FOSHEIM'S ACCOUNT. 289 



sight of a wolf, which was standing glaring at us some seventy or 

 eighty yards distant. Happily the dogs had not yet seen it, or 

 they would have set off in pursuit. I quickly overturned the 

 two sledges, dragged iny gun out of its case, and dropped the 

 wolf. But Sir Urian got up again, and limped off on three legs 

 inwards towards land, accompanied by ' Turisten,' who had broken 

 loose and followed it side by side, though far too much afraid to 

 risk an attack. I kept back my second shot on account of the 

 dog, but at last the wolf fell, and this time not to rise again. 

 There was a red stripe of blood along on the snow after it. It 

 was a full-grown he-wolf, old and thin, and with flesh so tough 

 and malodorous, that even the dogs took their allowances with an 

 air of disgust. Two of them struck altogether : they would rather 

 go without than eat anything so loathsome. 



There must be plenty of wolves in these tracts, for again the 

 next day we saw a pack of five, which came running across the 

 sound. We tried by forced driving to cut them off from landing, 

 but soon thought we had better give up this fruitless pursuit, 

 although we were itching to get hold of them, for on wolves, with- 

 out exception, we had sworn war to the knife. 



We now struck diagonally across to the east side of Heureka 

 Sound, and arrived at Veslefjord on Whit-Sunday morning. It 

 bears with right its humble name, for so small is it that the 

 next night we drove up to the end of it and out again by the 

 southern headland. It was fourteen miles long and four or five 

 wide at the mouth, but narrowed by degrees to about a mile and 

 a half towards the head, where there was an island or peninsula, 

 which of the two we could not see for certain on account of the 

 thick fog. To the east the land was open and rather low, while 

 in other directions the fjord was surrounded by steep, sometimes 

 rather high, mountains. 



Southwards alongside the land to Bay Fjord we had unusually 

 heavy going; the snow fell close and even in deep layers, the 

 sledge and ' ski ' ran badly, and our progress was but little in 

 consequence ; in many places, too, our way lay through very nasty 

 pressure-ice. Nor were the dogs in spirits that day, which was 

 not to be wondered at, for they underwent a good deal, and 

 VOL. II. U 



