LAXD AT LAST 383 



covered with glacier from the summit right to the shore; 

 only in one place did a little rock emerge. To leeward 

 we had the margin of the shore-ice, low, and affording no 

 protection. The waves broke right upon it, and it would 

 not be a good place to seek refuge in, should such a 

 proceeding become necessary ; it w^ould be best to get 

 in under land and see how the weather would turn out. 

 We did not like the prospect of once more being en- 

 closed in the drift-ice; we had had enough of that by 

 this time, so we made for some land which lay a little 

 way behind us, and looked very inviting. Should matters 

 turn out badly, a good place for wintering in might be 

 found there. 



Scarcely had I set foot on land when I saw a bear a 

 little way up the shore and drew up our kayaks to go 

 and shoot it. In the meantime it came shamblino: alono- 

 the shore tow^ards us, so we lay down quietly behind the 

 kayaks and waited. When close up to us it caught 

 sight of our footprints in the snow, and while it was 

 snifHng at them Johansen sent a bullet behind its 

 shoulder. The bear roared and tried to run, but the 

 bullet had gone through the spine, and the hind part of 

 its body was paralyzed and refused to perform its func- 

 tions. In perplexity the bear sat down, and bit and tore 

 its hind-paws until the blood flowed ; it was as if it were 

 chastising them to make them do their duty. Then it 

 tried again to move away, but with the same result ; the 

 hind part of its body was no longer amenable to disci- 



