WORLD'S WONDERS. f>(U 



and a half, her pace slackened, and, the little ones being jaded, 

 she soon came to a halt. 



The men were then only half a mile behind ; and, running at 

 full speed, they soon came up to where the dogs were holding her 

 at bay. The fight was now a desperate one. The mother never 

 went more than two yards ahead, constantly looking at the cubs. 

 When the dogs came near her, she would sit upon her haunches 

 and take the little ones between her hind le^s, fighting the doo-s 



*5 7 C ^ O 



with her paws, and roaring so that she could have been heard a 

 mile off. " Never," said one of the men, " was an animal so 

 distressed." She would stretch her neck and snap at the nearest 

 dog with her shining teeth, whirling her paws like the arms of a 

 windmill. If she missed her aim, not daring to pursue one dog 

 lest the others should harm the cubs, she would give a great roar 

 of baffled rage, and go on pawing, and snapping, and facing the 

 ring, grinning at them with her mouth stretched wide. 



When the men came up, the little ones were perhaps rested, for 

 they were able to turn round with the dam, no matter how quick 

 she moved, so as to keep always in front of her. The five dogs 

 were all the time frisking about actively, tormenting her like so 

 many gad-flies ; indeed, they made it difficult to draw a bead on 

 her without killing them. But Hans, the Esquimau, lying on his 

 elbow, took a quiet aim and shot her through the head. She 

 dropped and rolled over dead without moving a muscle. 



The dogs sprang toward her at once ; but the cubs jumped upon 

 her body and reared up, for the first time growling hoarsely. 

 They seemed quite afraid of the little creatures, which fought so 

 actively and made so much noise : and, while tearing mouthfuls 

 of hair from the dead mother, they would spring aside the min- 

 ute the cubs turned toward them. The men drove the dogs off 

 for a time, but were obliged to shoot the cubs at last, as they 

 would not quit the body. 



AN UGLY VISITOR IN CAMP. 



IN the latter part of June, 1854, Dr. Kane sent out a party of 

 his men from the brig, to scale the Great Glacier, from which an 

 observation was hoped to be gained. The men were gone nice 



