CHAPTER XXXIX. 



DR. NANSEN AS A MIGHTY NIMROD. 



Some of the most graphic stories of hunting in the Arctic are from Dr. 

 Nansen's pen. He himself was the best shot and the most tireless game- 

 stalker of those on the Fram; and he could write about it afterward with the 

 touch of an artist. 



Describing the pursuit and bagging of some reindeer, he writes : 

 ''On Sunday, August 20th, we had, for us, uncommonly fine weather — 

 blue sea, brilliant sunshine, and light wind, still from the northeast. In the 

 afternoon we ran into the Kjellman Islands. These we could recognize from 

 their position on Nordenskiold's map, but south of them we found many 

 Islands, like rocks that have been ground smooth by the glaciers of the Ice 

 unknown ones. They all had smoothly rounded forms, these Kjellman 

 Age. The Fram anchored on the north side of the largest of them, and 

 while the boiler was being refitted, some of us went ashore in the evening 

 for some shooting. We had not left the ship when the mate, from the crow's 

 nest, caught sight of reindeer. At once we were all agog; every one wanted 

 to go ashore, and the mate was quite beside himself with the hunter's fever, 

 his eyes as big as saucers, and his hands trembling as though he were drunk. 

 Not until we were in the boat had we time to look seriously for the mate's 

 reindeer. We looked in vain — not a living thing was to be seen in any 

 direction. Yes — when we were close inshore we at last described a large 

 flock of geese waddling upward from the beach. We were base enough to 

 let a conjecture escape us that these were the mate's reindeer — a suspicion 

 which he at first rejected with contempt. Gradually, however, his confidence 

 oozed away. But it is possible to do an injustice even to a mate. The first 

 thing I saw when I sprang ashore was old reindeer tracks. The mate had 

 now the laugh on his side, ran from track to track, and swore that it was 

 the reindeer he had seen. 



GETTING TO LEEWARD OF THE DEER. 



"When we got up on to the first height we saw several reindeer on flat 

 ground to the south of us; but, the wind being from the north, we had to 



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