BEARS 59 



preserving its tracks. The labyrinth of hum- 

 mocks was so intricate, and the crevasses 

 so dangerous, that an exhaustive search was 

 impossible, so after a time we returned to the 

 ship. Everyone on board was able to confirm 

 our statement that the bear did not reappear 

 after the second shot. Possibly I had wounded 

 it, and it had taken refuge behind a hummock, 

 while we, no longer seeing it, had concluded 

 that it was lost, whereas it may have been close 

 at hand all the time. 



The experience I subsequently acquired 

 has given me more confidence in myself. 

 I should have sent men ashore to make a 

 methodical search, and had I done so I 

 am convinced the bear's hiding-place would 

 have been discovered. 



Jonas explained the noise he made when he 

 perceived the bear running away. Often, he 

 told me, on hearing these cries, a running 

 bear will stop to discover the cause of the 

 noise. This may indeed be the case, but 

 in the present instance quite the contrary 

 held true. 



It was nine o'clock at night. For ten hours 

 we had been splashing through water, clambering 

 over ice hummocks, and marching through snow. 

 Our extreme weariness, therefore, was not 



