276 
CACHE DESTROYED. 
without alarming him, and, after a little while, he 
planted himself at the doorway and began making his 
supper upon the carcass of a seal which had been shot 
the day before. 
“ Tom Hickey was the first to bethink him of the 
military device of a sortie from the postern, and, cutting 
a hole with his knife, crawled out at the rear of the 
tent. Here he extricated a boat-hook, that formed one 
of the supporters of the ridge-pole, and made it the 
instrument of a right valorous attack. A blow well 
administered on the nose caused the animal to retreat 
for the moment a few paces beyond the sledge, and 
Tom, calculating his distance nicely, sprang forward, 
seized a rifle, and fell bade in safety upon his comrades. 
In a few seconds more, Mr. Bonsall had sent a ball 
through and through the body of his enemy. I -was 
assured that after this adventure the party adhered to 
the custom I had enjoined, of keeping at all times a 
watch and fire-arms inside the camping-tent. 
“The final cache, which I relied so much upon, was 
entirely destroyed. It had been built with extreme 
care, of rocks which had been assembled by very heavy 
labor, and adjusted with much aid often from capstan- 
bars as levers. The entire construction was, so far as 
our means permitted, most effective and resisting. 
Yet these tigers of the ice seemed to have scarcely 
encountered an obstacle. Not a morsel of pemmican 
remained except in the iron cases, which, being round 
with conical ends, defied both claws and teeth. They 
had rolled and pawed them in every direction, tossing 
