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271 



meat ia plenty, to say nothing of the carcase of a bear at 

 Baadsfjordnuten, which \ve intended for the dogs. So we let her 

 enjoy life with her cubs. The conditions up there are harsh and 

 inclement enough anyhow, and the joys of a bear-mother few and 

 far between. Her lying-in chamber is a cavern in one of the big 

 drifts ; her food as she lies in childbed is often scanty ; but when 

 her offspring grow bigger and become a solace and an amusement 

 to her, the joys of motherhood are hers all the same. 



HUNTING FOR COOKING-ICE. 



It is not uncommon for the polar bear to play with her cubs 

 in the most wanton manner, ducking them in the lanes, sliding 

 down the icebergs, tumbling, rolling, growling, and pretending to 

 fight with them ; and the little ones throw themselves into the 

 game with all their hearts ; while the hoar-frost and glittering sun- 

 shine on the hummocks and snow-fields give the scene a marvellous 

 purity and freshness. It is a breath of grand untouched nature, 

 doubly grateful in the great stillness around, for when the Queen 

 of the snow fields plays all is silence. There is not so much as the 



