Hudson Bay

Can't bear the heat? Search out polar bears in the snowy cold of Churchill, a town on the west coast of central Canada's Hudson Bay. Two nine-day trips leave from Winnipeg, Canada, Oct. 18 and Oct. 25. The bears congregate in this area every October on their annual migration as they wait for the Hudson Bay to freeze over. From the safety of giant "tundra buggies," travelers journey onto the tundra each day and observe the bears up close.

Margo Pfeiff's story about Canada's Hudson Bay was more than enticing and left me wanting more ["Arctic's Warm Whales," Aug. 23]. I have a serious perspective about the importance of our natural environment and want to plan a vacation based on her article. Eric Symons San Diego

I am beluga bait. Bobbing at the end of a rope tied around my feet, I am being slowly towed in the wake of a Zodiac, a small, inflatable boat, through the icy waters of Hudson Bay. Clad in a partly inflated rubber dry suit, I look like a Michelin Tire Man who has sprouted a snorkel as I peer into the murky brown, tannin-stained cocktail of salt and freshwater. I have come all the way to far northern Manitoba, Canada, to snorkel with beluga whales that, if they do appear out of the gloom, will likely scare the daylights out of me. As my heart races, I remember my guide suggesting I sing to attract these most vocal of whales, known as "canaries of the sea" for their high-pitched songs and rhythmic clicks.

I am beluga bait. Bobbing at the end of a rope tied around my feet, I am being slowly towed in the wake of a Zodiac, a small, inflatable boat, through the icy waters of Hudson Bay. Clad in a partly inflated rubber dry suit, I look like a Michelin Tire Man who has sprouted a snorkel as I peer into the murky brown, tannin-stained cocktail of salt and freshwater. I have come all the way to far northern Manitoba, Canada, to snorkel with beluga whales that, if they do appear out of the gloom, will likely scare the daylights out of me. As my heart races, I remember my guide suggesting I sing to attract these most vocal of whales, known as "canaries of the sea" for their high-pitched songs and rhythmic clicks.

THE MASK by Dean R. Koontz (Berkley: $4.50). A deceptively angelic-looking girl appears to be the answer to a childless couple's prayers. 50 by Avery Corman (Ivy: $3.95). Doug Gardner, a divorced Manhattan sportswriter, approaches this coming of age with trepidation, frustration and finally renewed purpose. LIE DOWN IN ROSES by Shannon Drake (Charter: $4.50). During the War of the Roses, Lady Genevieve offers her hand to a nefarious suitor to save the family castle. HEY JACK!

Cold Snap That Lasted 200 to 400 Years Two vast glacial lakes that long ago gushed out of what is now northern Canada into the North Atlantic caused the most abrupt cold snap of the past 10,000 years, researchers at the University of Colorado in Boulder report in today's Nature. They estimate that more than 1 trillion cubic meters of water drained from the Agassiz and Ojibway lakes in the Hudson Bay region about 8,200 years ago, when a natural ice dam burst.

Rock Hudson lost a months-long struggle with AIDS early today, dying of the incurable disease he personally chose to bring to the attention of a concerned and puzzled world. The once archetypally rugged and handsome actor, whose film triumphs carried him into a successful television career, died peacefully in his Beverly Hills home. He was 59. His publicist, Dale Olson, said only members of his staff were present when he died at 9 a.m.

Margo Pfeiff's story about Canada's Hudson Bay was more than enticing and left me wanting more ["Arctic's Warm Whales," Aug. 23]. I have a serious perspective about the importance of our natural environment and want to plan a vacation based on her article. Eric Symons San Diego

Hudson's Bay Co. agreed to buy discount retailer Kmart Canada Co. for $168 million, including debt, and will fire 4,000 to 6,000 employees after it combines the newly acquired business with its Zellers chain. Toronto-based Hudson's Bay, Canada's largest retailer, said it will merge its 298 Zellers discount stores with Kmart Canada's 112 locations and close more than 40 of the combined companies' stores. The dismissals represent as much as 8.

Almost two centuries before there was a Canadian nation and more than 100 years before the United States was formed, Hudson's Bay Co. was doing business at this island hamlet where the Moose River joins James Bay. The company, believed to be the oldest retail business in the world, provides a rare historical link to the beginnings of American colonization and the opening glory of the British Empire.

Jeff Isaak plunged his fingers into dirt where a humble home site stood 150 years ago, plucked out a tiny piece of ceramic and handed it to archeologist Doug Wilson. "Staffordshire transfer print, blue and white," Wilson said at a glance. That was fancy stuff for the village of the working poor that supported the once-mighty Hudson's Bay Co. at Ft. Vancouver and its vast empire in the Northwest in the early and mid-1800s.

Cold Snap That Lasted 200 to 400 Years Two vast glacial lakes that long ago gushed out of what is now northern Canada into the North Atlantic caused the most abrupt cold snap of the past 10,000 years, researchers at the University of Colorado in Boulder report in today's Nature. They estimate that more than 1 trillion cubic meters of water drained from the Agassiz and Ojibway lakes in the Hudson Bay region about 8,200 years ago, when a natural ice dam burst.

Hudson's Bay Co. agreed to buy discount retailer Kmart Canada Co. for $168 million, including debt, and will fire 4,000 to 6,000 employees after it combines the newly acquired business with its Zellers chain. Toronto-based Hudson's Bay, Canada's largest retailer, said it will merge its 298 Zellers discount stores with Kmart Canada's 112 locations and close more than 40 of the combined companies' stores. The dismissals represent as much as 8.

Can't bear the heat? Search out polar bears in the snowy cold of Churchill, a town on the west coast of central Canada's Hudson Bay. Two nine-day trips leave from Winnipeg, Canada, Oct. 18 and Oct. 25. The bears congregate in this area every October on their annual migration as they wait for the Hudson Bay to freeze over. From the safety of giant "tundra buggies," travelers journey onto the tundra each day and observe the bears up close.

THE MASK by Dean R. Koontz (Berkley: $4.50). A deceptively angelic-looking girl appears to be the answer to a childless couple's prayers. 50 by Avery Corman (Ivy: $3.95). Doug Gardner, a divorced Manhattan sportswriter, approaches this coming of age with trepidation, frustration and finally renewed purpose. LIE DOWN IN ROSES by Shannon Drake (Charter: $4.50). During the War of the Roses, Lady Genevieve offers her hand to a nefarious suitor to save the family castle. HEY JACK!

Rock Hudson lost a months-long struggle with AIDS early today, dying of the incurable disease he personally chose to bring to the attention of a concerned and puzzled world. The once archetypally rugged and handsome actor, whose film triumphs carried him into a successful television career, died peacefully in his Beverly Hills home. He was 59. His publicist, Dale Olson, said only members of his staff were present when he died at 9 a.m.

Montreal, fur capital of North America, has about 200 fur garment manufacturers in a dozen buildings in the heart of downtown, between Boulevard de Maisonneuve and Ste. Catherine, and Bleury and St. Alexandre.

Jeff Isaak plunged his fingers into dirt where a humble home site stood 150 years ago, plucked out a tiny piece of ceramic and handed it to archeologist Doug Wilson. "Staffordshire transfer print, blue and white," Wilson said at a glance. That was fancy stuff for the village of the working poor that supported the once-mighty Hudson's Bay Co. at Ft. Vancouver and its vast empire in the Northwest in the early and mid-1800s.

Almost two centuries before there was a Canadian nation and more than 100 years before the United States was formed, Hudson's Bay Co. was doing business at this island hamlet where the Moose River joins James Bay. The company, believed to be the oldest retail business in the world, provides a rare historical link to the beginnings of American colonization and the opening glory of the British Empire.