454 THE GKRMAN ARCTIC EXPEDITION. 



wliicli miglit prove its total destruction. Quickly we fired 

 some aiarm shots. This succeeded : but we feared that 

 they had already had time to do much damage. I was 

 particularly anxious about my large work, for in it was 

 the whole material of the geographical discoveries of the 

 four sledge journeys, and its destruction would have been 

 an irreparable loss. 



Nothing could have impressed us more with the asto- 

 nishing strength possessed by this creature than the 

 incredible agility with which it escaped, although sinking 

 deeply into the bottomless snow ; we, on the other hand, 

 were a long time reaching the place of apprehended 

 destruction. The straps of my theodolite case had been 

 torn off, and it had received several bites ; the bears had 

 devoured a piece of sugar and a pound and a half of 

 cheese, our whole store of these luxuries, as well as every 

 stearine candle, and had scattered the bread; but they 

 had only bitten the mouth of the can of ginger flat, before 

 throwing it away, and had only pulled out the cork of the 

 spirit-can. Had not the latter, by some lucky chance, 

 kept upright, the whole of our store would have been 

 lost. Even the india-rubber bottles were either cut in 

 pieces or totally eaten up ; one corner was bitten out of 

 a packet of tobacco, but evidently spat out again. The 

 climbing-pole had been carried some distance by the 

 young bear, no doubt as a plaything; we found it again, 

 but without the straps, which had been eaten. My book 

 was probably too tough ; they had only gnawed it. 



Our further advance was not easier on the 13th of May; 

 the thoroughly softened snow-drifts fell with a rush as 

 we neared them. The transport of the different lots took 

 place under endless difficulties ; at noon the temperature 



