440 NEW LAND. 



tell. To my great astonishment I did not see anything not that 

 I wanted to of my enemy during this operation, but as soon as I 

 was ready I began to peer about after it, though at first without 

 success. At last, on bending down, I caught sight of a large 

 dark object a short distance away, at a spot where I knew there 

 was no rock this, of course, must be the bear, but whether dead 

 or alive it was impossible to tell. I therefore advanced with 

 much caution, and fired a shot at what I supposed to be its head. 

 On closer examination it proved to be the other end of the bear I 

 had bombarded ; but as a zoologist I, of course, knew that the head 

 in Ursus maritimus is, as a rule, exactly at the opposite extremity 

 to the after-end of the animal, and at last really succeeded in 

 giving it some lead in the right place. The bear had, no doubt, 

 been dead for some time, but discretion is the better part of 

 valour. I then realized that I had killed my first bear. 



' To say that I was proud is nowhere near the mark ; but it was 

 too dark for me to enjoy the sight of my fallen enemy, and besides, 

 I was in my stockings. I therefore at once repaired to the tent, 

 lighted the "Primus," and made myself some coffee. Such a 

 festal meal as I then had, of coffee and Christmas cake from 

 the "Fram," I had never had before, and can hardly hope to 

 have again. I then lay and read for a while, but as soon as it 

 was half-past two, and a little light, I was constrained to go out 

 and enjoy my triumph. Then I came back and lay down with the 

 intention of going to sleep for a couple of hours, but with only 

 partial success. At six o'clock I was awakened by a raven croaking 

 up on the hillside, and by eight I had had my breakfast and 

 began on the skinning. I had never before skinned a bear alone, 

 and found it anything but amusing work, for the animal had 

 become quite stiff, and was consequently very difficult to mani- 

 pulate. I must confess, to my shame, that I took six hours to 

 skin and disjoint it. My work was not made pleasanter by a 

 biting east wind with driving snow, though fortunately the tem- 

 perature remained comparatively mild (from zero to 3 Fahr.). 

 All my shots had hit their mark. The ball (the second shot) 

 had penetrated the chest, and the animal must, therefore, have 

 been coming straight towards me. Whence it had come was not 



