The Sea and Its Living Wonders: A Popular Account of the Marvels of the Deep and of the Progress of Martime Discovery from the Earliest Ages to the Present TimeHartwig, G. (Georg)
History
The Sea and Its Living Wonders: A Popular Account of the Marvels of the Deep and of the Progress of Martime Discovery from the Earliest Ages to the Present Time
Hartwig, G. (Georg)
Animal behavior; Discoveries in geography; Discoveries in geography -- History; Marine animals; Marine plants; Ocean
him and the object of his chase, when in his youth he ventured alone over
the ice in these regions in pursuit of such formidable game."
The ferocious white bear, the enemy and the dread of all other animals
that come within its reach, is exceedingly tender and affectionate to its
young, of which the following anecdote affords a striking and interesting
example. While the "Carcase" was locked in the ice, early one morning the
man at the mast-head gave notice that three bears were making their way
very fast over the frozen ocean, and were directing their course towards
the ship. They had no doubt been invited by the scent of some blubber
of a sea-horse that the crew had killed a few days before, which had
been set on fire; for they drew out of the flames a part of the flesh
that remained unconsumed, and ate it voraciously. The crew from the ship
threw great lumps of the flesh of the sea-horse, which they had still
left, upon the ice, which the old bear fetched singly, laid every lump
before her cubs as she brought it, and dividing it, gave to each a share,
reserving but a small portion to herself. As she was fetching away the
last piece, they levelled their muskets at the cubs and shot them both
dead, and in her retreat they wounded the dam, but not mortally. It would
have drawn tears of pity from any but unfeeling minds, to have marked the
affectionate concern expressed by this poor beast in the dying moments of
her expiring young. Though she was herself dreadfully wounded, and could
but just crawl to the place where they lay, she carried the lump of flesh
she had fetched away, as she had done others before, tore it in pieces,
and laid it before them; and when she saw that they refused to eat, she
laid her paws first upon one and then upon the other, and endeavoured
to raise them up, piteously moaning all the while. When she found she
could not stir them, she went off, and when she had got at some distance,
looked back and moaned; and that not availing her to entice them away,
she returned, and smelling round them, began to lick their wounds. She
went off a second time as before, and having crawled a few paces, looked
again behind her, and for some time stood moaning. But still her cubs
not rising to follow her, she returned to them again, and with signs of
inexpressible fondness, went round one and round the other, pawing them
and moaning. Finding at last that they were cold and lifeless, she raised
her head towards the ship, and uttered a growl of despair, which the
murderers returned with a volley of musket balls. She fell between her
cubs, and died licking their wounds.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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