Page:Narrative of the extraordinary adventures of four Russian sailors (1).pdf/10

 and, and after a most dangerous encounter, they killed the formidable creature, and thereby made a new supply of provisions. The flesh of this animal they relished exceedingly, as they thought it much resembled. beef in taste and flavour. The tendons they saw with much pleasure could, with little or no trouble, be divided into filaments, of what fineness they thought fit. This perhaps was the most fortunate discovery these men could have made; for, besides other advantages, they were hereby furnished with strings for their bow.

The success of our unfortunate islanders in making the spears, and the use these proved of, encouraged them them to proceed, and to 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 compleat bow and arrows. Their ingenuity in this respect, was crowned with-success far beyond their expectaion; for, during the time of their continuance upon the island, they, with these arrows, killed no lese than two hundred and fifty rein-deer, besides a great number of