ngs for their bow.

"The success of our unfortunate islanders in making the spears, and the
use these proved of, encouraged them to proceed, and forge some pieces
of iron into heads of arrows of the same shape, though somewhat smaller
in size than the spears above-mentioned. Having ground and sharpened
these like the former, they tied them with the sinews of the white bears
to pieces of fir, to which, by the help of fine threads of the same,
they fastened feathers of sea-fowl, and thus became possessed of a
complete bow and arrows. Their ingenuity in this respect was crowned
with success far beyond their expectation; for, during the time of their
continuance upon the island, with these arrows they killed no less than
two hundred and fifty reindeer, besides a great number of blue and white
foxes. The flesh of these animals served them also for food, and their
skins for clothing and other necessary preservatives against the intense
coldness of a climate so near the Pole. They killed, however, not more
than ten white bears in all, and that not without the utmost danger; for
these animals, being prodigiously strong, defended themselves with
astonishing vigour and fury. The first our men attacked designedly; the
other nine they slew in defending themselves from their assaults, for
some of these creatures even ventured to enter the outer room of the
hut, in order to devour them. It is true that all the bears did not show
(if I may be allowed the expression) equal intrepidity, either owing to
some being less pressed by hunger, or to their being by nature less
carnivorous than the others; for some of them which entered the hut
immediately betook themselves to flight on the first attempt of the
sailors to drive them away. A repetition, however, of these ferocious
attacks threw the poor men into great terror and anxiety, as they were
in almost a perpetual danger of being devoured."

[Illustration: "Some of these creatures even ventured to enter the outer
room of the hut, in order to devour them."

_P. 86._]

"Sure," exclaimed Tommy, "such a life as that must have been miserable
and dreadful indeed." "Why so?" said Mr Barlow. _Tommy._--Because, being
always in danger of being devoured by wild beasts, those men must have
been always unhappy. _Mr B._--And yet they never were devoured.
_T._--No, sir; because they made weapons to defend themselves. _Mr
B._--Perhaps, then, a person is not unhappy merely because he is exposed
to dan