342 FARTHEST NORTH 



how cleverly it was all arranged, then slowly followed the 

 wire back, raised himself up as before, with his paw on 

 the beam of the gallows, had a long look at the trap, 

 and shook his head again, probably saying to himself, 

 ' These wily fellows have planned this very cleverly for 

 me.' Now he resumed his march to the ship. When 

 he was within 60 paces of the bow Peter fired. The 

 bear fell, but jumped up and again made off. Jacobsen, 

 Sverdrup, and Mogstad all fired now, and he fell among 

 some hummocks. He was flayed at once, and in the 

 skin there was only the hole of one ball, which had gone 

 throuo^h him from behind the shoulder-blade. Peter, 

 Jacobsen, and Mogstad all claimed this ball. Sverdrup 

 gave up his claim, as he had stood so far astern. 

 Mogstad, seeing the bear fall directly after his shot, 

 called out, ' I gave him that one'; Jacobsen swears that 

 it was he that hit; and Bentzen, who was standino: look- 

 ing on, is prepared to take his oath anywhere that it was 

 Peter's ball that did the deed. The dispute upon this 

 weighty point remained unsettled during the whole course 

 of the expedition. 



" Beautiful moonlight. Pressure in several directions. 

 To-day we carried our supply of gun-cotton and cannon 

 and rifle powder on deck. It is safer there than in the 

 hold. In case of fire or other accident, an explosion 

 in the hold might blow the ship's sides out and send 

 us to the bottom before we had time to turn round. 

 Some we put on the forecastle, some on the bridge. 



