258 A SPORTING PARADISE 



whole charge seems to enter its victim like a 

 cannon-ball, causing a huge piece of flesh to collapse 

 and sink inwards. The ice does not crack and 

 break, but collapses, and disappears inwards, 

 bearing down upon its porous platform the 

 unhappy traveller above. 



The road through the bush at this season 

 is also dangerous. Here, not only has the frozen 

 snow become porous, but the earth itself, which 

 froze in early winter before the snow fell, com- 

 mences to expand and upheave. In this way one 

 experiences miniature earthquakes and eruptions. 

 Sometimes the chasm formed extends for a long 

 distance, and the hatchet must be used to clear 

 a path elsewhere. I have personally been delayed 

 for hours in this way. The bush being so thick 

 on either side, the only way to advance was to 

 cut down the obstacles. These delays are not 

 only unpleasant on account of the short days, 

 but are also somewhat dangerous. 



The she-bears, like their sires, are nervous 

 creatures, timid under normal conditions, but 

 at the early spring, when they emerge from their 

 retreats accompanied by their tiny young, they 

 will not only defend themselves fiercely when 

 interfered with, but will even act on the aggressive 



