68 FOUR YEARS IN THE WHITE NORTH [April 



On their sledges were the quarters of a musk-ox for 

 my dogs, who were now sitting up and wondering what 

 had happened. Their old friends in the other teams 

 could hardly be recognized; they were so distended 

 that they could barely get into camp. In through the 

 door of the igloo came hearts, tongues, livers, and juicy 

 tenderloins. What a feast! 



I thought we had better move while we could. I 

 ordered the men to pack up their sledges and drive over 

 to the battle-field. After we had gone a short distance, 

 a yell from Pee-a-wah-to turned our attention toward 

 the south. Could we believe our eyes.'^ It was like 

 a picture from one of the old books on travel in Siberia. 

 Twelve white wolves were leaping over the snow directly 

 at us. Fiction would have us now fighting for oiu* lives, 

 knives between teeth and rifles constantly going. On 

 the contrary, we prayed that they would not stop, but 

 keep coming on. Undoubtedly they would have done 

 so had we been able to control our dogs, who were now 

 wild with excitement, whining, yelping, and straining 

 on the traces. We shouted and threatened, and lashed 

 with the whip, at the same time holding back with all 

 our strength on the upstanders of the sledge. The 

 leader of the band stopped, surveyed us critically for 

 an instant, and wheeled around, followed by the others. 

 By the time that we could tear the covers from the rifles 

 they were out of range. 



I have no compunction whatever in shooting at these 

 sneaking cowards of the animal world. Axel Heiberg 

 Land is infested with them, their tracks being found 

 intermingling with those of the musk-ox and white 

 caribou. A mother and her young are surrounded, wor- 

 ried to death, and torn into pieces. During Sverdrup's 



