BEARS ON THE ICE.
From the Tales of a Voyager.
With two boats, we assailed six of these animals, who had collected round the "crang," or carcass of a whale. After lying at the bottom of the sea for some time, the body of the whale rises to the surface, probably buoyed up by gas generated by putrefaction in its entrails. This circumstance is by no means uncommon, especially late in the summer, when time has been allowed for fermentation; but it seems to point out that the depths of the Arctic Ocean contain few or no animals to prey upon the numerous carcasses which are let sink after flinching, since, otherwise, the mass would become pierced and unable to float, if not wholly devoured. We slew five of the six bears, and brought a half-grown cub on board alive. This poor harmless beast was wounded in two or three places superficially with a boat hook, but its disposition seemed scarcely to have warranted these trifling blows. I was moved to compassion as it sat upon the jaw-bone of a whale, which projected beneath the tafrail, at one moment devouring pieces of its mother and sister with avidity, and at the next stretching its throat and blaring out mournfully, when a fragment of ice met its view, passing astern as we sailed on our course. It was about the size of a sheep, and after their tea the sailors got it down below, and turned it loose betwixt decks, from whence it sent up all hands with precipitation, some of them quitting their berths half-naked, as if a fall had been called. After a sufficient allowance of frolic had gratified the crew, a daring Shetlander collared the bear as if it had been a dog, and fastened a fresh rope round its neck, and having forced it to leap overboard, the rope's end was thrown to the boat's crew of a visiter, at that moment about to leave us, and it was towed or rather led away. The following day I saw its skin stretched on the shrouds of the vessel, to whose captain it had been presented. The other bear chace was after a monstrous male, who resolutely faced us, and would have boarded our boat had it not shot past him. He was flanked by the ship, which had run down upon him as he lay exactly in her course, and by the boat, which had got between him and the ice, and seeing no other resource, he turned upon the boat. When discovered, he was so near the floe that, wishing to intercept him, we leaped into the boat, and lowered away without waiting for a gun; we were, therefore, obliged to meet him at close quarters. But while we stood prepared, Shipley with a lance, and myself with the boat's hatchet, to receive his onset, the skiff was allowed to keep on her headway, and we passed beyond our foe, who took advantage of the error, and dashed forward to the ice, which he gained just as our boat in pursuit of him ran her nose up against the floe, and almost tripped his heels.
It was said by the harpooner, who first caught sight of this bear, that he was floating on his back in the water; and Greenlanders maintain, how truly or wrongly I know not, that bears sometimes throw themselves into this position to avoid being seen. Another reason for this attitude they affirm to be, a power possessed by bears of flinging themselves suddenly forward, by a violent jerk, whilst extended on their backs, so as to bring themselves at once into a boat; but this is a feat of which I do not believe them capable. Whilst speaking of bears, I may mention here, that the mate of the Dundee nearly lost his life this summer, from the fury of a she brownie, who attacked him on the ice. After killing her cub, he had fired at her, and struck her on the jaw, which remained gasping, as if dislocated, and believing her hors de combat, he got upon the floe, to take possession of her slain offspring. The she bear, however, though she had fled, now returned, and rushing towards her enemy, threw him down, but was unable to mangle him; for though her mouth was wide open, she had lost the ability to close it. Nevertheless, she mounted upon his prostrate body, and trampled it severely, before the crew of his boat could come to his rescue. When they did arrive, a sailor who brought the gun lost his presence of mind at the sight before him, and stood staring at the scene inactive; others, more bold, thrust the bear aside with lances; and the mate being freed from its weight, arose, took the gun from its bearer, and shot away the unlucky lower jaw of the beast completely. She then fell a victim to the weapons of his men. When I received this account from him, he was nearly recovered from the violence he had suffered from the enraged brute, but not till after having been for some time confined to his hammock.