at hand, when, according to
calculation, the shadow should first be apparent. Hansen was sitting
by the large telescope when he thought he could discern a quivering
in the sun's rim; 33 seconds afterwards he cried out, 'Now!' as did
Johansen simultaneously. The watch was then at 12 hrs. 56 min. 7.5
sec. A dark body advanced over the border of the sun 7 1/2 seconds
later than we had calculated on. It was an immense satisfaction for us
all, especially for Hansen, for it proved our chronometers to be in
excellent order. Little by little the sunlight sensibly faded away,
while we went below to dinner. At 2 o'clock the eclipse was at its
height, and we could notice even down in the saloon how the daylight
had diminished. After dinner we observed the moment when the eclipse
ended, and the moon's dark disk cleared the rim of the sun.

"Sunday, April 8th. I was lying awake yesterday morning thinking about
getting up, when all at once I heard the hurried footsteps of some one
running over the half-deck above me, and then another followed. There
was something in those footsteps that involuntarily made me think of
bears, and I had a hazy sort of an idea that I ought to jump up out
of bed, but I lay still, listening for the report of a gun. I heard
nothing, however, and soon fell a-dreaming again. Presently Johansen
came tearing down into the saloon, crying out that a couple of bears
were lying half or quite dead on the large ice hummock astern of the
ship. He and Mogstad had shot at them, but they had no more cartridges
left. Several of the men seized hold of their guns and hurried up. I
threw on my clothes and came up a little after, when I gathered
that the bears had taken to flight, as I could see the other fellows
following them over the ice. As I was putting on my snow-shoes they
returned, and said that the bears had made off. However, I started
after them as fast as my snow-shoes would take me across the floes
and the pressure-ridges. I soon got on their tracks, which at first
were a little blood-stained. It was a she-bear, with her cub, and,
as I believed, hard hit--the she-bear had fallen down several times
after Johansen's first bullet. I thought, therefore, it would be
no difficult matter to overtake them. Several of the dogs were on
ahead of me on their tracks. They had taken a northwesterly course,
and I toiled on, perspiring profusely in the sun, while the ship sank
deeper and deeper down below the horizon. The surfa