390 NEW LAND. 



wishes to do, I blazed away at the nearest of them, but shot low. The 

 animal merely stood still after the report and glared at us, without 

 moving from the spot. I then tried again, with a fuller sight, and 

 this time it began really to spin round in the usual manner, and 

 soon fell. I thought for a moment of giving it a second dose, but 

 came to the conclusion that it was not necessary, and moreover, I 

 was afraid of alarming the rest of the pack. The wolf, however, 

 had not been lying there very long before it got up, walked a few 

 steps, and then fell again. We could have run up to it and shot it 

 at once, but we felt so sure of our one wolf, that we sat and waited 

 for the others to come back. But we reckoned without our host. 

 We waited and waited, until we felt certain that the others would 

 not return, and then we went after the wounded animal, but it 

 was gone, never to return. 



On arriving at the camp we had noticed two polar herds up a 

 little valley. They appeared to consist of four cows, each with 

 a calf. The seven unwounded wolves, having to leave us with 

 stomachs as empty as when they came, now went inland, taking 

 a line northwards towards the plains, and came across these 

 animals. The meeting was evidently quite unexpected on both 

 sides, for the air was so still that they could hardly have got wind 

 of each other, and we could see that the wolves actually started 

 when they caught sight of the oxen. They stopped short, and 

 stood still a while, probably making out their plan of attack. 

 Finally they formed a ring round the nearer of the animals, but 

 not one of them would approach closer than two or three hundred 

 yards. There they took up their stand, and as long as we were 

 about and that was for several hours they kept at their music 

 without let or hindrance. Such music, too ! A long-drawn, weird 

 howling, as if a knife were being driven into them every time 

 they uttered the sound. 



We were most curious to see what would happen. We thought 

 that the four cows with their small calves must be a splendid 

 opportunity for the wolves, but the cows did not seem to be at all 

 impressed by them ; and, as a matter of fact, were so indifferent that 

 they did not even take the trouble to get up. When later on the 

 wolves appeared to think of approaching the other herd, which was 



