Daily Kennebec journal., 1904-07-16
ARE FAMOUS FIGHTERS.
The Polar Bears Prove Terrors il
Scraps.

Owing to the exceptional rigors of
| the past winter along Baffinland ana
| Labrador, the polar bears have had TO
| wander off among the ice flOes in
greater numbers than usual in quest of
| the seals upon which they chiefly feed,
and the crews Of the Newfoundland
sealing fleet, just back from their an
nual hunt tell many stories of encoun-
ters with these monsters.
When he is we'll fed the polar bear is
| easily worsted, but if hungry he fights
with fury. Hence, encounters with
bears are not sought. unless riflemen
are included in the party; but some
times there is no alternative. This
season, on one occasion, several men
armed only with seal clubs had to
| fight an old male bear.
One man thought he saw n seal be-
| hind a hummOck and started off after
| it, a second following him. Just as the
/ first topped the hummock, he raised
! his club and struck, when to his horror
he found he had hit a polar bear over
| the snOut. The bear turned on him
| with an angry growl and would have
dismembered him with a single stroke
him on the snOut also. This blow half
stunned him and he fell backward into
a small hole of water.
Still, though daZed, he struggled to
get out, and SO there was nothing for
it but to fight him. and this the men
did successfully, the whole seven join
ing in the struggle. Yet he broke one
| mans ankle. lacerated anothers thigh
and splintered the arm of third be-
| fore he gave in. His skin and fat
weighed 400 pounds, and his carcass
probably as much more, so that he
was bulky as a small horse.
| On another occasion there was
fierce fight. within full view of ships
| crew. between bear and six men.
Bruin had been asleep for the night on
a small pan of ice and was awakened
in the early morning by the sound of
the steamers whistle. blown to call
her crew to their days toll. The bear
| aroused from slumber, raised himself
| on his hind paws with mighty grow1,
| as If in challenge to the ship. His de-
fiance was accepted in this sense by six
young seamen. who promptly made at
him with only their clubs.
| The bear was unable to leave the
small pan he was on, owing to six enc
mics assailng him. and so had to fight
| 1t out there. He made game defense.
too. Notwithstanding all attacks of his
adversaries. One of these struck at
him with a club, but he reared up,
| caught it in his mouth and jerked it
| from the owners hands, and, shaking
| IT as n terrier would a rat, hurriedly
banged at the owner with it and felled
| hlm senseless with n blow over the
head. The other assailants he kept off
also in the same way, and it was not
| till man came from the ship with Il
rifle and put four bullets through him
that he showed any weakening. At
| last he became daZed. and n well di-
rected blow on the snout stunned him.
while a shower more apparently killed
HIM.
| A rope was lashed around his body
and he was swung up hy the ships
winch to be got on board, but just as
he came over the rail the rope broke
and he disappeared from view In the
water. The cold bath revived him. for
in about five minutes he was seen to
emerge in a blow hole in a foe, and.
after two or three painful attempts,
painfully climb onto Il high pan. Three
men were at once dispatched after
him. and he was stunned. stabbed to
the heart and then dragged to the ship
to be skinned. He was nearly nine
feet long and twelve feet in largest
girth. and was altogether a formidable
adversary.
Men who go to the seal fisheries for
the sport or experience as passengers
in the ships Of the fleet. usually derive
their keenest enjoyment from stalking
polar bears. as it is quite novel form
of big game hunting. The scene is the
great floating ice field, and from hum
mock to hummock, and berg to berg
the hunter will dog his prey until a
lucky shot will enable him to bring
down the victim.
| Sealing captains will never let their
guests go off unattended On such a
mission, but send 4 couple of expert
riflemen with them. as at times Mr..
and Mrs. Bear and their offspring may
be at home or the foe. and they would
be rather too formidable 4 combination
Tor the inexperienced hunter
The Esquimaux of Greenland and
| Jpdilii l/stiiu are IlotdDic UcdI HuHteIS.
The ESquimaux have trained their dogs
to run the creatures down and tor
ment them until they can come UP
themselves and give the quietus with
lance or gun. The daring of the
Esquimaux hunters IS great, and they
will attack the infuriated bear the mo-
ment they come within striking range.
In Northern Labrador they are also
to be got in goodly numbers. Last sea-
son a Newfoundland fishing skipper
found two of them entangled in his nets
in O'Brien harbor at the entrance to
Ungava bay, and was able to kill them
with but little trouble. Another skip
per sighted n third and sent two men
in a boat after him. but the first shot
. only wounded the brute and he made