122 NEW LAND. 



wolf, it calmly lay down on the top of it, and was allowed to do 

 so with patient acquiescence. It was altogether the most ex- 

 traordinary animal, and grew bolder and more assuming every day. 

 It became so irritable at last that it went for the wolves if they as 

 much as looked at it. 



The fox soon discovered that it was warm and comfortable on 

 the wolves' backs, and took to lying there habitually. It was 

 in no way disturbed if the wolf got up and moved about the 

 cage, but remained where it was and let it walk about with him 

 on its back. 



As time went by, I began to fear that this tyrant might lose 

 his prestige, or irritate the wolves into making a sudden end of 

 him. I noticed several times that when the fox became more than 

 they could endure, they opened their great maws over him, but 

 always so gently that it never did him the least harm, and ' Mikkel ' 

 continued as imperturbed and impudent as ever. 



A little later on Fosheim and Olsen caught another fox, 

 which was put into the same cage, but its courage was by no means 

 of a high order, and it was hardly to be wondered at, considering 

 the way it was hounded about by the old fox. He was a fellow 

 who would stand no rival ; who made the laws for the little com- 

 munity inside the cage ; but held himself exempt from them. 



On January 3 we returned to harder fare, workaday clothes, 

 and our divers occupations. 



After making various tools which were necessary before the 

 sledges could be shod with German silver, Nodtvedt gave place 

 to Fosheim and Peder, who were to bend the runners into shape 

 before the plates were fixed on. There - was a great rigging up 

 of a boiler and steam-pipe, with the necessary appurtenances. 

 The runners were put in the pipe, steamed, and bent. After 

 this came the glueing and riveting-on of the plates, and then a 

 general looking-over and repairing of all the old German-silver 

 plates. 



It is of the greatest importance that the plates should be laid 

 as close to the runners as possible, and I will here give a brief 

 description of the method we used to obtain this result. 



