h the ice from
the north-east arm, and passed quite near the schooner,--so near, that
we could judge pretty accurately as to its length, which we estimated
to be twenty or twenty-two feet; and its horn, or tusk, which was
partly under water, could not have been less than five feet.

"Killed among the ice there, I reckon," said Capt. Mazard. "Crushed
up. I should not wonder if there were a great many large fish killed
so."

It seemed not improbable; for we had seen several snowy owls hovering
over the ice-packs; and, about an hour afterwards, as we were reading
in the cabin, Weymouth came down to say that a couple of bears were
in sight up there among the ice. We went up immediately. None of us
had ever seen a white bear, save at menageries, where they had to keep
the poor brutes dripping with ice-water, they were so near roasting
with our climate. To see a white bear prowling in his native
ice-fastnesses was, therefore, a novel spectacle for us.

They were distant from the schooner, at a rough guess, five hundred
yards, and seemed to have a good deal of business about a hole, or
chasm, among the loose ice at some distance up the arm.

"Seal or a dead finner in there, I'll be bound," said the captain.
"Now, boys, there's a chance for a bear-hunt!"

"Suppose we give 'em a shot from my cannon-rifle," I suggested.

"Better take the howitzer," said Raed. "Load it with a grist of those
bullets."

"That'll be the most likely to fetch 'em," laughed the captain.

Wade ran down after the powder and balls. The rest of us unlashed the
gun, got off the rubber-cloth, and trundled it along to point it over
the starboard rail. Raed then swabbed it out; Kit poured in the
powder; while Wade and I rammed down a wad of old newspaper.

"Now, put in a good dose of these blue-pills," advised the captain,
scooping up both hands full from the bag in which we kept them.

"Ef you war ter jest tie 'em up, or wrop 'em in a bit of canvas,
they'd go straighter, and wouldn't scatter round so bad," remarked old
Trull, who was not an uninterested spectator of the proceedings.

"Make them up sort of grape or canister shot fashion, you mean," said
Raed.

"Yes; that's what I mean,--ter keep 'em frum scatterin'."

"Not a bad idea," said Capt. Mazard. "Weymouth, bring a piece of old
canvas and a bit of manila-yarn."

About a quart of the ounce balls were hastily wrapped in the canvas,
and lashed up with the hempen twine. The bag was then ram