THE WHITE WORLD 



To this Lieutenant Greely was opposed; it would be the 

 height of folly. Some of the men could have gone no 

 further than the top of the ridge, and hardly one could hold 

 a rifle steady enough to hit the bear even if they came up 

 with him. Then the excited fellows turned to me; I was 

 the hunter of the party and I must get the bear. 



It did not require the appealing looks of the famished 

 men about me to urge me to my utmost efforts. I resolved 

 to get the bear did I travel over the entire stretch of ice- 

 field; nothing should stop me but the open water or death 

 from sheer exhaustion. One thing was certain; the bear 

 was in our neighborhood, for Brainard had seen him, and 

 unless frightened he would not retreat too far from the 

 shrimping ground. My plan of action was quickly formed; 

 the surest, I thought, which promised success. Bidding 

 Jens, the Eskimo, follow me, I started up the ridge again, 

 for in that direction Brainard had seen the bear. 



My hopes lent me strength, but my feet seemed like 

 lead as I climbed the steep ascent. I neared the top, with 

 the camp behind and my anxious companions looking after 

 me, every hope centered and fixed on the rifle I carried in 

 my hand. I slipped on the hard ground, recovered myself 

 and gained the summit of the ridge; three hundred yards 

 away, an ice-covered rock stood out against the horizon, 

 and from around a corner of this rock protruded a long 

 white nose — it was the Polar bear. 



At the same instant the animal caught sight of me, 

 backed away and went lumbering over the ice in the direc- 

 tion of the open water. 



" Jens," said I hastily, " take the course to the left and 

 go around the ridge; keep well to the west so as to head 

 her off from the water, I will take care of the east." 



The faithful fellow understood the plan and set out at 



once, while I crawled over the rocks and saw the bear a 



long way off still on the run. Once or twice he looked 



back and then, as though satisfied that he was pursued, 



continued his flight. Keeping off to the right I made as 



good time as possible, crawling, sliding up and down the 



icy slopes, feverish with fear lest the bear reach the water 



first. It seemed as though every possible obstruction lay 



in my way and I could see the Eskimo was having as hard 



a time of it. 



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