; NANSEN AS A MIGHTY NIMROD 377 



in shooting any more, for we had no means of carrying them off. The Fram 

 presently came up and took our two on board, and we were soon going ahead 

 along the coast. We saw many walruses in this part. We shot two others 

 in the afternoon, and could have got many more if we had had time to spare. 

 It was in this same neighborhood that Nordenskiold also saw one or two 

 small herds." 



HUNTING THE POLAR BEAR. 



Bear were plentiful in most of the region through which the Fram passed. 

 One experience with the great white species of Bruin is thus described in 

 "Farthest North." 



"As Sverdrup, Juell, and I were sitting in the chart-room in the after- 

 noon, splicing rope for the sounding-line, Peter rushed in shouting, 'A bear! 

 a bear !' I snatched up my rifle and tore out. 'Where is it ?' 'There, near 

 the tent, on the starboard side; it came right up to it and had almost got 

 hold of them!' 



"And there it was, big and yellow, snuffing away at the tent gear. Han- 

 sen, Blessing, and Johansen were running at the top of their speed towards 

 the ship. Onto the ice I jumped, and off I went, broke through, stumbled, 

 fell and up again. The bear in the meantime had done sniffing, and had 

 probably determined that an iron spade, an ice-staff, an axe, some tent-pegs, 

 and a canvas tent were too indigestible food even for a bear's stomach. Any- 

 how, it was following with mighty strides in the track of the fugitives. It 

 caught sight of me and stopped, astonished, as if it were thinking, 'What 

 sort of insect can that be?' I went on to within easy range; it stood still, 

 looking hard at me. At last it turned its head a little, and I gave it a ball 

 in the neck. Without moving a limb, it sank slowly to the ice. I now let 

 loose some of the dogs to accustom them to this sort of sport, but they showed 

 a lamentable want of interest in it ; and 'Kvik,' on whom all our hope in the 

 matter of bear-hunting rested, bristled up and approached the dead animal 

 very slowly and carefully, with her tail between her legs — a sorry spectacle. 



"I must now give the story of the others who made the bear's acquaint- 

 ance first. Hansen had today begun to set up his observatory tent a little 

 ahead of the ship, on the starboard bow. In the afternoon he got Blessing 

 and Johansen to help him. While they were hard at work they caught sight 

 of the bear not far from them, just off the bow of the Fram, 



" 'Hush ! keep quiet, in case we frighten him,' says Hansen. 

 'Yes, yes !' And they crouch together and look at him. 



" '\r^ 



