2 A Bear Hunt in Nordland. 



separated, they wandered carelessly within the circle of the ring to 

 endeavour to find out the bear's winter-quarters j but one of the 

 peasants, who had unconsciously come within a gunshot of her 

 "ide," woke the bear up, and she suddenly rushed out upon him, 

 seized him, and inflicted three deep wounds on his body one on 

 the thigh, another on the arm, just above the wrist, and a third on 

 the face, which completely scalped his forehead, the skin hanging 

 down over his eyes. During the struggle one of the hunters ran 

 up and shot at the bear; but his gun missed fire, which was 

 probably lucky, for in the melee he was just as likely to have shot 

 his comrade as the bear. She immediately left the wounded man, 

 rushed upon the other hunter like lightning, gave him a deep gash 

 on one thigh, and mangled his head so that the hair and skin were 

 torn off for a width of four inches. This man was so injured, that 

 he was obliged to be carried home on a sledge, before they got his 

 wounds dressed. A third hunter, who had by this time come up, 

 attacked the bear with his spear j but in the hurry and confusion of 

 the moment he planted it so badly that the steel point glanced off 

 the thick hide of the bear. Suddenly the head of the hunter 

 dashed against that of the bear, and he immediately shoved one 

 hand down her throat and seized fast hold of the roots of her 

 tongue, and with the other belaboured her lustily about the nose 

 and head. The bear, now more than ever irritated by the punish- 

 ment she was receiving at this man's hands, rose upon her hind legs 

 and challenged him to a wrestling bout. The peasant, who, like 

 many others of these peasants, was a good and strong wrestler, 

 closed in with the bear and gave her a very clean back fall. 

 Astonished more than ever at such unlooked-for treatment, the 

 bear became nearly mad with rage, and uttering a tremendous 

 growl, she at once sprung up and rushed upon the fourth hunter. 

 He was, however, an old hand, and planting the butt of his 

 spear firmly on the ground, with the head slanting out towards the 

 bear, he waited quietly for her attack. Blind with rage she came 

 carelessly on, the sharp blade of the spear went right through her 

 heart, and she fell dead without a groan. The two hounds, of 



