208 NEW LAND. 



decided to have him, if he would only stay where he was till we 

 were within shot, as we did not mean to have any following him 

 inland. We steered right on the ox without the slightest cover, 

 and he stood awhile immovable, looking at us; then, as he 

 probably thought we were not getting on very quickly, lay down 

 while he was waiting. 



We were going down wind, so that the dogs did not get scent 

 of the animal before we were a couple of hundred yards distant. 

 Then, when they realized what the black patch was away on the 

 sand, they made up for lost time ! The ox lay quite still until we 

 were within a hundred yards of it ; then it got up, shook itself a 

 little, began to sharpen its horns in the sand, and prepared to do 

 battle. 



The dogs dashed over the crack and up on to the ice-foot, 

 where at last I succeeded in stopping the sledge in a small snow- 

 drift, sixty or seventy yards away from the ox. Then I loosed 

 my. team, Schei letting his remain in harness, as it is difficult to 

 shoot when one has so many dogs round a single animal. Schei 

 would not wait to take his ' ski ' off before he started to settle the 

 ox. At about fifteen yards he gave it a shot which had the effect 

 of making it attack the dogs savagely in the opposite direction 

 from Schei. At the same moment that it turned towards them he 

 sent it another shot, and thereupon it made straight for the shooter. 

 We saw it meant business, and truly it was not an insignificant 

 assailant. ' Steady now, Schei ! ' I called out. He fired at the 

 same moment, and gave the ox a bullet in the middle of the 

 forehead. It sank to its knees, and so remained for a while, 

 tearing up the ground. It was unable to rise, and did not think 

 it worth while to fall. One shot more and then over it went. 



Meanwhile I had got out the knives, and the camp-kettle for 

 the blood. Originally we had been in doubt whether we should 

 shoot the ox or not, but the prospect of black pudding had 

 probably turned the scale, and caused the ox's death. 



However, when I went up, and we began to turn the animal 

 over on its back so as to begin to skin it, we discovered that we 

 were decidedly premature. It was not nearly ' ready for flaying ' ; 

 in fact, it was as alive as it could be. So then we fired a shot or 



