces, 
which so terrified them that the rest all fled. Those 
who remained in the vessel seeing them thus flee, 
and return towards the shore, jumped into a boat, 
and rowed with all their force to receive them ; 
when they had landed and beheld the lamentable 
spectacle, they encouraged the others to return with 
them to the combat, that all together they might 
attack the ferocious animal. Three of them ad- 
vanced a little ; the bear still continuing to devour 
his prey, without being at all disturbed at the sight 
of thirty men so near him. The two pilots having 
fired three times without hitting the animal, the 
