Jussi had a large scar, evidently left from the blow of an axe, on his right hand, between the thumb and forefinger. This was a souvenir of Ambrose. On one of their excursions they suddenly came upon a bear. On seeing them, it raised itself on its hind-legs, and made straight for Ambrose, who had no weapon with him except an axe. Jussi sprang behind the bear, and seized it with his powerful arms by the neck, and squeezed it with all his might against himself, and then, being half throttled, it struck out violently with its fore-paws. Ambrose raised the axe, and endeavoured to hit the bear on the forehead; but either the axe was blunt, or he missed the middle of the forehead, for the axe slid off on to Jussi’s right hand, with which he was squeezing the bear’s neck. Still, Jussi did not let go. He was not a man who in a struggle for life and death would give in readily. Even if his hand itself had been cut off, he would have held fast with the stump. ‘Lyö kirveen tallala!’ (Hit him with the blunt end!), he cried; and he hugged the bear against himself still tighter, shielding his own head behind the bear’s shaggy neck. A heavy blow with the blunt end of the axe from Ambrose’s strong arm stunned the bear, and it sank to the ground; at the same moment Unnas rushed in with his long Finn’s knife, and plunged it in the bear’s side up to the hilt. Another blow on the top of its head finished it; but Jussi ever after bore the frightful scar on his right hand as the result of the first blow of the axe. This encounter united these three men more than ever to one another. As affording a little insight into the character of a Finn, the following incident may be of service. According to the legend, it took place precisely as it is here related: Unnas was an only son. His mother died young, and his father, Andrew, was exceedingly fond of his only son. There was nothing in the world for which he cared except his son. But when Unnas was twenty years old, he had a very serious illness, and it was not thought possible that he could recover from it. Unnas had been baptized by one of the priests of Petschenga Monastery, but his father, Andrew, was still a heathen. He would not consent to be baptized; he declared that he would live and die believing in his old gods. He was not a mere heathen, but was an active sorcerer (a ‘Noide’) or wiseman. He had, therefore, his sorcerer’s or magician’s drum, which he consulted whenever anything of particular importance was to be taken in hand, or to be prevented.