470 NEW LAND. 



the end turned and came back after the cub, so that I could 

 head them both off. We met at last as I advanced from behind 

 a pressure-ridge. The bear fought desperately with the dogs, but 

 when it discovered my insignificant presence in front, it first 

 of all cast a contemptuous glance of surprise at me, as much as 

 to say : " Why, there's another of them," and then grew angry, 

 hissed, and had at the same time to repulse an attack from 

 "Kotta," during which I gave it a shot in the shoulder. This 

 brought the bear to the ground, but it got up again and faced 

 about, hissing with rage, so that I had the "mark-spot" in the 

 middle of its chest to aim at ; then it fell heavily backwards and 

 lay motionless, dead. A shot in the mark-spot hits the heart, 

 and it was when trying to bite the wound in its breast, as the 

 bear generally does, that it fell backwards. 



' It was an insignificant little beast, considering that it was a 

 full-grown bear ; its coat was yellow and dirty, and its flesh thin 

 and nearly black. We did not touch it, but our four-footed 

 hunters eat up the whole animal during the course of the night. 



'Meantime the two sledges had become too much for 

 Hendriksen's dogs, and while he was waiting for me he walked 

 after the cub, and watched the dog and bear alternately chasing 

 each other, with short resting periods in between; but then 

 they went farther afield, and he turned back. It was not till we 

 had driven on the sledges a little further, skinned the fallen bear, 

 and afterwards pitched the tent for we would not go on without 

 the dog that it came back to us thoroughly tired out. 



' This chase, which we had thought might delay us an hour at 

 most, had by this time spoiled the best of the day ; so there was 

 nothing to be done now but to let the tent stand, creep into it, and 

 wait for the morrow. 



' This was announced to me by a shot just outside the tent- 

 walls. Hendriksen, who had been lying awake, had heard the 

 dogs beginning to bark ; he had gone out at once, but before he had 

 had time to raise himself up, after getting out of the tent, had been 

 obliged to seize my rifle, which was lying ready to hand by the 

 tent door, and try to check an old he-bear, which was coining full 

 tilt at the tent. Fifteen paces off the bear received a shot which 



