BEAR. 
243 
braves the utmost severity of the arctic zone, and is 
so little calculated to live in a temperate climate, 
that the one which was brought to England some 
years ago was restless, very furious, and always in 
motion. To keep him tolerably comfortable, the 
keeper was frequently obliged to throw over him 
pailfuls of cold water. From the coast of Green- 
land the white bear is frequently carried out to sea 
on pieces of ice, which are detached by winds or 
currents from the main body. On one of these 
frozen islands, he is often floated to the shore of 
Iceland ; where a general alarm is spread upon his 
appearance, and the inhabitants join in the pursuit 
till the animal is destroyed. A single Icelander, 
with no other weapon than a spear, will engage this 
formidable creature ; and although the combat is 
sometimes obstinate, he never fails to come off vic- 
torious. Mr. Pennant mentions a person who lived 
near Langeness, the extreme northern point of Ice- 
land, as still celebrated for having slain not fewer 
than twenty in single combat. To encourage the 
destruction of these animals, a reward is offered for 
every skin, which must be delivered to the next 
magistrate. They were formerly sent by the hunt- 
ers to the different cathedrals and churches, for 
the use of the priests, who, in the depth of win- 
ter, used to stand upon them to defend their feet 
from the cold stones while they celebrated high 
mass. 
This species of bear is so bold and ferocious that 
ft has been known to attack an armed vessel at m 
