THE NEW YEAR, iSg6 473 



the delicious scent of burnt blubber and live human 

 flesh. Then it had dragged a walrus hide that was 

 lying outside a little way off and scraped the blubber 

 off it. It had come from the ice obliquely up the hill 

 following the scent, had then followed our footsteps 

 from the hut to the place where we get salt-water, and 

 had thence orone farther out over the ice until it had sot 

 scent of the walrus carcasses out there, and was eoinof 

 tow^ards them when Johansen caught sight of it. There 

 it set to work to gnaw. As my gun was not fit to 

 use at the moment, I took Johansen's and went alone. 

 The bear was so busy gnawing and tearing pieces off 

 the carcass that I could get close up to it from behind 

 without troubling about cover. Wishing to try how 

 near I could get, I went on, and it was not until I 

 was so near that I could almost touch it with the muz- 

 zle of my gun that it heard my steps, so busy had it 

 been. It started round, gazed defiantly and astonished 

 at me, and I saluted it with a charoe risfht in its face. 

 It threw up its head, sneezed, and blew blood out over 

 the snow as it turned round again and galloped away. 

 I was going to load again, but the cartridge jammed, 

 and it was only by using my knife that I got it out. 

 While I was doing this the bear had bethought him- 

 self, stopped, turned towards me, and snorted angrily, 

 as he made up his mind to set upon me. He then 

 went up on to a piece of ice close by, placed himself in 

 an attitude of defence, and stretched out his neck tow- 



