"In the first place," said Alexis, "there is the brown bear (_ursus
arctos_). Him we might find in many parts of our own country--since he
is emphatically our `Russian bear'; but there is also a black bear,
which some naturalists say is a variety of the _ursus arctos_, while
others believe it to be a separate species, having given to it the
specific name of _ursus niger_--_ursus ator_ it is sometimes called.
Now, whether it be a species or only a variety, we must get a skin of it
all the same--since papa has definitely expressed it so."
"This black bear is to be found in our own northern forests, is it not?"
"Yes; it has been observed there; but more frequently in the mountains
of Scandinavia: and, as we might wander through all the north of Russia
without finding one, our best plan will be to proceed at once to Norway
or Lapland. There we shall be certain also of finding the brown bear,
and thus kill two birds with one stone."
"Say Lapland: I should like to see the little Laps, but where next? To
North America, I suppose?"
"By no means. There is a bear in the Pyrenees, and other mountains of
Spain--in the Asturias especially. It is also deemed by most
naturalists to be only a variety of the _ursus arctos_, but it is
certainly a distinct species; and papa thinks so. Some naturalists
would have it that there are only three or four distinct species in the
whole world. They might just as well say there was but _one_. I think
it better to follow papa's views upon this subject, and regard all those
bears which have permanent marks of distinction--whether it be in size,
colour, or otherwise--as being so many separate species, however much
they may approximate in habits or disposition. Why, some naturalists
even call the American black bear merely a variety of our brown; and, as
I said a moment ago, Linnaeus himself believed the Polar to be the same
species. This is now known to be an erroneous theory. Since papa has
given as much time to the study of the bears as perhaps any one else, I
shall follow his theory, and regard the Spanish bear (_ursus pyrenaicus_
it is called) a distinct species."
"You propose, then, to go next to Spain, and kill the Spanish bear?"
"We _must_. Having started in a westerly course by going to Lapland, we
must keep on in that direction."
"But how about the white bear of the Alps?"
"You mean the _ursus albus_ of Lesson?"
"Yes. To reach the Alps, where it is said to be found, we should have
to recross a meridian of longitude?"
"We should, if there were such an animal to be found in the Alps; but
there is not. The white bear of Buffon and Lesson (_ursus albus_) was
only a mere accidental variety or _albino_ of the brown bear; and papa
does not mean that we should collect the skins of such as these. He has
said so. Indeed, Ivan, were that task imposed on us, we should both be
old men before we could complete it, and return home again. It is only
the skins of the _permanent_ varieties we are to procure, and therefore
the _ursus albus_ is scratched out of our list."
"Out with him then! where go we next? To North America, then no doubt?"
"No."
"Perhaps to Africa?"
"No."
"Are there no bears in Africa?"
"That is a disputed point among writers, and has been so since the days
of Pliny. Bears are mentioned as having been exhibited in the Roman
circus, under the name of _Numidian_ bears; and Herodotus, Virgil,
Juvenal, and Martial all mention _Libyan_ bears in their writings.
Pliny, however, stoutly denies that there were any of these animals in
Africa; but it must be remembered that he equally denies that stags,
goats, and boars existed on the African continent: therefore his
statement about the non-existence of the Numidian bears is not worth a
straw. Strange enough, the point is as much disputed now as in the days
of Pliny. The English traveller Bruce, states positively that there are
no bears in Africa. Another English traveller to Abyssinia, Salt, makes
no mention of them; while the German, Ehrenberg, says that he has seen
them in the mountains of Abyssinia, and heard of them also in Arabia
Felix! Several French and English travellers (Dapper, Shaw, Poncet, and
Poiret), bear testimony to the existence of bears in different parts of
Africa--in Nubia, Babur, and Congo. In the Atlas mountains, between
Algiers and Morocco, according to Poiret, bears are common enough; and
this writer even gives some details as to their habits. He says that
they are exceedingly fierce and carnivorous, and that the Arabs believe
they can lift stones in their paws and fling them at those who may be in
pursuit of them! He relates that an Arab hunter brought him the skin of
one of those bears; and also showed him a wound in his leg, which he had
received by the animal having launched a stone at him while he was
pursuing it! Monsieur Poiret, however, does not vouch for the truth of
the stone-throwing, though he stoutly maintains the existence of African
bears."
"What does papa think about it?" inquired Ivan.
"That there are bears in Africa--perhaps in all the mountainous parts of
Africa--but certainly in the Atlas and Tetuan ranges. Indeed, an
English traveller of veracity has put the question beyond a doubt, by
giving some points in the description of these African bears.
Naturalists thought that if such an animal existed in Africa, it would
be the same species as the Syrian; but although the bears reported in
the Arabian and Abyssinian mountains are likely enough to be of that
species, those of the Atlas are evidently not only distinct from the
Syrian bear, but from all other known kinds. One that was killed near
Tetuan, about twenty-five miles from the Atlas mountains, was a female,
and less in size than the American black bear. It was black also, or
rather brownish black, and without any white marking about the muzzle,
but under the belly its fur was of a reddish orange. The hair was
shaggy and four or five inches long, while the snout, toes, and claws
were all shorter than in the American black bear, and the body was of
thicker and stouter make. The Englishman had learnt something of its
habits too. The Arabs said it was rarely met with near Tetuan; that it
fed on roots, acorns, and fruits, but was only an indifferent climber.
Indeed it would be very improbable," continued Alexis, "that the great
ranges of the Atlas and Abyssinian mountains should be without these
mammalia, since they exist in nearly all the other mountains of the
globe. Moreover, it should be remembered that it is only a few years
since the bears of the Himalayas, of the Great Andes of America, and
those of the East-Indian islands--and even the bear of Mount Lebanon--
became known to the scientific world. Why, then, should there not be a
species in Africa--perhaps more than one--though civilised people are
yet unacquainted with it?"
"But you say we are not going to Africa?"
"No; our instructions relate only to every variety of bear known to
naturalists; and the African bear does not come under this category--
since it has not yet been described by any naturalist. For that reason
we shall have no errand into Africa."
"Then, surely North America is our next stage?"
"Certainly not--you are aware that there is a South American bear."
"Yes, the `spectacled bear,' as he is called."
"Just so--the _ursus ornatus_. I think we shall find two species in
South America, though that is also a disputed point."
"Well, brother, what if we should?"
"Why, both will be found in the Andes of Chili and Peru, and not in the
eastern parts of South America."
"And how should that affect our route of travel?"
"Very essentially indeed. Were we to go first to North America, we
should find no less than five species, or four species and one
well-marked variety. To reach the native haunt of one of these--I mean
the grizzly (_ursus ferox_)--we should have to go farther west than any
part of the South American Andes: how, then, could we afterwards reach
the spectacled bear without doubling back on our meridian?"
"True, brother--I see that, by looking on the map. You propose, then,
steering first to South America, and afterwards to the northern division
of the American continent?"
"We are compelled to do so, by the very nature of our contract. Having
procured the skins of _ursus ornatus_ and another variety we shall find
in the Andes, we can then travel almost due north. On the Mississippi
we shall be able to pick up a skin of the American black bear (_ursus
americanus_), and by the help of the Hudson's Bay _voyageurs_ we shall
reach the shores of the great gulf in which that territory takes its
name. There the `polar bear' (_ursus maritimus_) can be found. Farther
westward and northward we may hope to capture the `barren ground bear,'
which the English traveller Sir John Richardson thinks is only a variety
of our European brown bear, but which papa--and good reasons he has--
believes to be nothing of the kind. Crossing the Rocky Mountains, we
shall be able, I hope, to knock over the famed and formidable grizzly
(_ursus ferox_), and in Oregon, or British Columbia, we shall strip his
hide from the `cinnamon bear' (_ursus cinnamonus_), believed to be a
variety of the American black. That will finish with the bears of
America."
"Asia next, I suppose?"
"Yes, straight across to Kamschatka. There we shall meet with the
`Siberian,' or `collared bear' (_ursus collaris_). Of these, two
varieties are said to exist, one of which, specified by the name _ursus
sibiricus_, is also found in Lapland and Siberia."
"Go on, brother! Where next?"
"From Kamschatka we shall make a long traverse to the south-west. Our
best hunting-ground will be Borneo."
"Ah! the beautiful little bear with the orange-coloured breast!"
"Yes; that is the `Bornean bear' (_ursus euryspilus_), or `Bruang,' as
he is called by the Malays."
"But there is another Bruang?"
"Yes--the `Malayan sun-bear' (_ursus malagenus_). This we shall
encounter in Sumatra or Java, whichever we choose to visit."
"Well, the list is much larger than I expected; certainly it has been
wonderfully lengthened since the days of the good old Linnaeus."
"We have not reached the end yet."
"Where next, brother?"
"Up the Bay of Bengal, and on to the Himalayas. First in the foot-hills
of these mountains we shall have to search for the curious `sloth bear,'
or `juggler's bear' (_ours de jongleurs_) as the French writers term
him. He is the _ursus labiatus_ of naturalists; and we may find him in
the plains of India, before reaching the Himalayas. Having skinned him,
we shall proceed to climb the great mountains, and higher up we are
certain to come across the `Thibet bear' (_ursus thibetanus_)--by some
very erroneously described as being one of the numerous varieties of the
European brown bear! Still higher up we shall, I hope, have the good
luck to encounter and kill a specimen of the `Isabella bear' (_ursus
isabelinus_), so called from his colour, but termed by Anglo-Indian
sportsmen the `snow bear,' because he frequents the declivities near the
snow-line of these stupendous mountains."
"That is all, is it not?"
"_No_, Ivan--one more, and that will be the last."
"What is he?"
"The `Syrian' (_ursus syriacus_); and though the last in our catalogue,
this is the very first on record: for they were bears of this species
that came out of the wood and `tare forty and two' of the mockers of the
prophet Elisha. We shall have to visit Syria, to procure a skin of the
_ursus syriacus_."
"Well, I hope their ferociousness has been tamed down since Elisha's
time, else we may stand a fair chance of being served in a similar
fashion."
"No doubt we shall have many a scratch before we encounter the bears of
Mount Lebanon. When we have obtained a robe from one of them, there
will be nothing more for us to do but take the most direct route home.
We shall then have gone _once round the world_."
"Ah, that we shall!" said Ivan, laughing; "and all over it too. Great
Czar! I think by the time we have captured one of Elisha's bears, we
shall have had a surfeit of travel."
"No doubt of it; but now, brother, that we know where we are going, let
us waste no more time, but signify our acceptance of the conditions, and
be off at once."
"Agreed," said Ivan; and both returning into the presence of the baron,
announced their readiness to take the road.
"Are we to travel alone, papa?" inquired Ivan; "I think you spoke of an
attendant?"
"Yes, one attendant. You must not be encumbered with too many servants
to wait upon you. One will be quite sufficient."
"Who is it to be?" asked Ivan.
The baron rang the bell, and a servant entered.
"Send Corporal Pouchskin to me!"
Shortly after, the door reopened, and a man of about fifty appeared.
The tall well-balanced form and erect attitude--the close-cropped hair
and enormous grizzled moustache--combined with great gravity of
features, denoted a veteran of the Imperial Guard,--one of those grand
and redoubtable soldiers who have seen service in the presence of an
emperor. Though no longer wearing the military uniform, but dressed
somewhat as a park or game keeper, the silent salute and attitude of
"attention" were sufficiently indicative of the profession which
Pouchskin had followed: for it was the veritable Pouchskin who had
entered the apartment. He said not a word, nor did he look either to
the right or left,--only directly forward, and at the baron.
"Corporal Pouchskin!"
"General!"
"I wish you to make a journey."
"I am ready."
"Not quite, corporal. I will give you an hour to prepare."
"Where does the general wish me to go?"
"Round the world."
"Half an hour will suffice."
"So much the better, then. Prepare to start in half an hour."
Pouchskin bowed and retired.