THE FRIENDLY ARCTIC 157 



us will be out with a rifle, and a properly placed bullet ends the 

 story. 



When the bear comes as this one did in broad daylight, with the 

 dogs awake and the men moving about, he apparently takes the 

 dogs and us for a variety of gull, noisier perhaps than any he has 

 heard, but no njore dangerous. In a party used to bears the men 

 stand with guns ready, while the one who is to do the killing sits 

 quietly and waits until in his natural zigzag approach the bear 

 exposes one side or the other so as to give a chance for the shot 

 near the heart. 



When we resumed our journey April 5th we left behind not only 

 the bear carcass but most of the killed seals, partly because we could 

 not haul them and partly because the time for the return of the 

 support party was approaching and we thought they might be able 

 to pick up the meat on their way ashore — emphasis is on the 

 "might," because we were still so near shore that the ice floes had 

 considerable difference of motion and were, besides, spinning on 

 their axes. The return party did in due course try to follow the 

 trailback towards shore, but proved unable to do so for more than 

 a few miles and never saw this meat cache again nor the floe upon 

 which it had been made. Just as had been the case with Baron 

 Wrangel a century earlier in a similar region north of Siberia, they 

 came across their old trails occasionally on the way ashore, but 

 found them leading east or west or south as commonly as north, 

 because of the floes having spun around during the interval. 



We had reached next day what is known as the edge of the 

 Continental Shelf. Up to this point the ocean depth had been in- 

 creasing a little more than a fathom to the mile as we went farther 

 from land, but here in a mile or two it increased to a hundred and 

 fifty fathoms. The soundings had been taken by Mr. Johansen who, 

 as marine biologist, also made what investigations he could of the 

 sea temperatures at various depths, and of the minute animal and 

 plant life of the water. We had found seals in 180 fathoms, killed 

 them and hauled them safely up on the ice. This encouraged the 

 whole party. 



We still had more food with us than could possibly be hauled 

 on the good sled intended for the advance journey. The other two 

 sleds were so frail and kept breaking so frequently that the delays 

 in repairing them more than cancelled any advantage of their addi- 

 tional transporting power. I therefore made up my mind to send 

 the support party back at this point. By them I sent instructions 



1 



