which he had lost from the wound in his fore leg; he reached the ice, which he ascended with great difficulty, having only one fore paw to assist him. Determined to injure the skin as little as possible, and to attack him in front, I got upon the ice, and was about to fire another ball to free him from his sufferings, when he uttered a tremendous growl, and fell down dead: as it now began to snow very fast, no time was lost in launching, towing, and hoisting him on board the ship; he proved of a size much larger than usually seen, and the following are the particulars of his measurement:
The general character of the great polar bear, is a long narrow head and neck; tip of the nose black; teeth of hideous magnitude; hair of a great length, soft and white, and in some parts tinged with yellow; limbs very thick and strong; ears short and rounded; front teeth six, both above and below; two lateral teeth of the lower jaw longer than the rest, and lobed with small or secondary teeth at the internal base; canine teeth solitary; grinders on
