WHALING AND BEAR-HUNTING 241 



But to come back to this day that begins so quietly, 

 we are now all agog, we had a splendid bear-hunt and 

 spotted a female with cub, a very small thing, and it was 

 fascinating watching all their movements and signs to each 

 other. We tried to jam the ship to the floe-edge, but for 

 hundreds of yards it was guarded by floating pan ice that 

 is, ice in cakes of a few yards diameter and not deep, only, 

 say, a foot. A big whaler could have jammed through com- 

 fortably, but we are not strong enough and got stuck and 

 retired as gracefully as possible and went a long round of 

 miles and miles to where we could land on the true floe, 

 practising lasso en route in case we may have another 

 opportunity of throwing a rope over a live wild bear. 



Later we spotted the bear and child, and Archie and party 

 went off after it, and from board ship we watched their slow 

 procedure and the bears' rapid disappearance. I thought 

 then that the fun was over, and retired to draw but they 

 had the best stalk they have had. They struck the spoor 

 of a bigger single bear, followed it by directions from mast- 

 head, and came within a short distance, when the sleeping 

 hero awoke, and promptly stalked them, then Archie fired 

 at forty yards. He says : "Give me pheasant-shooting and 

 a covert side, and nothing on four legs bigger than a spaniel." 

 It is rather an awesome thing seeing a fellow in white robes 

 and formidable teeth, that when on his bare feet stands well 

 over ten feet high. A cordite rifle is then a very comfortable 

 thing to hold in your hand. The first bullet in the chest 

 knocked the bear over and two more shots killed it. It took 

 about five hours there and back to finish the bloody business. 

 And even on their tramp home we on board were kept in 

 interest, for Don Jose Herrero, with the captain, went out for 

 a fourth bear relationship to others not known Svendsen 

 tried to draw the bear after him, whilst Don Jose" hid behind 

 a hummock. A bear will always attack a single man, some- 

 times two, seldom a number, and the plan worked effectively 

 up to a point. It was lovely to watch Svendsen' s simulated 

 frightened flight and the bear following, stalking him behind 

 every hummock, keeping cover, and then scuttling across 

 the open to make sure of its victim. But somehow or other 

 Q 



