BEAR OUTWITTED. 
175 
and we determine to push out into a more secure 
position. 
The crow’s-nest signal man, in the early morning, 
informs us of a bear being to windward, about four 
miles away, attracted probably by the odour of his 
grilled companions. Our friend, with his harpooneer 
Byers, goes in pursuit, while we mount into the rigging 
to see their plan of operations. We see them mount 
a hillock, and look in all directions with their glasses 
for the grizzly monster ; but in vain. They pull round 
to another point with similar result. Growing tired of 
the tedious delay, we get quietly below, and the men 
not knowing the moment when their energies will be 
tried to the utmost, creep back to finish their sleep, 
leaving the schooner deck a few minutes quite deserted. 
The bear steadily advancing, takes the water and gets 
upon the ice we are moored to. The look-out man, 
detecting the manoeuvre of the sly beast, again spoils 
our sport by yelling out the tidings ; and before we 
can do anything the bear has galloped off into space. 
On the boat’s return we are ashamed to recount our 
adventure; as the tables are turned, we laugh over the 
cunning generalship of the bear. Waiting behind some 
heap of snow which effectually concealed him from 
his pursuers, he must have slipped by them and so 
gained upon us without attracting attention. As an- 
