THE BEARS AND THE FOXES 53 



halberds, gave them work to do by throwing billets of 

 firewood and other things at them, and every time we 

 threw they ran after them as a dog does at a stone that 

 has been cast at him. Meantime we sent a man down 

 into the caboose to strike fire and another to fetch 

 pikes ; but we could get no fire, and so we had no 

 means to shoot " -their firearms being matchlocks. 

 " At the last as the bears came fiercely upon us we 

 struck one of them with a halberd on the snout, where- 

 with she gave back when she felt herself hurt and went 

 away, which the other two, that were not so large as 

 she, perceiving, ran away." 



When the bears had gone and the long night set in, 

 their place was taken by the white foxes, many of 

 these being caught in traps and furnishing skins for 

 clothes and flesh for meat "not unlike that of the 

 rabbit" -that was "as grateful as venison." The 19th 

 of November was a great day. A chest of linen was 

 opened and divided among the men for shirts, " for 

 they had need of them." Next day they washed their 

 shirts, having evidently made the new ones in a hurry, 

 and, says De Veer, " it was so cold that when we had 

 washed and wrung them they presently froze so stiff 

 (out of the warm water) that although we laid them 

 by a great fire the side that lay next the fire thawed, 

 but the other side was hard frozen, so that we should 

 sooner have torn them in sunder than have opened 

 them, whereby we were forced to put them into the 

 boiling water again to thaw them, it was so exceeding 

 cold." 



On the 3rd of December and the two following 

 days it was so cold that as the men lay in their bunks 



