370 FARTHEST NORTH 



lay thinking what would become of us if the ice should 

 not slacken and we had no opportunity of adding to our 

 larder — the chances, I thought, did not seem very prom- 

 ising — I heard something pawing and moving outside. 

 It might, as usual, be the packing of the ice, but still 

 I thought it was more like something on four legs. I 

 jumped up, saying to Johansen that it must be a bear, 

 and then I suddenly heard it snififing by the tent wall. 

 I peeped out through some holes in one side of it and 

 saw nothini^ ; then I went across to a bi^r hole on the 

 other side of the tent, and there I saw an enormous bear 

 just outside. It caught sight of me, too, at the same 

 moment and slunk away, but then stopped again and 

 looked at the tent. I snatched my gun down from the 

 tent-pole, stuck it through the hole, and sent the bear a 

 ball in the middle of the chest. It fell forward; but 

 raised itself again and struggled off, so I had to give it 

 the contents of the other barrel in the side. It still 

 staooered on, but fell down between some hummocks a 

 little way off. An unusually large he-bear, and for the 

 time all our troubles for food were ended. The wind, 

 however, continued steadily from the same quarter. As 

 there was not much shelter where we were encamped, 

 and, furthermore, as we were uncomfortably near the 

 ridge where the ice was continually packing, we removed 

 and took up our abode farther in on the shore-ice, where 

 we are still lying. Last night there was a bear about 

 again, but not quite so near the tent. 



