258 Chapter VI. 



Sunday Mogstad saw the fox itself. It has, no doubt, 

 been coming regularly to feed on the offal of the bears. 

 Shortly after the first one was shot another was seen ; it 

 came and smelt its dead comrade, but soon set off again 

 and disappeared. It is remarkable that there should 

 be so many foxes on this drift-ice so far from land. But 

 after all it is not much more surprising than my coming 

 upon fox tracks out on the ice between Jan Mayen 

 and Spitzbergen." 



" Monday, October 3Oth. To-day the temperature 

 has gone down 18 F. below zero (-- 27 C.). I took 

 up the dredge I had put out yesterday. It brought 

 up two pails of mud from the bottom, and I have been 

 busy all day washing this out in the saloon in a large 

 bath, to get the many animals contained in it. They 

 were chiefly starfish, waving starfish, medusae (astrophy- 

 ton\ sea-slugs, coral insects (alcyonarice), worms, sponges, 

 shell-fish, and crustaceans ; and were, of course, all 

 carefully preserved in spirits." 



"Tuesday, October 3ist. Forty-nine fathoms (90 m.) 

 of water to-day, and the current driving us hard to the 

 south-west. We have good wind for the mill now, and 

 the electric lamps burn all day. The arc lamp under 

 the skylight makes us quite forget the want of sun. Oh! 

 light is a glorious thing, and life is fair in spite of all 

 privations ! This is Sverdrup's birthday, and we had 

 revolver practice in the morning. Of course a magni- 

 ficent dinner of five courses : chicken soup, boiled 



