274 NEW LAND. 



I had Hendriksen's team on this trip; they were very good 

 draught animals, but as they had not been much driven in file 

 I had a good deal of trouble with them the first few days. By 

 degrees, however, they went very well, and as hunting dogs they 

 were equal to our very best. From this honourable mention, 

 however, the late ' Sussaberet ' must be excepted ; she never 

 interested herself in the least in the actual hunting, but so much 

 the more in the edible results afterwards. Then ' Beret ' took her 

 full share, looked sourly about for more, and stole from the others 

 if she saw her opportunity. 



We passed at midday, at about lat. 80 N., a smallish fjord 

 running inward in an easterly direction, with lowlands in the 

 background, and four miles north of this, which later was called 

 ' Slidrefjord,' we camped outside a narrow river- valley. While I 

 was measuring angles the mate went a trip ashore after hares. No 

 other animals apparently could find food in this barren place. After 

 some time I suddenly heard the sound of a shot from the heights 

 above, and after that another one, and then shot upon shot. A 

 tremendous firing seemed to be going on. Once there was a short 

 pause, but then the shots began afresh, and were even worse than 

 before. He must have put up some ptarmigan, I supposed, or come 

 across a flock of hares, since the bombardment seemed never-ending. 

 Then, at last, I saw the mate coming running down, so fast that 

 the snow flew up around him : ' Bring the big cooking -pot and 

 your gun, and come ! ' he shouted. I understood now that he had 

 been shooting bigger game than ptarmigan or hares, and hurried 

 up to the scene of battle with my gun in one hand and the big 

 camp-kettle in the other. Under the crest of the hill, on the 

 north side of the hollow, lay a polar ox in the snow, though not 

 yet quite dead. The mate had no more cartridges left, so I had 

 to help it over into another world. But this was easier said than 

 done, for the animal seemed to be almost immortal, or at any rate 

 provided with at least nine lives. It was not till I had shot it 

 three times in the head, at very close range, that it finally ceased 

 to breathe. How many shots the mate had already expended on 

 it is another story. 



It was a large old bull, in exceedingly poor condition, almost 



