536 THE VOYAGE OF THE JEANNETTE. 



long while without supper. Finally, at 7.30 p. m., the 

 steward came back alone and greatly excited, his expla- 

 nation being such a confused account of bears, dogs, 

 cook, and guns as to bewilder us completely. When he 

 calmed clown, we managed to get at the following : 

 " He left the ship with the cook and one dog, went off 

 to the westward, and at one half mile distance saw a 

 fresh bear-track. While following it up, and going over 

 young ice six miles from the ship, saw Prince and Wolf 

 on a hummock ; then saw a bear. Steward fell clown 

 among some rough ice, and a piece fell on his back and 

 held him down, else he would have shot the bear(?). 

 The cook's gun would not go off. Cook got the ice off 

 steward's back, and helped him up. They both ran 

 three or four miles after the bear and dogs ; then saw 

 the bear again standing on a hummock and fighting 

 the dogs. Cook's dog came back upon being called. 

 Bear was too far off to shoot. Cook then said, ' It 's 

 about six or seven o'clock ; you go on board and cook 

 some supper.' So steward came back alone, while cook 

 kept on. Was out of sight of ship, but after coming 

 back one half mile got on hummock and saw a little bit 

 of mast, and so came in, seeing another (?) bear-track. 

 Knew he should not have disobeyed order about not 

 going out of sight of the ship, but thought he ought to 

 kill that bear and save the dogs." Of course, I was 

 anxious now about the cook. To send to look for him 

 was like looking for a needle in a haystack. No direc- 

 tion could be selected, because a bear chased by clogs, 

 chased by a cook, would no doubt be too much pressed 

 for time to adhere to a compass course, and as the wind 

 was blowing the surface snow along in low clouds every 

 print would soon be filled up. So nothing was left but 

 to wait. At midnight along came the cook with but 



