Hastening up as silently as possible, they discovered that a group of Polar bears were amusing themselves on the other side of the cliffs, within long gunshot.

Unfortunately not one of the party had brought fire-arms.

Intent only on catching a sight of the sun, they had hurried off unmindful of the possibility of their catching sight of anything else.

They had not even a spear; and the few oak cudgels that some carried, however effectual they might have proved at Donnybrook, were utterly worthless there.
There were four large bears and a young one, and the gambols they performed were of the most startling as well as amusing kind.

But that which interested and surprised the crew most was the fact that these bears were playing with barrels, and casks, and tent-poles, and sails.
They were engaged in a regular frolic with these articles, tossing them up in the air, pawing them about, and leaping over them like kittens.