236 FOUR YEARS IN THE WHITE NORTH [April 



and snapping their whips. Noo-ka-ping-wa was brandishing a 

 sealing-iron, and finally threw it into the body. Seeing Ak-kom- 

 mo-ding-wa hopping around with a Winchester .35, full-cocked, I 

 grabbed it out of his hand, thrust the muzzle down between the 

 dogs, and pulled the trigger. This ended the scrap. 



Just before sighting the bear we had seen two musk-oxen to the 

 south of us on a hillside. Therefore I decided to drive down, skin 

 our bear there, build an igloo, and send two of the men after them. 

 In two hours they were back with two very old males. One of these, 

 because of a peculiar broken horn, I have skinned for mounting. 



Our game list thus far reads: Fourteen musk-oxen, thirteen seals, 

 three bears, and twelve hare. 



From our igloo on the morning of April 4tli I could 

 see a distant blue headland far down on the western 

 side of Eureka Sound. I hoped that we could make it. 

 At eight that evening, when we had about given up 

 bears and musk-oxen, and were sitting on our sledges, 

 holding our noses in our hands, at forty below zero, 

 E-took-a-shoo sighted a bear, and away we went, for- 

 getting all about the cold. This bear must have been 

 the twin sister of the one we shot the day before. She 

 acted exactly like her, and had the same kind of mix-up 

 with the dogs. My little pup, Natu, who was running 

 loose ahead of the sledge, bravely attacked the bear's 

 hindquarters. She turned and gave him such a slap 

 with her great paw that he rolled over and over for a 

 distance of twenty feet. Every available weapon was 

 used in the fight— killing-irons, revolvers, automatic 

 rifles, and dogs. I have never seen dogs so savage. 

 They were fairly thirsting for blood. Only a vigorous 

 application of the long whips kept them from tearing 

 the skin to pieces. 



After the fight Ak-kom-mo-ding-wa arrived with his 

 face buried in his mitten, exclaiming that he had frozen 

 his nose. The Eskimos immediately all grabbed theirs, 



