Note 450 — THE THIRD VOYAGE NORTH-WARD TO THE KINGDOMES OF CATHAIA and China, in Anno 1596.

The 12 of February it was cleare weather and very calme, the wind south-west. Then we made our traps [and springes] cleane againe; meane-time there came a great beare towards our house, which made vs all goe in, and we leauelled at her with our muskets, and as she came right before our dore we shot her into the breast clean through the heart, the bullet passing through her body and went out againe at her tayle, and was as flat as a counter450 [that has been beaten out with a hammer]. The beare feeling the blow, lept backwards, and ran twenty or thirty foote from the house, and there lay downe, wherewith we lept all out of the house and ran to her, and found her stil aliue; and when she saw vs she reard vp her head, as if she would gladly haue doone vs some mischefe;451 but we trusted her not, for that we had tryed her strength sufficiently before, and therefore we shot her452 twice into the body againe, and therewith she dyed. Then we ript vp her belly, and taking out her guts, drew her home to the house, where we flead her and tooke at least one hundred pound of fat out of her belly, which we molt453 and burnt in our lampe. This grease did vs great good seruice, for by that meanes we still kept a lampe burning all night long, which before we could not doe for want of grease; and [further] euery man had meanes to burne a lamp in his caban for such necessaries as he had to doe. The beares skin was nine foote long and 7 foote broad.