I told you before that there were many fisheries along the coast. Well, this town seemed wonderfully fishy; there were warehouses in which were stored dried herring and codfish; then there were factories where cod-liver oil was made. You would be surprised to know how full the air was filled with the odor of cod-liver oil. We were told the smell was healthful, so we took it into our lungs more willingly; yet, if it had been possible for us to have a choice in the matter, we would gladly have had the air free from the odor, for surely it was very unpleasant. Hammerfest is the farthest north of any town on the coast, and one day’s journey from North Cape, the most northern point on the coast of Norway. The harbor at this place was full of vessels, both large and small, just as you see them in the picture, excepting two steamships which were then anchored far down in the bay. Spitzbergen is a great place for whalers and seal-hunters. It is four hundred miles from North Cape, the place where we had expected to go. History tells us that from this place several attempts have been made to reach the North Pole. Walruses, seals, foxes, reindeer, bears and birds are to be found there. [Illustration: _Hammerfest._] There was a vessel in from Spitzbergen which had been there only a few hours. As a rule she carried no passengers, but on the last trip one passenger had been taken aboard; and as there are no staterooms on sealing vessels, the passenger was given a box up on deck, and there, day and night, it stayed. The captain asked us if we would like to go over to the Spitzbergen ship and see the passenger. We said “Yes,” so he had one of the Kong Halfdan’s seamen take down a boat, and the captain rowed us out in the bay, over to where the ship was anchored. When we reached the vessel I thought I would just stand in the small rowboat and look over the sides; but the captain said, “Oh, but you must go on the sailing vessel, or you can’t see all that is to be seen.” Now there were no steps to go up, and no ladder to climb, so how could I get over? Well, seamen are used to climbing, and think everybody else is too; so he said, “Put one foot here, and the other up there, and then you will get up without trouble.” I did as he directed, and in a little while I was on deck and looking around. What did I see? Why, the hold of the ship packed full of fresh seal pelts. After killing the animals, they skinned them. The meat is thrown away, and the skins are taken to the hold of the ship, spread out, and salted right there. The next thing I saw was their passenger, and what do you think it was? A bear, a real live bear, and just fresh from the polar regions. It was about five months old, and just as white as white polar bears are.